Starting fresh: New Age Marketing Plan

What's the best marketing strategy now once a social media platform reaches the monetization phase? It's no difficult task to change with the times but the audience has a little more control over if you grow or shrink. Here is a tip to help!

Let's talk about Instagram because other social media are different from the hashtag approach. TikTok use hashtags but they are still growth phase. Facebook and Snapchat work more on actual growth locally than globally unless you're trying to sell (another blog needed).

Instagram is completely based on growth from stories and selling and doesn't use hashtags anymore as the main stage for growth. Ads in the past decade are becoming more pushed by Instagram. What do I do now?

My hashtags are not working, Help! We all know that hashtags are the things that keep the Instagram world going around.

They are the lifeblood of the Instagram marketing world, and if you’re not making the most of them, you could be missing out on some serious profits for your brand.

Hashtags either work or they don’t, and Instagram makes it pretty hard to keep up with what’s what a lot of the time. If you’re having trouble figuring out your hashtag game and you’re not quite sure what’s up, I'm here to tell you that it’s easier than you think.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for your hashtags not working.

“Don't give up; the beginning is always the hardest part.”

You've been shadowbanned!

What’s shadowbanning, you ask? Shadowbanning is when Instagram thinks that the hashtags you’re using are explicit, banned, or inappropriate, and they restrict the reach of your content.

This means that your posts will only be visible to your existing audience, which is obviously going to make it pretty hard to find new people to follow you and take an interest.

You also need to watch out for those popular or trending hashtags, too. Anything that Instagram deems spammy or dodgy hashtag behavior, they will shadowban. If you think this is the case, try chilling out on the hashtags for a couple of days. You can also contact Instagram about the issue, too.

Your Hashtags Have no Relevance

If your content is mainly about food, and you’re using hashtags that are more to do with drinks, for example, it’s going to be pretty hard for your target audience to find you.

While there are some pretty trendy, popular hashtags out there that everyone wants on their content, if they’re not specifically connected to your posts, they’re not going to get you very far. You need to make sure that they are completely relevant to your content.

You’re Using Hashtags that have Been Banned

I mentioned this briefly when I talked about shadowbanning above. The reality is, that Instagram stays on top of things like this, and if it thinks that a hashtag has become too popular or it’s inappropriate, it will be banned. This could be one of the biggest reasons why you’re not getting a lot of reach with your hashtags – because it’s hard to know which have been banned and which haven’t.

This is why it’s vital to do a bit of research on your hashtags before you jump right into using them – you never know the history behind them, and whether they’re going to end up hindering or helping your profile.

You’re Using the Same Hashtags on Every Post

One hashtag strategy that a lot of Instagram users have picked up on is to type out all of their favorite hashtags in their notes on their phone, and then save it so that every time they upload content, they can simply copy and paste them into the caption or comments section.

While this is a great, efficient way to do things, it could be one of the reasons why you’re not getting enough reach on Instagram.

This is because it looks spammy to Instagram, and if they think that you’re being spammy with your engagement and growth in general, they might decide to shadowban you. I recommend up to 50 hashtags that are relevant to your profile and then dividing them into three or four groups that you can rotate.

Your Hashtags Are Too Broad

Broader hashtags have been helpful and preferred for many Instagram users since the popular social media website first started out because they help people reach a wider audience. However, the downside to using broad hashtags is that your content is at risk of getting lost in the fray.

The more posts that are attached to a hashtag, the harder it’s going to be for you to stand out. Again, as I suggested before, try to keep your hashtags as specific as you can. This way, while you may not be able to reach as many people with them, you will be able to reach the right ones that are genuinely going to be interested in your content.

“Be original, show off your style, and tell your story.”

Final conclusion.

It’s tough out there in the world of Instagram and hashtags. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that it’s a great place to promote your brand and gain a loyal following.

However, it takes hard work and dedication and knowing everything there is to know about using hashtags. The more you are aware that there could be something wrong with your hashtag approach, the better you can adjust it for success.

Here's one of the websites I use for my own personal Instagram marketing. https://taskant.com/