Instagram Hashtags in 2022: What Influencers Need to Know
Do you want more people to see your Instagram post and stories?
Wondering if Instagram hashtags can really help – and what to try instead to increase your reach?
In this article, you’ll learn how and why hashtags for Instagram matter and 11 ways to get more reach without them. Your followers will always stay up to date with your great content!
Do Hashtags still Increase Views on Instagram?
In March 2022, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri addressed this question in an Instagram story. After initially responding, “Not really,” he expanded on his answer.
About a week later, Mosseri posted a follow-up story about the importance of hashtags. He clarified, “I’m saying they’re not going to meaningfully change the amount of reach you get when you post. So if you expect a night-and-day difference, you’re going to be disappointed.”
Why Mosseri’s Hashtag Statement Matters to Marketers
Mosseri’s comments reflect an evolution in the philosophy around hashtags. This shift is important to marketers because it means more focus on engagement and authenticity. It also means that Instagram is prioritizing the feed over other parts of the platform. This means that marketers who want to scale their reach will need to shift their focus away from hashtag use.
What the Research Shows About Hashtags for Instagram
The Impact of Hashtags on Instagram According to Socialinsider’s study does not affect distribution on Instagram. The study found that there is no connection between hashtags and business value. Despite Mosseri’s statements to the contrary, Socialinsider discovered that the number of hashtags in a post does not affect the number of views. While the study found that the general engagement rate by impressions remains the same regardless of the number of hashtags included in a post, it also revealed that hashtags do not have a measurable effect on views. It does not, however, mean that you should never utilize hashtags. According to Socialinsider, Instagram has recently made an effort to improve its search functionality. While hashtags are still vital for appearing in relevant searches, you should still include them in your Instagram content.
11 Tactics to Get More Organic Exposure on Instagram Without Relying on Hashtags
Although hashtags don’t directly increase your reach, there are tons of things you can do to boost your Instagram exposure. Here are 11 ways to get more organic exposure on Instagram without relying on hashtags:
1 – Post at the Best Time for Your Audience
Hashtags matter less if your post is really good, and timing is more important than ever. You can use tools like “Later” to find the best times to post. Accounts like this analyze your own posts to see when they perform best. You can also use an Instagram analytics tool like Iconosquare to track when your posts perform best. This data can help you determine the best times to post.
Keep in mind that Meta updates these metrics all the time. It’s a smart idea to revisit audience activity at least once a month to make sure you’re still posting at the best times for your followers.
2 – Share Instagram Feed Posts to Stories
One way to get more exposure from your feed posts is to share them on Instagram Stories especially if they don’t perform as well as you’d hoped. This can also help you avoid the dreaded “feed fatigue” that so many brands encounter. But how do you know which posts to share with Stories? This is where your Instagram analytics come in. Analyze your feed posts and see which ones perform well but don’t get as many likes or comments. This can indicate that your audience is interested but not engaging, which means they may be scrolling past without fully engaging.
3 – Tell Stories That Resonate
Stories are a big part of Instagram, but not all Stories are created equal. When you see a Story on Instagram, you can swipe up to save it to your own library. Here, you can swipe left to save it permanently to your feed. If you’re trying to get more organic exposure, you should be creating stories that resonate with your audience.
4 – Produce More Reels
Reels are growing tools on Instagram. Reels are a great way to showcase your brand and your products. They’re also a way to extend your reach and inspire new followers. Reels can help you get more exposure, especially if you’re targeting a large audience that isn’t aware of your brand. Reels are the new future on Meta so they promote it more often than the other futures, use it to your advantage
5 – Create Carousel Posts
Carousel posts let you string multiple images together to tell a story. Carousel posts are particularly useful in industries like fashion, travel, and hospitality where consistency is key. They can also be helpful if you’re trying to showcase a product or service. Carousel posts are a good way to weave in your brand’s identity and showcase your offerings.
6 – Experiment With Content Types
We’ve talked about how consistency is important to growing your Instagram following. When you post the same kind of content each day, you probably won’t engage as many people. If you want to engage more people and get more exposure, you might want to vary your content types. Shifting your focus to creating different types of posts each day can help you reach more people. It can also give you more opportunities to engage with users and encourage them to follow you.
7 – Reshare User-Generated Content
If you have a successful Instagram Story, you can also repost it as a regular Instagram post. This is an easy way to get more exposure from one successful post. You can repost any user-generated content you want, but you should be careful to credit the user. You can repost content from your own Stories, too. This might be a good idea if your Story generates a lot of interest but you don’t have the bandwidth to respond to all of the comments.
8 – Leverage Instagram’s Collaboration Tools
One advantage of Instagram is that you can link your account to other social platforms. This allows users to comment on your photos and posts and share them with their followers. It also allows you to cross-promote your Instagram account with other platforms. When you cross-promote to other social networks, you can use Instagram’s collaboration tools to drive traffic back to your feed. You can link your Instagram account to Twitter and Facebook to drive backlinks and cross-promote your posts.
9 – Host a Contest or Giveaway
If you’re looking for ways to get more organic exposure on Instagram, contests and giveaways are a low-effort solution that can generate massive engagement. They’re a great way to get your followers to engage with your brand, which can help you grow your audience and drive new followers to your account. Hosting a contest is a great way to improve your Instagram following and engagement rates. You can start by creating a unique Instagram hashtag for the contest to make it easy for participants to search and find your contest. If you’re struggling to come up with a creative hashtag, you can use an online generator to help you brainstorm ideas.
10 – Work With Instagram Influencers
One of the best ways to get more organic exposure on Instagram is to partner with influencers. Influencers are massive online personalities with large followings on social media. By partnering with influencers, you can tap into their audiences and get access to their organic reach. There are a few ways to find influencers who might be a good fit for your business. First, use tools like Social Rank to identify influencers who are relevant to your brand or industry. Then, reach out to them and see if they’d be interested in working with you. Some influencers have strict sponsorship guidelines, so make sure that you have everything in order before you reach out.
11 – Build a Loyal Community
The best way to increase your Instagram engagement is to focus on building a loyal community. Whether you’re using hashtags or not, you should be joining relevant conversations on Instagram. By participating in these conversations, you can start to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Engaging with your followers is another great way to drive more organic exposure on Instagram. Responses are a great way to show appreciation to your followers, and they also give you an opportunity to expand your network and gain new followers. The average Instagram user has a network of more than 800 followers, so there’s a good chance that your followers will engage with your posts and drive more exposure to your account. If you want to get more organic exposure on Instagram, you don’t necessarily have to rely on hashtags. Instead, you can use these other strategies to get more exposure and grow your Instagram following.
Conclusion
There’s no question that Instagram hashtags are still an important part of Instagram marketing. They just don’t help you get more exposure in the way that many marketers would like them to. Instead, hashtags help you add context to your content and promote it to relevant users. If your goal is to grow your following and drive more engagement, you can do that without hashtags. Instead, focus on creating compelling content that resonates with your audience. This can help you increase your reach without relying on hashtags.
Chris Taylor
I'm Chris Taylor, an enthusiastic Content Manager and Copywriter specializing in social media and emerging technologies. My talent lies in creating engaging and relatable content that captures the audience's attention and encourages interaction.
As an expert in social media, I'm always up-to-date with the newest trends, using them to develop content that's not just educational but also enjoyable and widely shareable. Recognizing the power of storytelling in brand development, I'm committed to crafting stories that forge a personal connection with audiences. My combination of attention to detail and creative flair ensures that every content I produce resonates deeply with its intended audience.
