More Instagram Followers for Las Vegas Business, Part 3: Use Hashtags to Increase Your Visibility

If you have a Twitter or Instagram account, you know about hashtags. You also probably realize that your fellow community members click on hashtags to access and read more content.

Now that you’re promoting your Las Vegas business on Instagram, hashtags are an impactful way to converse with loyal customers and attract new followers. But unless you’re a social media guru knowing how and when to incorporate hashtags into your Instagram posts can be downright confusing at times.

When used incorrectly, hashtags can also confuse your audience or even send the wrong message. If you’re not proficient at “hash-tagging” using the right number and types of hashtags to boost your Instagram visibility can be quite challenging.

Instagram Hashtag Basics

First, you’ll need to understand some Instagram hashtag basics. Hashtags are a great way to get your captions noticed, and to draw attention to a recent post or campaign. To bring it all seamlessly together, the hashtags you use need to be trending, relevant and popular.

While being relevant to audience members, your post’s hashtags should also tie into your brand, industry and local area. That perceived relevancy is also dependent upon anything and everything that your followers might find interesting, along with any content that you believe would help your message reach a broader Instagram audience.

Your Instagram Hashtag Strategy

Now that you’ve got the idea, it’s time to use hashtags to your advantage. Here’s how to develop an effective Instagram hashtag strategy:

Incorporate trending hashtags

Pick your ideal Instagram follower- which may be a competitor- and look for hashtags that they are using in their posts. But before you use the same hashtags make sure that they will add value to your message. If a hashtag has too few associated posts no one will see your post either because it’s not trending.

On the flipside, if the hashtag has too many associated posts your post will probably get lost in the milieu of relevant content connected to that hashtag. You can also search for a list of trending hashtags by typing a specific hashtag into the Instagram search bar.

Once you do, you’ll be able to see any related hashtags, along with how many times each has been used. To increase visibility weave some of those trending hashtags into the body of your caption. Two options are incorporating up to 10 hashtags at the very end of your post or as the first comment on your post.

Although Instagram allows you to add up to 30 hashtags per post, keep in mind that once you exceed 10 hashtags audience engagement tends to drop off.

The City of Las Vegas (@CityofLasVegas) is a prime example of a local Instagram account that effectively incorporates the right number of trending hashtags into their posts.

Use brand-focused hashtags

One of the best ways to bring your Instagram community of followers together is by creating your own brand-focused hashtag. Having a hashtag that’s unique to your brand allows your loyal customers to effortlessly converse about your business and share relevant content with others.

To start with, the hashtag could simply be the name of your business. The Encore Beach Club (@encorebeachclub) in Vegas uses the brand hashtag #encorebeachclub to promote their nightclub on Instagram- a strategy that’s helped them attract over 242,000 followers.

Or you can get a little creative with your brand hashtag. For example, if you’re a local restaurant that specializes in fine Asian cuisine you could use #AsianfoodVegas.

Industry hashtags

You can also use industry-related hashtags on Instagram to attract the attention of potential customers who are searching for similar businesses to yours- like bars, hotels or restaurants.

Before coming up with your hashtags spend a few minutes thinking about what your audience might be looking for, along with how your business answers their needs. For example, if you run a local gym use hashtags like #stayfitVegas or #bestLVworkout.

It’s always a good strategy to put yourself in the shoes of community members and then capture their attention by adding relevant content to your captions with hashtags.

Local hashtags

And finally, you can also boost visibility by weaving in some local hashtags that are trending in the Las Vegas Instagram community. That way you can attract the attention of audience members who are looking specifically for businesses just like yours in the city- or even in the same neighborhood.

For example, if you operate a business near downtown the Freemont Street Experience (@freemontstreet) is a popular Instagram account that uses the hashtag #LasVegas to promote local events, eateries, nightclubs and other attractions.

Adding their #LasVegas hashtag to your caption will be a great way to promote your brand,
along with any other relevant local content that Freemont Street Experience posts.

Are Your Instagram Hashtags Getting Noticed?

Using hashtags to promote your business on Instagram can be challenging, but it is important for your continued success. Our social media expertise is poured into developing an effective Instagram strategy that’s designed to increase your visibility in the Las Vegas market.