It's here - today is the first day of my new business tips and tricks blog. After 14+ years of being in the wedding industry, it's now time for me to start sharing things I've learned. I'm here to help others grow their business, attract a following in their niche market and gain the exposure they deserve.
I recently came across a question on a facebook group posted by Maxime, the handmade jewelry designer at Kirameku and she gave me permission to share it with you. Here's what she wrote:
I've started my Instagram page about two weeks ago and I fell in love with this app. I've read a few articles on how to gain followers and all but seems that I get mostly people who charge to gain followers to like my pictures. Any idea on how to reach actual fans? I've followed a few fashionistas. TIA!
Today's post is all about how to use hashtags and be seen on instagram {these hashtag tips also works for twitter as well}. You of course want to use relevant hashtags {and I limit myself to no more than 10 - in a new comment, never with my write-up}. While one word hashtags aren't bad, you will have a lot more hashtags competing with you in that mix. Which means you will likely not be seen. Narrowing down your hashtags to include two words will help.
Let's look at this real life example with numbers:
The hashtag #handmade has over 27 million posts on Instagram at the time of this writing. This means your photos will quickly be buried among all the other posts. But, you want to make it easy for the people who want what your selling to find you.
To get more specific, think of what you offer and how you can help your niche market. If you are a handmade artist, what type of handmade products do you create?
Here's two examples for handmade jewelry and wedding jewelry . . .
#handmade = 27,700,000+ posts
#jewelry = 21,217,000+ posts
#handmadejewelry = 963,100+ posts
#wedding 40,400,000+ posts
#jewelry 21,217,000+ posts
#weddingjewelry 39,300+
The more focused your hashtag - the closer you get to reaching your target audience and the easier it will be to be found. But, keep in mind, all hashtags build up over time. So to keep being noticed, you will want to post at least 1x a day {but, feel free to skip the weekend - I do}.
You can also look at the hashtags of your competitors - check to see what they are using and then see if you should be implementing some of them in your own posts.
How are you using hashtags on your instagram posts?
I have many more instagram tips to come in future posts. But, in the meantime, do you have any business questions that I might be able to answer in a future post? Please leave me a comment and I may just be answering your question next :)
Do you own a wedding shop? Are you a wedding service provider?
Come Join My Blog's Vendor Guide Here and be one step closer to gaining recognition among brides + other vendors in the wedding industryPS: the link to Maxime's shop is via my affiliate relationship with etsy