INSTAGRAM

1. Use relevant hashtags

You’re allowed 30 hashtags per post (that means caption and comments combined), but just because youcan use 30, doesn’t mean you should. Filling up your hashtag quota with irrelevant hashtags won’t help you in the long run. In fact, it may end up hurting you.

2. Don’t cave into spammy hashtags

Avoid the temptation to use spammy hashtags like #f4f (follow for follow), #follow, #s4s (share for share), and #l4l (like for like). You may end up getting likes or follows from these initially, but you’ll be attracting the wrong audience.

3. Add hashtags to a comment

Adding even just a few hashtags to your image caption can look a little spammy, and if you have more than 10, it can get downright annoying for fans. People are there to engage with your content, and these hashtags can make things look fake and overly promotional.

4. Utilize the Explore page

Instagram’s Explore page is going to be your best friend when it comes to discovering effective hashtags. The first method is to use the search bar to find some potential hashtags. Not only will this tell you how popular certain hashtags are, but it will also give you some suggestions for related hashtags.

5. Learn from other artists

The next method is to look at the hashtag sets that other similar artists use to get some ideas. Target other bands and musicians who play a similar style to you and scroll through their posts. Just like before, if you see a promising hashtag, click through and see what kind of posts are tagged to it.

6. Use hashtags to connect

For the most part, hashtags are used as an inbound way to attract fans, but on Instagram, I’ve found that some of your best followers will actually be other musicians. In fact, these fellow artists may actually lead to more growth on your account than anything else.

7. Test your hashtags

You’re not going to just happen on the perfect set of hashtags in one go. Instead, experiment, and use an analytics app to figure out which work best.

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