Across social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, & Tik Tok you can tag social media content using hashtags. This enables other users to see a collection of related content when they click on the hashtag. You simply put the # sign in front of the words you want to use.
Hashtags are a way to improve the user experience while also helping brands widen their reach. For instance, Tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement then Tweets without. While Hashtags started on Twitter, but they have found success across virtually all social media platforms now. In fact, using hashtags as part of your universal social media strategy can help you easily secure 21% more engagement.
Hashtags are a handy way to organize content on social media. They help prospective customers and users find what they are looking for, but what happens if you use a banned Hashtag? Banned hashtags are hashtags that Instagram users have reported because the posts using them go against Instagram’s guidelines. This means that any post that uses that hashtag will be hidden, which will only hurt your organic reach and growth efforts.
Banned hashtags are always changing, based on community reports and Instagram’s investigations. Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t publish a list of the currently banned hashtags, but we are here to assist. While most users wouldn’t post inappropriate content with otherwise innocent hashtags. Instead, these posts typically come from bots or spam accounts, so this is another way that Instagram is trying to crack down on fake accounts to make the Instagram platform a better experience for its real users.
Hashtags are customized and unique to each business. Some people mistakenly believe that spamming each of their posts with popular, but completely unrelated hashtags will help them improve their reach.
This might be true in the short term, but ultimately if your hashtags aren’t at least tangentially related to the subject of your post or other content, you might end up alienating and confusing your audience. So, the best hashtags to use are those that relate to your industry, product, and target audience.
Why does Instagram ban hashtags?
Instagram bans hashtags because of reports from users. Typically it happens because people are posting inappropriate content and using certain hashtags. Some of the hashtags that are banned, though, are ones you wouldn’t necessarily expect, like #beautyblogger. Sometimes, though, close alternatives are still okay. In this case, #beautybloggers, with an “s” on the end, is not banned and works just fine.
Are you using banned hashtags unintentionally? Take a look through this list and see if you’ve used any of these recently you might be shocked to see a common or harmless hashtag is actually banned. If you have a post that didn’t perform well and it used one or more of these hashtags, you might have found your answer.
- #adulting
- #always
- #beautyblogger
- #besties
- #boho
- #brain
- #costumes
- #date
- #dating
- #direct
- #hardworkpaysoff
- #hotweather
- #hustler
- #instasport
- #kansas
- #kickoff
- #loseweight
- #mustfollow
- #newyearsday
- #overnight
- #parties
- #rate
- #ravens
- #saltwater
- #skateboarding
- #single
- #skype
- #snap
- #snapchat
- #snowstorm
- #sunbathing
- #valentinesday
- #workflow
Avoid Banned Hashtags
When it comes to picking out hashtags for your business there are many different hashtag strategies companies can use. The most common is to create a large bank of hashtags that are compatible with the business and the posts typically posted. Another strategy is to create a post and then come up with the hashtags needed right there on the spot without having a bank to choose from already. This is certainly the most time-intensive way, and if you don’t have your hashtag list ready before you hit “Post,” you’re wasting precious time as the Instagram algorithm begins ranking and sorting the moment the post is published. No matter which method you use to add your hashtags, it’s a good idea to check them first to make sure you aren’t using a banned Instagram hashtag.
Because Instagram uses bans like these to find and eliminate fake accounts, it’s important that you watch your behavior so it doesn’t come across as spammy. One way to do this is by mixing up your hashtag usage. If you use the same 10 hashtags on every single post, that’s an indication to Instagram that you might be a bot or a fake account. Instead, use different hashtags that apply directly to the image and the content of your caption. The algorithm can see if the hashtags you use match the objects in the image you posted, and this can help show that you are a real person running a real account.
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