Can someone please explain how hashtags work on Instagram... ?

[Dee*Jay]

So at the risk of revealing yet again my technology moronory... how do hashtags work on Instagram? I created a page and made some posts but how and where am I supposed to put hashtags? And please tell me (in plain English) what the benefit of these are? I thinnnnnk they somehow put your page (or maybe individual posts?) into results based on key words that people use in their searches... but my understanding on that could be flawed too.

All this new fangled technology is just... well... MUCH sometimes!

 

[kenny]

So at the risk of revealing yet again my technology moronory... how do hashtags work on Instagram? I created a page and made some posts but how and where am I supposed to put hashtags? And please tell me (in plain English) what the benefit of these are? I thinnnnnk they somehow put your page (or maybe individual posts?) into results based on key words that people use in their searches... but my understanding on that could be flawed too.

All this new fangled technology is just... well... MUCH sometimes!

Hey GoFriend, you got me beat when it comes to technology moronity.
At least you're on Instagram!

I make the Amish look like teenage geeks.

 

[LilAlex]

No takers? OK, I will try. I only browse on IG.

Adding a hashtag makes the post discoverable when someone searches on that hashtag. At least that seems to be the strategy employed by the lithe, braless Eastern European women that randomly surface with 50 hashtags per post like #ladymodel #prettylady #mostseximodel, etc.

And someone here will point out that they show up for me because the algorithm seems to think that attracts my attention -- however transiently. Like they know me. Along those lines: Spouse is freaked out by snakes. Every time she gets a snake "reel" on IG, she throws her phone. Literally; I am not making this up. (I can be in the next room and hear a thump -- and I know it was a snake reel.) But because the reel keeps looping for minutes while the phone is unattended on the floor (and while I wander in to make sure it's just the usual), IG sagely infers "This lady loves cobra jump-scares!!"...and queues them up at every opportunity. We have talked about how to break this cycle. I have never been served a snake reel.

I don't quite get the utility of hashtags, tbh, since if it's a trending hashtag, your post is immediately buried by the avalanche of new ones. And the flip side is when you use what to you seems like a rational-sounding hashtag and it's just you and a two-year old post of a guy posing with a Kalashnikov or something and you're like did I misspell a word or...?!?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Kenny, my friend, I'm not far behind you! I've still got a fax number (albeit via and E fax at this point) and Steve Jobs practically had to pry my Blackberry out of my hands while I kicked and screamed on the floor like a toddler throwing a tantrum! But every once in a while I drag myself forward jusssssstttt a litttttttlllllle. In the interest of full disclosure, my Etsy store has now been open for two entire years before I was even willing to consider going to Instagram, LOL.

LilAlex, let's start with the important stuff... snakes... !!! Insert pants wetting emoji here <---

But seriously, THANK YOU! I think I understand now that the hashtags serve to "categorize" for lack of a better term. So if I put a hashtag #depressionglass in the comments anyone searching for depression glass should in theory see my post. Of course I'm not sure anyone on Instagram WOULD be searching for hundred year old wine glasses unless one of the Kardashians suddenly developed a penchant for Fostoria, but I guess there's no harm in trying!

 

[vintageinjune]

I like to think of hashtags as a file system - each one you add to a post places that post into that "file" that others can search for. So, you can place a single post into
-#depressionglass and #hobbies #coolstuff #historyisneat (so one post, but placed in four searchable files).
Anyone who searches for #depressionglass, #hobbies, #coolstuff, or #historyisneat, your post will be put into the output results for those tags, along with all the other posts using the same hashtag.

Hashtags are added to the text area when you create a post, after whatever description you wish to use, you just type them in.
Example: Look at this amazing 100 year old wine glass I found! #depressionglass - when you type in #depressionglass, a menu will pop up underneath to let you see that hashtag, along with other related hashtags that you can choose to add. It also lets you see how many posts are in that "file"/ how many posts also use that same hashtag.

This information could be useful to help you broaden the number of places people can find your post.
Currently, #depressionglass has 102,248+ posts, #depressionglassware has 7,561, and #depressionglasslove has 79.
Using all 3 hashtags gives the widest coverage, but if someone doesn't want to wade through 100k+ posts, they might choose to look at the one with fewer results to see if that helps them find what they are looking for.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

One thing to note, if the profile you are posting from is set to "private" hashtags will do nothing for you if you use them in your own posts, your posts are still only viewable by those who you allow to view them.

 

[Karl_K]

They are the reason I don't do Instagram, mega high garbage to signal ratio.
They are basically keywords for searching.
When someone does a search, what terms do you want your stuff coming up under?
Use to many and you might tick people off because they have to scroll way to much, use not enough they will never find ya.

#instagramsucks
*grin*

 

[Dee*Jay]

Vintageinjune -- wow, thank you for that info! I would have never thought about the number of posts associated with a specific hashtag and how many might be TOO many. Hm. Need to mull on this a while.

Asscher, LOL, I just had to make sure I was "public" because god knows that the kind of thing I'd do -- make an account and then not let anyone see it!

Stormy, I'm not adept at social media In Any Way! I don't even have a facebook account. So this is like speaking a foreign language to me, ha ha.

I have no idea of my half-a$$ed attempts at hashtags contributed to this, but a wine shop did ask if they could share one of my images. I'm taking that as a positive thing!