Thread by @MacbookMilli

🚨INSTAGRAM MONEY THREAD DAY 6/10: Hashtags🚨

Welcome to my 6th of 10 threads posted on 10 consecutive days all about growing an Instagram business!

Today’s focus is *correct* hashtag (HT) use.

Contents:

👉3 types of HTs
👉HT strategies
👉HT location
👉HT tips

Let’s go! ⬇️

But first, make sure you’re all caught up on the first 5 threads!

I’ve collected them here:

https://twitter.com/macbookmilli/status/1293836829699997696

Now before we get into this thread, an important disclaimer:

Hashtags are obviously important, but there’s some disagreement over exactly how they should be used

Some believe they can make your account look spammy/greedy.

So in this thread, I’ll include some tips to minimize that greedy feel

💥3 types of hashtags

Hashtags can be either

👉Subject based
👉Brand based
👉Time/event based

📍Subject based hashtags are “normal” hashtags, things like

👉#money
👉#dunk
👉#buzzerbeater

Unless you have a giant, well branded account, stick to these hashtags only

📍Brand based hashtags are created by a brand, and are unique to that brand.

They don’t make sense if they are used in any situation except in relation to that brand

For example:

#BrawnyStrong - brawny
#JustDoIt - Nike
#MicrosoftTeams - Microsoft Teams

Branded hashtags are generally left for giant brands to create and use, and to share with their audience

📍Time/event based hashtags

These are hashtags that are specific to an event or a unique period of time

For example, I could use #10DaysOfIGThreads for my threads

These are usually part of big marketing campaigns by big brands. Again, there’s no point using them for a regular niche page

Now let’s talk about hashtag strategies

That’s right, you need a strategy when you use hashtags!

Blindly using the most popular hashtags WON’T WORK.

💥Strategies

📍The *most important* strategy is to simply do competitive research

Find pages in your niche that are growing fast and research the hashtags they use.

📍The patterns your competitors are using for success will give you a great starting point.

📍The second strategy is called the “ladder strategy.”

In this strategy, you use an assortment of hashtags to hit small, midsize, and big hashtags

Again, you’ll have to research which hashtags to use, but it works something like this:

👉Find several small hashtags
👉Find some midsize hashtags
👉Find a few big hashtags

Use combinations like this to maximize exposure

It’s important to focus on small hashtags when your account is young because without massive engagement, you won’t be noticed on big hashtags

Another strategy is called the “staircase strategy.”

Here’s how it works:

👉Start off by using 23-28 small hashtags
👉As your account grows, transition to 20-25 slightly bigger hashtags

As you grow, use less hashtags that are bigger

The end goal is to only be using as few hashtags as possible, but this can only happen when your account is really big and gets massive engagement on every single post no matter what

The staircase strategy helps you get there

💥Hashtag location

Should your hashtag be in the post caption or the first comment of your post?

Why does it matter?

It matters because every minute of engagement is critical on Instagram

As soon as your post goes live, every passing minute reduces engagement value

If you spend an extra minute writing out hashtags in the comments, you’ve lost the most valuable engagement minute

By putting your hashtags in the captions, you can avoid that

BUT

Putting hashtags in the comments also makes your post look more spammy and greedy

📍I personally recommend leaving your hashtags in the caption itself, but using a well structured caption to “hide” the caption out of the way

Here’s an example of a well spaced caption:

💥Hashtag best practices

An assortment of tips to get the most out of your hashtags.

👉Constantly experiment with different hashtag combinations
👉Don’t neglect research
👉Don’t follow a hashtag use pattern
👉Don’t use any hashtag too often
👉Don’t neglect research

👉Use hashtags in stories
👉Hide the hashtags in your stories behind stickers
👉Make your hashtags about the POST not the account
👉Don’t neglect research

Now you know what’s important when it comes to hashtags!

Lastly, I’ve got a bonus tip

📍Strategically use alt text!

Technically, this is a growth strategy that has nothing to do with hashtags

But because alt text works similarly to hashtags, I decided to add it here

Alt text is auto-generated keywords that Instagram assigns to your posts based on what it can detect about your photo with AI

This helps your post reach a more targeted audience

While alt text can’t be seen or accessed by anyone who sees the post (cont)

(Cont) you CAN edit the alt text before your post goes live for more precise targeting

📍How to modify alt text:

1) before your post goes live, click “advanced settings” under the social shares icons

2) click write alt text

3) write custom keywords

Use alt text like hashtags, but with real keywords that describe the post and what it contains

Possible alt text for this post:

Happiness rich suit actor rules simple freedom motivation business

Ok guys, that’s all for this thread! Tomorrow will be about what it takes to go viral!

If you’ve liked the threads so far, please send me a DM with what you like and what you would improve

I’m writing a FREE ebook about IG growth, I would love feedback

Lastly, you won’t get far on your Instagram journey without following my friend @PascalGrosz. He’s been building niche car pages on Instagram since he was 14!!!

See you guys tomorrow for day 7 :)