Are you still religiously adding hashtags to every Instagram post? If so, I’ve got a few things to say about that!
You’ve spent ages planning your Instagram content, writing a cracking caption, choosing the right image and trying to get the attention of your ideal customers.
And then you stick 15 hashtags at the bottom, giving people 15 opportunities to wander off somewhere else. Brilliant!
For years, hashtags were considered an essential part of any Instagram marketing strategy. We were told to research them, mix popular and niche hashtags, use as many as possible and keep changing them to maximise our reach.
But Instagram has changed, and the advice that worked five years ago isn’t necessarily going to help your small business today.
In fact, there are several reasons why I encourage the small business owners I work with to stop automatically adding hashtags to every Instagram post.
1. Hashtags can take people away from your Instagram content
Here’s something that often gets overlooked when we’re talking about Instagram hashtags. They’re clickable!
When someone taps on a hashtag in your caption, they’re taken away from your post to explore other content using that hashtag.
Including posts from your competitors.
Now, think about how much effort you’ve put into getting that person to stop scrolling and pay attention to your business in the first place.
You’ve created something interesting, useful or entertaining enough to catch their eye. Ideally, you want them to read your caption, explore your profile, follow your account or take the next step towards becoming a customer.
Instead, you’ve potentially handed them a convenient exit route.
Of course, not everyone is going to click on a hashtag, and that doesn’t mean hashtags are automatically bad. But it’s worth considering whether they’re actually helping your Instagram content strategy or simply something you’re adding out of habit.
2. Instagram SEO has changed how people discover your content
Instagram isn’t just a photo-sharing app anymore. It’s also a search engine, and people increased businesses, products, services and answers to their questions.
That’s where Instagram SEO comes in.
Instagram can use information from your profile, captions, on-screen text and other signals to understand what your content is about and who might find it useful.
For example, if you’re a wedding photographer in Leeds, naturally including phrases such as Leeds wedding photographer, Yorkshire wedding photography and relaxed wedding photos in relevant content helps explain what you do and where you work.
You don’t need to rely on a collection of hashtags at the bottom of every post to provide that context.
The important word here is relevant.
Instagram SEO isn’t about squeezing as many keywords as possible into your captions. It’s about making your content clear, useful and easy for the right people to understand and discover.
3. Hashtags aren’t the Instagram reach boosters they once were
Remember when everyone was obsessed with finding the perfect 30 hashtags?
There were hashtag generators, spreadsheets, complicated formulas and endless advice about which combinations would unlock the mysterious Instagram algorithm.
Frankly, it was exhausting.
The reality is that hashtags are no longer the powerful reach tactic they were once believed to be.
Adding #smallbusinessuk, #entrepreneurlife or #businessowner to every post isn’t going to magically put your content in front of hundreds of potential customers.
Instagram’s recommendation systems consider many different signals, including how people interact with your content, whether they watch your videos, share your posts or spend time engaging with what you’ve created.
That doesn’t mean hashtags have no value. It simply means they’re not a shortcut to better Instagram engagement or more customers.
And they certainly can’t rescue a boring post!
4. Hashtags aren’t a substitute for a proper Instagram content strategy
This is probably my biggest bugbear.
I still see small business owners spending more time researching hashtags than thinking about what their ideal customers actually want to read, watch or learn.
That’s a bit back to front, isn’t it?
Before you worry about hashtags, ask yourself what you’re actually trying to achieve with your Instagram content.
Are you trying to attract new customers? Build trust? Demonstrate your expertise? Encourage enquiries? Remind existing customers that you’re still there?
Once you know what you want your content to achieve, you can start creating posts that support those goals.
A useful Instagram caption, a genuinely interesting reel or a carousel that answers a common customer question is far more valuable than a mediocre post with a beautifully researched collection of hashtags.
You probably don’t need to post more. You need better content and a plan.
And that’s something I say rather a lot!
5. While we’re at it, can we stop with the random keyword lists?
There’s another Instagram habit I’ve noticed creeping into captions recently, and it’s starting to drive me slightly potty.
The random shopping list of keywords stuck at the bottom of a perfectly normal post.
You know the ones.
Small business | Entrepreneur | Marketing | Leeds | Yorkshire | Success | Growth | Instagram tips
What are we doing here?
Somewhere along the line, people have heard that keywords are important for Instagram SEO and decided that the answer is to dump a load of vaguely related words at the bottom of every caption.
But keyword stuffing isn’t an Instagram marketing strategy.
A list of random words doesn’t automatically make your content more relevant, useful or discoverable.
If you’re a small business owner in Leeds, for example, mentioning Leeds or West Yorkshire naturally when it’s relevant to your post makes perfect sense.
But adding Leeds | Yorkshire | Business | Success | Marketing to every caption, regardless of what you’re talking about, isn’t particularly helpful to your audience.
Write for people first. Use relevant keywords naturally. Make your content clear and interesting.
It’s really not that complicated.
So, should you stop using Instagram hashtags altogether?
Not necessarily.
I’m not saying hashtags are the devil, and I’m certainly not suggesting that using them will damage your Instagram account.
They can still be useful for specific campaigns, niche communities, events and conversations where people actively explore a particular hashtag.
A branded hashtag might also help bring together content from an event or encourage customers to share their experiences.
But there’s a big difference between using a hashtag for a specific purpose and automatically adding a dozen generic ones because that’s what you’ve always done.
If a hashtag genuinely serves a purpose, use it.
If it doesn’t, leave it out.
Your Instagram account isn’t going to fall apart.
What should small business owners focus on instead?
If you want to improve your Instagram reach, engagement and results, I’d encourage you to spend less time worrying about hashtags and more time thinking about the content itself.
Get clear on who you’re trying to reach and what they actually want from you. Use relevant keywords naturally in your Instagram bio, captions and content. Create posts that answer questions, solve problems, demonstrate your expertise and give people a reason to remember your business.
And perhaps most importantly, make sure your content has a purpose beyond simply keeping your Instagram grid looking busy.
Getting people to see your Instagram posts is only half the battle. Getting them to remember you, trust you and eventually buy from you is where the good stuff happens.
Need a little help making Instagram work harder for your business?
I’m Clare, the content strategist behind Sunshine, and I help small business owners in Leeds, West Yorkshire and across the UK take the guesswork out of social media marketing.
Whether you’re struggling with Instagram content ideas, wondering what on earth the algorithm wants from you or simply fed up with spending hours creating posts that don’t seem to achieve anything, I can help.
Through my bespoke content coaching and Instagram support, we’ll focus on creating a realistic content strategy that works for your business, your customers and your available time.
No complicated hashtag formulas, no chasing every Instagram trend and definitely no posting for the sake of posting.
Just better content, a clearer plan and a lot less social media faffing about.
Get in touch with Sunshine and let’s make your Instagram content work a little harder.