Oh, hashtags, how we love you/don’t love you.

Do you even know what hashtags are? Or do you long for a bit more hashtag-howto?

Kitchen Table CEOs is here to help. Let’s answer all of your hashtag questions and tell you how to heighten your hashtag how-to game and incorporate them into your social media strategy.

First Off, What is a Hashtag?

The best way to think of a hashtag is to imagine a filing system. Each hashtag is like a folder where you can find all of the Instagram posts (or other social messages) that have the same hashtag written on them; all of these posts are stored in the same folder together within the platform they are posted (Instagram, Facebook, etc). 

So when someone out there in the social world decides to search up #labradorpuppies then they will be taken to a page (folder) where all of the posts that used #labradorpuppies will come up and that person can scroll through all of the other adorable pictures that have been posted by like-minded labrador-loving people.

Some hashtags (folders) are massive (millions of different posts) i.e. #love and some are very tiny i.e #myadorablesonTobySmith (only a proud Mom of this boy would use this hashtag).

Does that make sense?

How Do I Create a Hashtag

In order to create a hashtag you simply use the # sign followed by a word, phrase, or combination of words. It is important to note when you are starting out, there are no spaces, punctuation, or symbols allowed in hashtags, but you can use numbers. #20awesomehashtags

How Many HashTags

You are able to include up to 30 hashtags on an Instagram post; that doesn’t mean that you have to use all 30.  I get it, coming up with 30 really good hashtags seems pretty daunting, and in my opinion, including too many is a bit overwhelming to the eye and can seem a bit disingenuous.

Aim for 5 great ones your first couple of weeks and then gradually add 5 more each week. I would aim for between 10-20. Fewer really effective targeted hashtags are better for you and your business than a slew of overly generic hashtags that will do nothing for your business. Yes, you want followers, but you also want the right followers who are potential customers.

Do you use hashtags or want to start but need more information? 

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From my kitchen table to yours,