Smart Tips for Hashtags for Likes in Instagram [Video]

What if I tell you that you can increase the chances of likes on Instagram by using hashtags!

Do you know there are about 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram! Around  63% of the Instagram users log in at least once per day! 

Instagram is the second largest social media platform after Facebook in terms of active users

You can increase likes, followers, and the reach of your account with the use of hashtags.

In this article, you will learn some smart tips on hashtags for likes on Instagram.

Significance of likes in Instagram

Simply, because this is how the Instagram algorithm works. The algorithm works on the ratio of your number of likes to the number of views. If the ratio is high, then your post will receive a larger audience. This is called a micro-test.

The post that has more likes is more likely to get liked by the audience and get viral.

This is the same psychology behind the micro test!

Is it only about the content?

A big NO!

People are using Instagram to grow their business. Do you know around 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile daily?

Hashtags are used in relevance to your content.

Using hashtags

Why do we need hashtags?

To create a database and search for particular content quickly.

For example, you will see the images and videos if you search #motivation on your Instagram related to motivation. 

The images appearing on the top are the ones with high engagement.

How to choose a perfect hashtag for you

Note the following points.

First, you need to know your content.

This is what will define your hashtags. People randomly use hashtags and expect their Instagram account to grow and that never happens.

For example, if your content is motivational then your target audience comes under this category. The most relevant hashtags for you will be:

#motivationalquotes

#inspiration       

#quotes 

#inspirational 

#success 

#inspirationalquotes

#entrepreneur 

These hashtags along with your post will make a perfect combination for your audience.

But if you put a motivational quote as a post and put hashtags like

#love

#goodday

#beautiful

#india

These hashtags may be popular on Instagram but they have nothing to do with your post. So, it doesn’t reach your audience and you don’t get engagement. Another thing to stop ASAP is copying hashtags. When you copy hashtags, first, you don’t know if they work, and second they may not work for you even if they do.

Make sure you check out the most popular hashtags for Instagram likes.

Let’s have a look at some famous categories.

Fashion

Instagram is the holy grail for fashion brands and fashion models.

For example, when you upload your photo on Instagram you can use popular hashtags related to fashion which will provide an audience for your post.

#instafashion         (72.80M)

#fashionblogger    (54.56M)

#fashioninsta        (54.43M)

#mensfashion       (25.11M)

#fashionstyle       (16.05M)

#fashionable        (15.89M)

#fashiongram      (15.30M)

#fashionblog       (15.13M)

#fashiondiaries   (14.44M)

Using these hashtags will give your post exposure and the chance of going viral.

Pros

Maximum engagement.

An immediate response.

More chances of increasing your likes.

Cons

The competition is very high.

Love

Let’s talk about love. This is arguably the most used hashtag on Instagram. 

This is a versatile hashtag; it can be used in many categories.

The travel category is one of the popular categories in itself. Hashtags like #travel will give your post a perfect set of audiences but using #love will give you a boost.

This hashtag is like a boon in the world of hashtags

Some of the popular keywords related to love are

#love           (1.7B)

#instagood(1.1B)

#happy(564.9M)

#beautiful(640.01M)

Some of them are in billions!

Pros

Give you an extra set of audience.

Cons

It is very common. So, you will be just one among million.

Music

This is also one of the most popular categories. Especially when it comes to entertainment.

According to a report, Instagram users will spend an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform in 2020.

Some experts say that the content is more likely to get viral if it belongs to the entertainment category. This sounds perfectly true, right?

Some of the top keywords used in this category are as follows 

#music  (301.3M)

#musica (32.3M)

#musician (26.3M)

#musical  (11.2M)

#musically (22.2M)

#musicvideo (14.5M)

#musicproducer (8.7M)

Use these to become the next big singer on Instagram.

Pros

Connecting with people with similar interest

Potential to get viral

Cons

Competition

Travelling

Vlogging is popular on Instagram. People visit places, review them, and post them on Instagram. Travelling is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

Some popular hashtags:

#travelphotography (109.3M)

#Instagood (1.1B)

#instamood (234.1M)

#traveldiaries (11.9M)

#nofilter (266.4M)

#travelling (63.5M)

#travelblogger (54M)

#tourism (35.4M)

#igdaily (87.2M)

#travel (479.9M)

#instago (86.3M)

Pros

Immediate response.

Increase the chances of getting spotted

Cons

You need to have great photography skills.

Photography

Photography is the new cool for the generation

If you are looking forward to being a photographer, starting from Instagram is a great option.

Instagram, after all, started as a place to share pictures.

Some popular hashtags for this category are as follows.

#photoshoot (103.4M)

#photography (537.7M)

#justgoshoot (29.5M)

#passionpassport (24.4M)

#2instagoodportraitlove (1.4M)

#exploretocreate (20.1M)

#landscapephotography (34.4M)

#wildlifephotography (11.5M)

#dronephotography (4.8M)

#foodoftheday (6.4M)

#streetphotography (74.6M)

#weddingphotography (176.2M)

The irony is that it can be used by anyone independently.

For example, if you post any photo on Instagram you will always use hashtags like #photography or #picoftheday, these hashtags will always go even with general posts.

You are always free to use some of these hashtags. These hashtags will not only give your post a wider reach but also give you some likes and followers.

Pros

Versatility

High engagement

Cons

Very commonly used.

 

These were the collection of some of the most popular keywords used in some categories. 

Well, is that it?

No, this is an ocean full of learning.

If you want a complete guide on choosing the best hashtags to get more likes in Instagram then do read Complete Guide of choosing the best Instagram hashtags for likes and comments.

Apart from these hashtags, there are some surprising hashtags for likes for Instagram. There are some generic hashtags that you can use in your post and they are evergreen hashtags.

Use Monitoring Tools

You can use monitoring tools to find a hashtag for you and to check its effectiveness. 

You can use platforms like Brand24 or Influence on this.

What does it do?

It collects real timepieces of content related to mentioned predefined keywords from all over the web. It will display the result by which you will be able to decide whether to use or not to use it with your content.

 

You can find new hashtags for likes on Instagram on these platforms.

For example, if you choose to search the word #eat, you will get the stats to form all over the web and you will be able to see how much this word has been used and it’s frequency.

You can use the analysis tab

This will contain a lot of data about your mentioned keyword. You can also compare the ranking of the keyword worldwide.

This tool will give you a fair idea about your keyword and you can then use it accordingly.

Using local hashtags

Using local hashtags is a very smart strategy to reach people who may know you and get likes. Local hashtags usually have very less competition as compared to other popular hashtags. So, you have a chance to stand out.

For example, if you belong to let’s say Jaipur and you visit Amer fort and you click some pics. Now, when you upload those pics it is much better to use the hashtags like:

#jaipur #jaipurvisit #amerfort #pinkcity  #jaipurtour

These hashtags will reach a very similar kind of people and they are more likely to give a like or even follow you. The people it will reach will also have a very similar experience as you had and this helps to build a local community.

Along with these hashtags, you can use some other hashtags but don’t overdo it!

A bonus tip – While using local hashtags, always tag the location of that place. It will boost up the reach instantly.

Create and Promote your hashtags

This is a very creative way to get likes and audience. Especially if you are an organization or an influencer it will work best for you. Whenever you interact with your audience make sure to promote your hashtags so that when people want to ask questions they can use it.

For example, if you are a dancer and you motivate people to dance for fitness and fun and you post a challenge in which people will do their favorite step and post it on Instagram. In this case, you can use hashtags like #dancenfit #dancenfun. 

Whenever people post anything, they will use your hashtags, and ultimately you will start building your community.

A bonus tip – Don’t use more than 2 hashtags.

Using hashtags in the first comment

If you post hashtags in the comments, without compromising your other engagements you can get more reach.

You can comment on something fun related to the post and also add some more hashtags. You will get an extra comment as well as an extra reach, both will contribute to getting a higher engagement rate. It is like a win-win situation.

Using hashtags in your Instagram Stories

Don’t just limit yourself to posts and bio; your Instagram story has a high potential to reach the audience if you use correct hashtags!

Use one or a maximum of two hashtags in your story. Try to use a place hashtag every time you post your story.

A quick tip – try to use the new stickers on Instagram stories. It will boost your reach.

Follow hashtags

Follow the hashtags relevant to your content. It is a good way to see what content is going viral.

Be aware of Banned Lists!

Some hashtags like #iphone and #elevator are banned on Instagram to prevent spam content. If you accidentally use some of those then it will limit your reach and you can be ‘shadowbanned’, that is you won’t appear on the searches of the people who don’t follow you.

Using Hashtags in your Bio

The use of the hashtag is not only limited to posts. You can use hashtags in your bio to give your audience a broad idea about your profile. The people who will see your bio will get a better idea about your niche if you include hashtags in your bio.

It will also make your bio look attractive!

Hashtags in bio make your profile easy to discover.

For example, this is a page named ueureka. The motive of this page is to connect with students and help them to grow financially.

In the Instagram bio, this page has used three hashtags namely

#money

#motivation

#students

Now, these hashtags give you a clear idea about the page.

Still not getting likes?

Well, in spite of doing all these things if you are not getting likes then there can be a problem with your content.

Always keep in mind that your content is the king.Your content will define you and your brand. No matter how well you use the hashtags, if your content does not add value to it then you will not get any result.

Now, since you know how to use hashtags for more like, you should also learn about increasing your Instagram followers. Here is complete guide on how to get more Instagram followers for free.

What benefits will you get?

Once you have traffic on your account, you can circulate that traffic on different social media.

For example, if you are planning to start a YouTube channel and you already have a considerable number of followers on your Instagram handle then you can promote your YouTube channel on your Instagram account.

You can do the same thing with Facebook and your website.

You will start getting sponsorships once you have enough followers. 

Affiliate marketing can also add up to your revenue. Here is a complete guide for you if you want to learn Affiliate Marketing.

If you want to learn more about Instagram marketing then check out this article on how to become an Instagram marketing expert in 2020.

How many hashtags are enough?

Well, generally you have the option of using 30 hashtags at once but you can use 5 to 6 hashtags.

For example, if I want to post something about the shoe brand, let’s say men’s fit which has a tag line ‘stay fit’ during IPL season then I will use following hashtags to promote my brand.

#mensfits

#stayfit

#fitindia

#mensfashion

#iplseason

#ipl2020

See, I just used 6 hashtags but they very precisely define my brand and its uniqueness. This is what you need to do. Find yours and use it accordingly.

Here is an example of a team member’s account. One of his hobbies is to write slam poetry and he performed it at an event. Now, when he posted this on Instagram he used 6 hashtags which were

#poetry

#manzur

#poemsofinstagram

#instanitians

#poet

#poemsandquotes

Now, four hashtags were related to the poetry, #manzur was a word in his poem, and #instanitians is a community of NIT students he belonged to. 

Let’s look at the results!

If you see the insights, you will find that at the time this article was written his post reached around 429 accounts from which 57% were not following him!

Let’s do some math,

57% of 429 is around 244. That means it reached 185 accounts that were following him and 244 accounts that were not my followers! See the magic!

This is how hashtags work for you!

Is there any other way to increase likes?

Surprisingly, yes there are some websites from which you can buy likes. Of course, it is paid but these websites claim to give you real likes on your profile. Some of the websites even give your first 100 likes for free like like4like.com.

 

Some marketing agencies also claim to increase your likes and followers but all these are secondary options. Try to do it on your own for the most authentic results.

To Summarize

1. You can use proper hashtags according to your content to increase your likes and followers.
2. Try to understand your niche and use hashtags accordingly.
3. Your hashtags should match with your content.
4. Work on your content so that it can stand out in the competition.
5. Use local hashtags and use hashtags in the comment.
6. Create your hashtags and promote them.
7. Try to use the hashtags in your Instagram bio.
8. You can use monitoring tools to find a perfect and trendy hashtag for your profile.