Hashtag Heaven

Intimidating. Too hard. Unecessary.

These are some of the ways you guys have described hashtags to me. As someone who has seen the power of them growing my audience when my IG page was in its infancy, I want to empower you all to use them with confidence! That’s why I’m giving you 100ish to form the basis of your own hashtag bunches. But first, how to search for and find good ones on your own? First, look to the bottom of the app.

Once you’ve hit the… magnifying glass? Search glass?! Well, once you’ve hit the icon circled, type the beginning of a word or phrase.

Right now (you know its always subject to change!) accounts will come up first. Hit the “all results” and select “tags”. Now you’ll be able to see how many uses it has and similar ones. Try using the beginning of words and see what else comes up that is also relevant to you.

Another option is clicking into a hashtag you’d like to dominate in, choosing a top picture and seeing what other hashtags that one uses. I built up a pretty sweet collection using this method!

Some general info

• Hashtags can be used to search directly by potential customers, stockists, collaborators, market organisers etc. (Truth- its happened to me). They also help get your stuff seen by the right people- If they follow similar tags to what you’re using, they’re much more likely to have your stuff appear on their Explore page. 

• Using the same one(s) over and over can see you being excluded from that tag. Mixing it up is for the best!

• You may not see your posts under a tag- using it is not a guarantee that you’ll appear there when the tag is searched.

• A post can use up to 30, and just 3 for stories.

• The debate rages on for how many you should use. So long as they are accurate, relevant and decent sized, I’m an advocate for using the whole 30.

• Using Americanised as well as English spelling of words (the obvious ones being jewellery/jewelry and colour/color) allows you to be found by a whole other market.

• New info suggests that the best spot for hashtags is in with your caption, and not a comment. I’ve been using them in my comments for years with good results, and I don’t reaaaally think it makes the hugest difference, to be honest, but I’m following the new guide!

You can’t just hit the enter button to go to a new line/make a new paragraph on Instagram, but you can do that in your phone’s notes app and then copy and paste over to the caption. Often you see people with a full stop between paragraphs- personally I hate it- and this way you don’t need that (how even do you do that? What are they doing?!). I like a line of space before my hashtag bunch, and personally I like them side by side rather than one to a line.

 Now for the sweet collection

Go through and copy and paste them, move them around, into sections. I’d recommend grouping them into these three categories for three types of IG posts:

1. Focus on you/your small business in general 

2. Focus on the finished product/a release

3. Focus on behind the scenes/work in progress

Your own brand

#tweeandme 

I had #tweeonme to encourage people to share their selfies with their earrings… it was too close to #twerkonme 🥴 needless to say, I abandoned it!

Geographical

#handmadeinaustralia

#handmadeaustralia

#australianhandmade

#australiansmallbusiness

#australianartist

#aussiebusiness

#smallbusinessaustralia

#australianfashion

#australiandesign

#australiandesigner

#australianlabel

#sydneymade

#innerwestisbest

It goes without saying that you need to change these for your state or country! You can go all the way to your government area or suburb if that’s a thing where you are, as it is for me in Sydney’s Inner West

Small biz

#smallbusiness

#smallbusinessowner

#smallbusinesslove

#smallbusinesslife

#smallbusinessau

#smallbusinesswoman

#smallbusinessbigdreams

#smallbiz

#smallbizau

#smallbizlife

#smallbizsquad

#smallbizlove

#smallbizowner 

#womanownedbusiness

#womenowned

#shopsmall

#supportsmallbusiness

#shopsmallspreadlove

You

#entrepreneur

#entrepreneurlife

#entrepreneurmindset

#ladystartup

#girlssupportgirls

#womensupportingwomen

#womensupportwomen

#womensupportingeachother

#designersofinsta

#designer

Handmade focus

#handmadejewellery

#handmadejewelry

#handmadejewellerydesign

#handmadejewelrydesign

#handmadejewellerydesigner

#handmadejewelrydesigner

#handmadeearrings

#handmadewithlove

#handmadegifts

#handmadeisbetter

#handmadebyme

#handmadehustle

#handmadegift

#handmadegiftsarethebest

#handmadeaccessory

#handmadestyle

#handmadedesigns

#handmadeseller

#ilovehandmade

Ethos

#slowfashion

#slowmadefashion

#createtocreate

#makingmakesmehappy

#buylesschoosewell

#makersmovement

#mindfulmaking

#makersgonnamake

#whatwewear

#calledtocreate 

#ootd

#funwithfashion

#makersvillage

Specific to the product 

#earringsoftheday

#earringlover

#earringlove

#earringlovers

#earringobsession

#earringobsessed 

#handmadeearrings

#handmadeearringsforsale

#earringsofinstagram

#earringstyle

#earringshop

#earringswag

#earringaddict

#earringfashion

#iloveearrings

#lightweightearrings

#uniqueearrings

The medium 

#polymerclay

#polymerclayearrings

#polymerclaydesign

#polymerclayjewellery

#polymerclayjewelry

#polymerclayaccessories

#sculpey

#sculpeyclay

#clayearrings

BTS/work in progress 

#polymerclayslab

#polymerclaycane

#polymerclaytutorial

#polymerclaytechnique

#slabsunday

#slaboftheday

#wipart

Descriptors

#colorfulearrings

#colourfulearrings

#brightearrings

#boldearrings

#statementearrings

#statementjewellery

#statementjewelery

#statementstuds 

#hoopearrings

#hypoallergenicearrings

#earringsforsensitiveears

#classicearrings

#pastelgoth

#pastelaesthetic

#pastelearrings

#prettyearrings

#prettyjewellery 

#rainbowaesthetic

#rainbowstyle

#rainbowearrings

#rainbowmakesmehappy

#flowers

#floraldesign

#floralearrings

#floralstyle

#flowerpower

#flowerdesign

#foodieearrings

#foodearrings

#abstractearrings

#teacherearrings 

That’s it! I hope you find this handy!

xx Erin