Instagram’s growing popularity has prompted many artists to turn to this visual social media platform to promote their products or services. With so much competition on Instagram, it is challenging for artists to get their posts in front of their target audience, even when they use popular hashtags. If you are marketing your art on Instagram, the objective is to reach new people and sell more art.
There is no shortage of articles and books on the best practices for using hashtags on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. And while there are several good reasons to use hashtags, it is essential to know when they don’t work on an Instagram post. Knowing the different types of hashtags and how each performs is also important.
This article will explore why some of your Instagram hashtags are not working and how you can fix them.
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The Hashtags Aren’t Linking to Anything
What are hashtags, and how do they work? Hashtags allow Instagram users to connect and discover content related to a particular topic. To do this, users search for hashtags related to their interests on Instagram and then join conversations by adding those hashtags to their posts. A hashtag is like a keyword or a tag that groups people post photos with a common theme.
Hashtags are a great way to organize content on social media, and Instagram is no exception. You can add hashtags to any Instagram post or image that you upload. These tags help your followers to find relevant content in your feed quickly.
The problem: When you include a hashtag, you want to ensure that people with similar interests and preferences will see the post. If you post a photo of a horse painting, it makes sense to include the hashtag #horsepainting. Using vague hashtags that people are not searching for like #artbysmith will not get you any results. Only use specific hashtags that explain what the image is about.
To search for a hashtag on the desktop, enter the hashtag, including the # symbol, into the search box. Enter your search term in the search box on mobile, then tap Hashtags.
If you’re paying attention to your Instagram feed, you’ll learn to spot trending hashtags as they emerge quickly. Don’t be too quick to jump on a trend, though. Only use trending hashtags if it makes sense for your business and the specific content in your post.
You’re Not Using Relative Hashtags
In a crowded social media scene, it’s crucial to ensure that hashtags are used effectively and relevant to your brand. Hashtags are a great way to expand your reach beyond your followers and potential customers. However, irrelevant hashtags can quickly turn off your followers, ultimately reducing your Instagram feed’s effectiveness. The use of too many hashtags can also hurt your brand’s SEO.
Hashtags that aren’t relevant to your brand are the ones you shouldn’t use. You can get more followers using hashtags, but only if you use them correctly. Be careful when using them because you don’t want your Instagram account to be flagged as spam.
The best hashtag strategy is to use niche hashtags that accurately represent your images. For example, if you are selling tile art, you will want to include the words “tile art” in your hashtags.
You’re Using Band Hashtags
Banned Instagram hashtags are hashtags the Instagram team has blocked due to repeated misuse.
If you want to be sure that a hashtag is not being blocked, check the status of the hashtag on Instagram. To check the status of a hashtag, search on Instagram and click the recent tab. If a hashtag is banned, it will say, “Recent posts from (#hashtag) are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines.”
It would be best to search for banned hashtags before posting to Instagram. Using banned hashtags will not only lower your engagement rate, but they might have your account flagged for spam.
Check the status of any new hashtags you might want to use in the future. To make life easier, make a list of banned hashtags, so you don’t accidentally use them in future posts.
You’re Using Too Many Hashtags
A common question people ask is, how many hashtags should I use on Instagram?
The answer is it depends on the type of posts you are uploading. Hashtags are great for organizing content on social media and helping people find similar content. However, you should avoid overusing hashtags. A great way to do this is to consider your followers’ interests.
If you use the same hashtag on all of your posts, they will start to ignore you, and your brand will quickly become a nuisance to them. Your goal should be to create a handful of valuable tags for your business and your followers. A great way to get started is to do an initial search on Instagram, see if there are any popular hashtags, and then use those.
A good rule of thumb is to use up to 10 hashtags for each post. This will allow you to add only the best hashtags to your posts and not have an abundance of different hashtags so that your feed becomes cluttered and unappealing to your followers. If unsure, you can also check Instagram Insights to see which hashtags are used the most.
You’re Hashtags Are Too Competitive
The objective of using hashtags is to increase the reach of your content. If other brands have overused a hashtag, the likelihood that Instagram followers will discover you with the same broad hashtags is significantly reduced.
A generic hashtag is a hashtag that many different brands use. These hashtags make it hard for the right people to find and follow you, and they will further dilute your brand in their feed. For example, if you paint dogs, it’s not a good idea to use #dog or #pet because these are both very generic hashtags that will make it difficult to reach a larger audience in the search results because many images tagged to the hashtag. Using competitive hashtags will lower your chances of being discovered and harm your SEO.
If you are looking for a quick way to find out whether a particular hashtag is competitive, go to the Instagram website and search for the hashtag you want to use. You will be able to see the competition associated with the hashtag.
To see quicker results start by using hashtags that represent your business and are not too competitive. Then as you gain more followers, you can start experimenting with more hashtags to see if you can reach a larger number of people.
You’re Using The Same Hashtags On Every Post
If you are using the same tag on multiple posts, you might not be seeing the results you want. New followers may notice you because they are not searching for the tags you are using in your posts. To keep your posts fresh, use a variety of tags.
Make a list of hashtags you use to see how well they perform in your Instagram analytics.
How To Optimize Hashtags On Instagram Posts
Here is a brief outline of optimizing your Instagram posts to get your posts in front of a wider variety of people.
- Each post can have up to 30 hashtags. However, you want to ensure that your hashtags are relevant and reflect your brand. Use the most relevant hashtags for your business and followers, and avoid using generic hashtags.
If you post more than once, change the hashtag at least once every 2 to 3 days. The longer you leave the hashtag unchanged, the less relevant the tag to your followers. This could mean that fewer people will see your post.
- Each post can have up to 20 accounts which could help your chances of being featured on additional pages. For example, if you use Rembrandt pastels, you could tag their page, and hopefully, they will notice you.
Posts that get better reach on Instagram have more engagement within the first hour of being published.
The goal is to publish posts that inspire people to like and comment on your posts. The more likes and comments you get, your posts will receive more exposure.
Make sure to use the most relevant hashtags for your business. For example, if you sell flower arrangements, you should use hashtags like #flower or #flowerarrangements. If you sell guitars, you should use hashtags like #guitar or #guitars.
When posting, be sure to keep in mind the seasons and holidays that are relevant to your business. For example, if you sell Easter hats, you should use hashtags like #Easter or #EasterHats.
You can also use Instagram to create a slideshow that includes multiple images.
Final Thoughts On Instagram Hashtags
If your Instagram account has been performing poorly for a while, it may be time to take a step back and rethink your hashtag strategy. With more than 800 million users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms. But many brands struggle with their Instagram account performance because they don’t know what to do. To help you out, we created this list of 5 Reasons Why Your Instagram Hashtags Are Not Working.
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