Instagram's Hashtag Insights Feature
A brand new feature for business Instagram accounts was released in early 2019 that allows users to see exactly what hashtags are bringing them the most impressions!
This major update is incredibly beneficial. You can only use 30 hashtags per photo, so it's great to know which hashtags are working for you, and which to toss.
To view your impressions from hashtags, go to a recent post, then below your photo, tap "View Insights" then scroll to the bottom! You must have a business account for this to work. If you have not set your account as a business profile yet, read this blog post to learn how.
Note: Instagram rolls out their features, meaning some accounts will be able to access this feature before others. I personally do not have this feature yet, but some of my clients do. If you cannot see your hashtag insights yet, just be patient - it'll be there soon!
Make a note somewhere (I use the notes app on my phone) to keep track of the hashtags that are working best for you. Write down the top 5 hashtags for each post (unfortunately, Instagram’s Hashtag Insights only shows you the top 5 hashtags that you used). Just because a hashtag does not show up as one of the top 5 does not mean that it is not bringing you lots of impressions, so don’t discount the other 25 hashtags right away!
By keeping track of the top 5 hashtags for each post, over time you'll be able to see which hashtags are never quite bringing in impressions, and which always do!
If you're an analytical person, you can keep a running excel spreadsheet to track your hashtags more specifically with the exact count. I would wait at least 48 hours before logging hashtags.
If you don’t have the Hashtag Insights feature yet, there are other tools you can use to test the effectiveness of your hashtags. We love Smarthash - Smarthash is an awesome app that actually analyses the hashtags that you’re using on your posts and tells you which ones are driving engagement and which ones are duds. By paying attention to Smarthash, you can adjust your strategy until you’re using 30 hashtags that are all bringing in the likes and comments!
To learn the hashtag strategies that helped us to go from 0 - 36,000 followers in less than a year, be sure to check out our ebook, The Boss Babe’s Guide to Hashtags! It includes our favorite strategies, tips, and tricks, as well as thousands of well-researched hashtags in the following niches: girlboss, blogger, creative, food, dessert, coffee, fashion, beauty, hair, travel, mom, photography, lifestyle, wedding, pets, fitness, books/writers, and home/decor.