Learn 📚
Pricing
BlogInstagram Hashtags

How to Start Your Hashtag Research and Improve Your Strategy

We give you the full rundown on how to start your hashtag strategy and get on the road to increasing your Instagram reach by over 40%.

Posted 3 years ago
how to start hashtag strategy

Written by

Julia Cohen
Posted 3 years ago
Starting anything can be difficult. It can seem like a daunting task, especially when you are in unfamiliar territory, and the commitment to starting a new hashtag strategy isn’t any different. Trying to tackle hashtags effectively for the first time can be intimidating because there are so many ins and outs, as well as strategic hacks that aren’t necessarily common knowledge when you first set up your Instagram page. Even though you know that hashtags can increase your reach by up to 40%, and get your content in front of your target audience, you need to learn how to get there.
This is why we have created our new course, which includes assignments, an 8 Post Hashtag Challenge, and videos to explain everything you need to know about starting your hashtag research – all for free. In this article, we’re going to talk a little bit about what you need to kickstart your strategy and prepare for the course so that you can start using hashtags with ease.

How to Start Your Hashtag Research and Improve Your Strategy

Set your goals

The best way to start any strategy is by asking yourself what you want to achieve. Why do you want to improve your hashtag strategy? Is it to:
  • Increase your following?
  • Build a personal brand?
  • Sell a product?
  • Gain more authority within your industry?
  • Reach a specific audience?
It’s important to take note and keep your goals top of mind. That way, when you are working on your strategy, and implementing it into your routine, you don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. A lot of people find it easier when they can tick off certain milestones as they go – so you can also set micro goals to track your progress along the way. This will help you stay motivated, and will show you that your strategy is paying off, in real-time. Here are some examples of micro goals you can set yourself:
  • Reach 100 new followers
  • Increase your reach by 15%
  • Create 10 different hashtag Collections, tailored to your account
  • Understand hashtag metrics
As you can see, your micro goals can relate to your learning in any way. Not only does it make the task at hand a lot less daunting, but it also helps you understand exactly what it is you want to achieve, and how you’re going to get there. We suggest keeping your goals to hand, whether on your desktop, notes or a piece of paper on your desk.

Dedicate enough time to acing your strategy the first time

Something that we like to reiterate a lot, is that your hashtag strategy and that all-important performance – is a marathon, not a sprint. There are no shortcuts when it comes to gaining organic growth on Instagram, so it is essential that you put the time and effort into getting your strategy where it needs to be, before you start posting.
Whether you are fitting the course into a busy work schedule, or you have time to spare, it’s important to set and dedicate time to both your learnings and your research. This will make you feel more structured when you sit down and start learning, and will also ensure that you are spending enough time on building out the foundations of your research. Depending on how quickly or slowly you like to work, set a time that is right for you every day, that you can dedicate to improving and learning all there is to know about hashtags.

Get analytical

A lot of people can be metric-phobic. What do we mean by this? There are a lot of creators and accounts out there that prefer to focus on being creative and sending their content out into the world without paying attention to or monitoring metrics. When it comes to hashtag research however, metrics are your best friend, and we will touch a lot on how they can help you really improve your reach.
Even if you aren’t analytical in your normal strategy, it’s easy to get to grips with what we will teach you – the essential metrics for hashtag research. If you want to get a head start, take a look at your current Instagram posts. Head to the Insights section and see how well you are performing via hashtags currently – this is shown by the percentage of Impressions you are getting via hashtags on posts where you use them. If you have Flick’s Analytics Suite, you can start to look at which specific hashtags you are ranking highly on, which is key when it comes to your research and deciding which hashtags to use going forward.

Do your background research

Our course is designed for anyone – and that means anyone. Whether you are a beginner or an avid hashtag user, this course is for you. We will take you through all the basics of hashtags and hashtag research, but if you want to get a basic understanding of how hashtags work, before you dive in, we suggest reading our Instagram Hashtag Guide. This will give you everything you need to know about hashtags from start to finish, which will help you with your course material as you go on.
We hope you enjoyed this article, all about how you can prepare yourself and get started with your hashtag research and strategy. If you would like to sign up to our free course, just click here, or on the banner below!

Content

How to Start Your Hashtag Research and Improve Your Strategy


Talk Social To Me

Get the latest social media gossip, memes, news and tips sent straight to your inbox.

More articles related to
Instagram Hashtags
Best Instagram Hashtag Research Tools
Best Instagram Hashtag Research Tools

Best Instagram Hashtag Research Tools in 2024

Explore the best Instagram Hashtag Research Tools of 2024. Find your ideal tool for maximum engagement and reach on Instagram with our comprehensive guide.

Mackenzie Taylor

2 months ago

pinterest marketing
pinterest marketing

The Complete Guide to Pinterest Marketing

Looking to start marketing your business on Pinterest? Here’s your comprehensive guide to Pinterest marketing.

Mackenzie Taylor

1 month ago

Best tools for facebook
Best tools for facebook

Best Tools for Facebook in 2024

Discover the best Facebook tools of 2024 for effective social media management, including Flick, Sprout Social, and more. Elevate your Facebook strategy.

Mackenzie Taylor

8 days ago

Return to Blog Home

All-in-one Social Marketing Platform.

Product

Instagram Hashtag ToolInstagram SchedulerInstagram Analytics ToolHashtag SearchHashtag ManagerBanned Hashtag CheckerInstagram Analytics ReportingInstagram Hashtag TrackerInstagram Feed PlannerAI Social Marketing Tool

© 2023 Flick.Tech LTD | All rights reserved.