Final Tips on Hashtags

This week I have been offering lots of advice about using hashtags on Instagram. So go back to Monday's post and start there if you are just joining me this week. Trust me you need to know this. 

Once you have figured out which hashtags to use, here are the things you need to remember when including hashtags with your Instagram posts. Most importantly, you should only use relevant hashtags. Don't try to tag something that is popular but has nothing to do with your art or your photo. You should make a list of your hashtags that you think will apply to almost every post. Then add a few to each post that pertains to that photo specifically. 

You can even save your list to your phone and then type a keyword and all of your hashtags will automatically appear! If you have an iphone, go to Settings, then General, then Keyboard and then Text Replacement. Press the plus sign to create and then select "Phrase". For your "Phrase", type in all of your hashtags (and leave a space between each one). Then under "Shortcut" type in a keyword that when you type it in all of your hashtags will appear. Don't use something common, rather, use something like "#art". When you are in Instagram and you type on your iphone "#art", all of your hashtags will appear and you just need to tap the space bar for the hashtags to be copied in to your post. You should do this as it saves so much time!!!

Finally, you should also do some homework to help you determine how many hashtags you should use. Instagram allows a maximum of 30 in each post. Look around at your fellow IG'ers and see how many hashtags they are using. Then take a good look at your hashtag list. Are all of the hash tags ones that already have a million posts? That's fine but try to also find some smaller hashtag groups so you don't get lost in the crowd. And be sure to come up with a hashtag for your business. Try to find one that isn't already monopolized by another artist. You can be creative but keep it simple and easy to type. You want to make it easy for your customers to find you and your art. Please don't forget that.