Identifying the Best Instagram Hashtags for Followers

instagram hashtags for followers

Before someone decides to follow you on Instagram, that person has to come across your post, decide that they like it enough that they want to see more, and ultimately hit that “Follow” button. That first step, getting your content in front of people who care most, starts with using the right Instagram hashtags for followers for your specific niche.

How exactly do you find the top Instagram hashtags for followers?

Hashtags that will specifically help you

The top Instagram hashtags for followers that are actually going to attract people interested in your page will change depending on your page.

Fortunately, regardless of the kind of page you have, the process for finding your own top Instagram hashtags for followers is the same for everyone.

As illustrated in the photo below, you can go to the Instagram app on your phone, search for a keyword related to your industry, choose a relevant hashtag, and note any related hashtag with a moderate to large following.

As for which hashtags to choose, your selection should contain a mixture of popular and more niche hashtags. If you choose all super-popular hashtags, you risk your content being drowned out. If you select all niche hashtags, you risk not reaching enough people. With a mixture of both, you can rest assured knowing that your content is reaching an effective number of people who you know are interested in your type of content and thus likely to convert to engaged followers.

If you want to learn even more about hashtag targeting, read this article.

General hashtags that may or may not help you get followers

Another good way to generate followers via hashtags is using something that has a general mass appeal.

For example, #instagood and #lovelife don’t necessarily apply exactly to what you’re posting but are something that someone can relate to instantly.

Forget what is specified in your post and think more about the general feeling your post gives off.

For example, if you are a dog food company posting about your new dog bowl product, instead of using only hashtags connected to dogs, you could also use less specific hashtags like #lifecompanion, #morningcuddles, #loveofmylife, and so on.

Depending on the day, you can also take advantage of general hashtags like #TBT (Throw Back Thursday). You can use a lofty hashtag like this for every day of the week in any one of your posts.

Hashtags that will get you anyone Likes (risk involved)

There are also general hashtags specifically designed to help get you more followers. These tend to be disingenuine and aren’t likely to result in follows from people who actually add value to your page.

These hashtags include:

  • #getfollowers
  • #getfollowersfast
  • #getfollowersnow
  • #follower4follower

Keep in mind that these types of disingenuine hashtags tend to get removed by Instagram, as happened with the popular #follow4follow.

Analyze your hashtag performance

Is one hashtag consistently producing better results than others?

While it’s difficult to test this if you are using multiple hashtags, you can test this by using one hashtag per post and see how well each post performs.

It’s not as easy to gauge how your hashtags affect your follower count as it is to gauge how your hashtags affect your engagement (likes, comments, etc.). However, you can still get an idea of how your hashtag selection affects your follower count by monitoring your growth.

Note what hashtags you use every week and see if any individual or group of hashtags result in more follower growth than others. You can do this manually or use a tool like Iconsquare or Ink361 to be more organized.

Once you get a good idea of how well each hashtag or group of hashtags performs, you can start building your Instagram hashtags for followers that you can use every time you post.

Conclusion

Know of any other ways to uncover Instagram hashtags to help you get more Likes? Drop your wisdom in the comments below!

By knowing what hashtags your target audience is using, you can target your actions in a way that best attracts exactly the kind of users on Instagram who is likely to follow you. You can automate this targeted outreach using a tool like AiGrow, which allows you to Like, comment, follow, unfollow. DM people based on what hashtags they’re using, where they’re located, and what competitors they follow.

Yet another way to guarantee more Likes and followers every time you post is engagement pods. Engagement pods are groups of Instagram users, usually from within the same niche, that agree to comment and Like each other’s content every time they post. You can learn how to find (or create) the perfect pod for you by reading this article or sign up for AiGrow Auto Pods to automate the entire process.