[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Wowza. That’s the word I used the first time I saw my yoga hashtags on Instagram actually work in an Instagram post. The legend was true! But let’s not kid, hashtags are an Instagram enigma, so that’s why I’m gonna break it down for you today.
For most of us yoga teachers, hashtags are an afterthought when it comes to creating your Instagram content. You’ve got your image, you’ve got your caption and you’re all set. And just to cover yourself you throw in the occasional #yoga or #yogateacher. Right?
Now I get that the thought of posting up to 30 hashtags to reach more potential students sounds like another job in itself. But fear not fellow yogi, I want to help you with your yoga hashtags so that they become the cherry on the top of your posts!
Why should yoga teachers be using hashtags?
While hashtags are not the be-all and end-all of an Instagram post, they definitely have a special place if you want to grow your following, increase your engagement and reach more ideal students. The problem is that it takes more than #yoga to make that happen, you gotta be using hashtags with intention.
Think of a hashtag as Instagram’s filing system and they sort all the content on the gram into categories, making it a cool way to discovered by new potential students. By using hashtags in your Instagram posts, the hashtags expand your reach by organizing photos and videos with similar content.
The hashtags you choose, when you choose them properly are the ones your ideal students are paying attention to. Think about it like this: A piece of good content coupled with the right hashtags will help you reach the right potential students.
Hashtag ground rules
- Keep them short. People actually search hashtags so if you are typing #thehardestyogaposeissavasna might feel like a true statement, but it won’t expand your reach (and that’s the whole point right?).
- Narrow your niche. While #yoga is very popular, it isn’t specific enough. Think of someone who is pregnant searching for advice or a teacher. Would they search for #yoga or #yogapregnancy?
- Look at the numbers. In this instance, less is more. If you see a hashtag that has been used over 1 million times, chances are your post won’t be seen in the feed.
How to rock hashtags?
1. Make your content awesome
Before you choose your hashtags, you gotta look at your content. If your content ain’t up to scratch, then your hashtags won’t reach their full potential. Here are some tips on how you can give your content a little extra pizzazz:
- Get clear on who you’re talking to. In other words, identify your ideal student. If you can’t imagine the person reading your message on the other end of the phone, then it doesn’t matter what you create, because your message won’t resonate.
- Nurture your niche. What is your area of expertise? What do people come to you for? Answering these questions will not only help you stand out, but they’ll also help you hone in on your awesomeness and position you as an expert in your field.
- Share value. People come onto Instagram for 3 things – to be educated, entertained, or inspired. If your content doesn’t tick one of those boxes, you are not adding value to your people. If you’re not adding value, then they probably will just scroll on by.
Bottom line, if you want your content to stand out in Instagram hashtag feeds, then you have to make sure it aligns with the hashtag while speaking to your ideal student.
2. Create a hashtag library
This may sound like more housekeeping, but if you do this properly, you only have to do it once.
- Create a spreadsheet and divide the columns into your content themes (basically, anything else that you share on Instagram beyond yoga).
- Write down words that come to mind in the theme for example “plant-obsessed”. Fill up your library with words.
- Go and search-related hashtags to those words for example #plantobsession
- Fill up your library with relevant hashtags.
Now you can access this library each time you post and have a strategy behind your hashtags!
3. Use 30 hashtags.
Instagram allows you to use all 30 hashtags, so go on and do it! When you have a hashtag library it makes it easy to copy-paste your hashtags as you post, or you can use a scheduling app like Later and store them there. Mix up your hashtags and do it.
4. Align your hashtags to your post.
Whatever you post about, your hashtags must align with your content. Here’s a friendly tip, Instagram will actually penalize your account if you constantly use hashtags that are unconnected to the content in the post. They also don’t like it if you use the same list of hashtags every time. So mix up the hashtags in your library.
There you go lovely yogis, I hope you’re #readytogo with your hashtags and are able to reach a whole lotta peeps who need your yogic touch.
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