How to Grow Your Instagram Account with Hashtags

{Photo Credit: Flickr, Roberta Cortese}

A little over a year ago, I began my journey on Instagram (@randigarrettdesign) as a way to store my design projects in one place, kind of as a portfolio. Over the year, my little portfolio has grown to an account of 80,000 followers, many of whom have become my closest friends. That is truly humbling. I have been inspired and lifted by so many talented and kind people through this social network and have learned that social media can be a powerful influence for good.

I’ve learned a few tricks over the past year that I wanted to share with you. I’m going to show you how to grow your Instagram account with hashtags.

What exactly is a hashtag?

Most of you already know, some may not. Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t what one is, that’s why you are here, to learn!!!  A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and is used to identify messages on a specific topic or group photos together with a common theme.

For example, #masterbedroom could be used to describe the photo below…

When using a hashtag, spaces are an absolute no-no. Even if your hashtag contains multiple words, group them all together. If you want to differentiate between words, use capitals instead (#MasterBedroom). Uppercase letters will not alter your search results, so searching for #MasterBedroom will yield the same results as #masterbedroom.

Why are hashtags important?

Instagram is a sea of countless photographs. Viewers wade through as many as they can until their time is spent or they get bored. The percentage of people who will stumble upon your picture is small. Using a hashtag that viewers are specifically looking for will drive followers to your specific photo.  Hashtags put photographs into categories, allowing users to search for content that is most useful to them individually.

For example, say I wanted some inspiration for my master bedroom, I would type #masterbedroom in the search bar and anyone else who has used that same hashtag pops up.  You have now narrowed your search and can scroll through photos for exactly what you are looking for.

Viewers are looking for inspiration.  You have it. But, so do the rest of the millions of users utilizing Instagram. By using a hashtag, you are creating a way for followers to find the exact inspiration they are looking for.

In a nut shell, by attaching hashtags to your photos, you are categorizing photos for followers to easily find exactly what they are looking for.

Which hashtags do I use?

With so many options, narrowing down which hashtags to use can seem overwhelming.  Let me share with you a few ways I use hashtags and which hashtags I use for my posts.

I use hashtags three ways…

1. To categorize my posts
2. Link products in my posts to the companies from where the items are purchased
3. To participate in design challenges with other accounts

1.

First categorizing: We talked about how putting your post in a category with a hashtag helps followers find your specific content, now let me share with you my favorite hashtags to categorize my photos.  I like to sort my photos by room, season, holiday and theme. These categories are specific, yet broad enough to allow large numbers of followers to find my posts easily.  Here is a list of some of most favorite hashtag categories:

#familyroom, #kitchen, #bathroom, #diningroom, #masterbedroom, #homeoffice, #guestroom, #porch, #springtablescape (substitute the appropriate season or holiday), #summerdecorideas (substitute the appropriate season), #christmasdecorideas (substitute the appropriate holiday), #pinkfloralarrangement (substitute the correct color).

2.

Secondly, I like to use hashtags of companies from which items in the photo were purchased. Above is a photo of my #masterbathroom.

If I were posting this to my Instagram account I would include the hashtags, #target, #frontgate, #homegoods and #restorationhardware, because these are the companies in which products where bought to decorate the room. It’s just another way to categorize your post. These companies are well known and well searched, so linking your posts to them will drive followers to your account.

3.

Lastly, participate in design challenge hashtags.  Design challenge hashtags are contests in which a group of hosts (different Instagram accounts) present a topic for you to post a photo. There are numerous challenges everyday. Just look for posts like this with a hashtag on the post…

Currently I am teamed up with a few gals  (@decorgold @zdesignathome @thelesliestyle @oliveandford) in a weekly design challenge called #BrightWhiteWednesday. Each week participants post a photo showing how they use white in their decor and use the hashtag #BrightWhiteWednesday.

Playing along with this challenge groups you with other followers who share a love of white and who enjoy using white in design. Even followers who don’t participate in the challenge scroll through the hashtag for inspiration, driving more traffic to your feed. If you are selected as the winner of a challenge you are featured on all of the hosts feeds as the winner, which in turn brings more people to your feed.

When you participate in challenges, you meet new people and discover other accounts. It is a wonderful way to connect with people.

A few hashtag challenges that I have won over the last year, have driven more traffic, followers and friends to my account. Here are some of the photos that were selected as winners…

#showcaseyourspace

#mydesigndetails

#mykeypurchase

Hashtag challenges are always popping up.  Keep your eyes open for ones that suit your style and join in the fun. You will meet new people, gain inspiration all while growing your own account.

Here are a few of my favorite challenges that are currently running each week on Instagram…

#SwoonWorthySaturday hosted by @sheleavesalittlesparkle

#MoveItUpMonday hosted by @smalltowngirllife

#BrightWhiteWednesday hosted by @randigarrettdesign, @decorgold, @zdesignathome, @thelesliestyle, @oliveandford

I hope you can take these tips and use hashtags to help grow your own Instagram account! I’d love if you stopped by and said hi on Instagram! For more tips on how to grow your account check out my friend Jen’s post about how she grew her account.