We all use Instagram and it is easy to share our pictures of little Susie taking her first steps, but when we start using Instagram for business, well it all hits the fan.  When this happens, we have to shift our mindset.  No longer are we posting for Grandma, now we have to post content that our customers will love.  My next few posts we are going to be talking all about Instagram and how to use it for your business.

First topic:

How to Use Instagram Hashtags for Business

What are hashtags?

Hashtags are a word or group of words used on social media that has a # in front of them.  These are used to sort content on social media.  Hashtags are clickable.  When you view them on Instagram, you can click on it and it will show you other posts that use the same hashtag.

Different types of hashtags

Your brand:  You can create your own hashtag and use them to sort your posts.  For example, I am a photographer.  When I post my photography on my Instagram feed, I will use the hashtag #michellegiffordphotography.  Then if anyone wants to look up my photography, they could search for that hashtag and they will be brought to a feed of only my pictures with the #michellegiffordphotography hashtag.

You can use this if you do more than one type of posting on your feed like cooking, photography, family.  You could create your own hashtag for each of those things.

Community: Different communities have different hashtags that people use to find each other.  Using community tags is where you are going to start getting people to find your content.  For example, I sell Maskcara (you can check out the whole experiment here or buy here).  Maskcara is makeup that makes putting on highlight and contour one quick and easy process.  When any other Maskcara artists post pictures they will use #maskcaraartist.  If I want to find other artists to follow, I can click on that hashtag and starting finding people.

Why you should use them:

Hashtags are amazing for your business and a wonderful way for you to start building your following naturally.  By using community hashtags, people not following you will be able to find you and follow you.  It is also a wonderful way to make friends on Instagram with similar interests.

How to find the right hashtags for you:

When looking for hashtags to use, find someone who is already in your industry and using hashtags well and see which hashtags they are using.  If you know a hashtag that will apply to your business, do a search for it on Instagram and Instagram will bring up a list of suggestions.  Look through the suggestions and include ones that apply to your business.

How I keep it all organized:

Adding hashtags to everything can be a bit time consuming.  To combat that, I create a note in my phone that has all of my different types of hashtags in it.  I will create a new note for every different category.  So, I have a Maskcara note, photography note, business note, etc…

Which hashtag should you start using today:

I have a business Instagram where I teach business tips and inspiration and feature other business mommas.  If you want to be featured on this account, use #bizwithmichelle and follow me @iammichellegifford

Maskcara girls: I have a Maskcara Instagram account and I would LOVE to feature you over there.  Use #maskcarabeautygirl to get featured.

Also, I’ll be starting my Free Business Boost Series on July 10 Click here to get on the wait list.