If you’re trying to grow your Instagram account and you keep using 30 hashtags under your post and still see no increase in engagement, you may consider several other options to expose your posts to your target audience.
Surely, hashtags are very important on Instagram. We tend to search for things using them, and Instagram even allows you to follow hashtags. No questions here, they are important, but they aren’t the ultimate component to your Instagram success.
If you post using some very popular hashtags that have millions of pictures, chances are high that your content will disappear in the sea of other posts. Therefore, you won’t get the desired result and exposure.
That’s why I’d suggest using less popular hashtags. Those that have less than 50K posts are my favourite ones because I know that my content won’t sink to the bottom of the feed as quickly. However, the danger here is that fewer people may be searching for these less popular hashtags, which means fewer people will see your content.
Here are some ideas of ways to grow your Instagram account without stuffing your posts with hashtags.
Always Tag Your Location
People use hashtags to find something on Instagram, and they also use geotagging or location tagging for the same purpose. Personally, if I’m searching for restaurants to eat at or things to do on my next holiday, the first thing I look at is “Places” with the location I have in mind (restaurant name or the city I’m going to).
Geotagging is a very powerful tool to show your pictures from that location to a broad audience of people. If you tend to visit popular locations and you tag them, you may be featured under the location’s tagged picture list. This may lead to people following your account.
I notice so many influencers not tagging their location or using a very vague tag, such as “Thailand,” “Somewhere on earth,” etc. To me, these are lost opportunities for people to discover your content. I suggest being more specific and using at least a city, like “Bangkok.” Or, dig ever further and choose the exact spot.
Don’t only geotag your posts. Remember to also use location tagging on your stories because they can be discovered as well.
Be Social and Interact With Other Accounts
Instagram is a social media account and you’re expected to be social. This means that instead of only double-tapping your favourite posts, you should leave or reply to comments and mentions. Socialise!
Whether you’re complimenting someone or initiating a small conversation with other users, you’re surely attracting attention to your profile. Not only will the person who you’re engaging with check out your profile, but their audience might also click in and see who you are.
I tend to spend at least one hour a day socialising on Instagram. I love discovering new content, leaving a nice comment, and engaging in conversations. This helps boost my organic reach as people tend to visit my account. If they like what they see, they will surely click “follow.”
Post Educational Content
Educational content is always worth sharing. This means that if someone discovers your content and they learn something from it, there’s a good chance that they will share it within their circles. If you consistently share educational content, people will follow you as they won’t want to miss your posts.
In fact, one of my favourite fitness accounts is @apfau, who has over 1 million followers. Adam shares fitness and nutritional advice using videos and infographics that are educational. He shows what a bad workout looks like and what exercises people should do to perfect their bodies. He also points out the main mistakes people make when exercising and what people shouldn’t eat if they want to lose weight. His content is educational and advice-based, which is great. People discover it and share it with their friends, which makes the whole growth cycle faster.
Make your content educational and worth it for users to read. Share personal experiences and advice. Instagram can become your platform for microblogging — you have 2,200 characters per posts.
Use Paid Advertising
Normally, I seldom recommend Instagram’s paid advertising tools, as I find them inefficient. However, you can start by having a great post and optimising your ad to the best target audience you can.
Chances are, your post will get thousands of likes and a few extra followers. It really depends on what niche you’re in and what your overall objective of the post is. If you want to be exposed to as many people as possible and raise brand awareness, then paid advertising can do wonders. However, if you’re looking to boost your followers and subsequent engagement, this may not work out too well.
Be cautious when using paid advertising. It may not deliver the results you’re expecting. If you’ve never done it before, I’d suggest starting with a small amount and a very well-defined target audience.
Post Frequently
To get the maximum exposure to your posts, you should aim to share at least once a day. Avoid spamming as your existing followers will get irritated and start unfollowing you.
Instagram is different from Twitter — the quantity may be damaging to your overall marketing effort. Therefore, avoid posting more than twice a day. If you choose to post several times per day, have at least a four to five-hour gap between your posts.
You should, however, post more frequently in stories. But also do not overpost — the ideal number of stories per day is up to six.
There you have it — five ways to grow your Instagram account without hashtags. However, if you’re a diehard fan of hashtags, don’t let these tips stop you. Hashtag all you want!
But, if you’re looking for other ways to expose your content on Instagram without having too many hashtags lined up under your posts, you may want to try these tips.
You can, of course, combine them and use them along with your hashtags. This way, your posts will be exposed to multiple users in the most effective way.
