While interior photography may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Instagram, interior photographers should not neglect to build their brand on the world’s most popular image-sharing app.
In fact, interior photographers can benefit from the fact that competition on Instagram is less stiff than it is for many other photography categories, and therefore offers them better opportunities for exposure and engagement.
However, this only holds true if interior photographers understand how Instagram hashtags work and know how to use them appropriately.
Without this knowledge, building your presence on Instagram as an interior photographer can become an uphill battle that can leave you frustrated and demoralized.
Here are some insights into how Instagram hashtags work and how to use them effectively to market your interior photography services.
What are Instagram hashtags and what do they do?
While you already know what Instagram hashtags are, and have probably used them, misuse of hashtags is so common that it’s easy to get confused about what they are and what they do.
In essence Instagram hashtags are keywords combined with ‘#’ tags that give users the ability to categorize and contextualize images, helping Instagram segment its vast image database into various topics.
From a marketing perspective the value of Instagram hashtags comes from the fact that they can be used to view other images with the same tag, whether by searching for the hashtag on the app, or tapping on a hashtag on a post to view similar images.
How to use interior photography Instagram hashtags
The key to using interior photography hashtags effectively on Instagram is understanding how Instagram search results work.
Every time you run an Instagram hashtag search it provides you with two options for viewing the search results.
‘Top posts’ is the default view for hashtag search results. The top posts display the images that have the highest levels of engagement for that hashtag.
The more popular your post, the greater your chance of appearing in the top posts gallery. Also, the more popular the hashtag, the more engagement you will need with your post to appear there.
‘Recent posts’ is the second option for viewing hashtag search results. This displays tagged images in chronological order, from most recent to least recent.
While all tagged images will appear in the recent posts view, how long they are visible for will depend on how popular the hashtag is.
The more popular the hashtag, the faster recently posted images will be buried under new content.
For the most popular hashtags, this potentially means your images will only be visible to users who tap on recent posts in the split second after your post is published.
With hashtag popularity negatively affecting your visibility across all search results, the best strategy for unlocking better visibility in search results is to avoid targeting very popular hashtags, and instead improve your hashtag targeting.
This can include combining location keywords, interior design style keywords or any other words that define your post.
Shooting a baroque interior in Paris? Use #baroqueinteriorparis as your hashtag.
This approach automatically solves two problems.
1. It reduces the competition level for the hashtag. This boosts the chances of the post appearing in top posts and means it will be visible in recent posts for longer.
2. Your images will be highly relevant to the users searching the hashtags you have used, which can help you build up a genuinely engaged following on Instagram.
How many post likes do I need to appear in the top posts?
Securing a spot in the top posts is a popularity game, so the more competitive the hashtag, the more popular your post will need to be to secure a slot there.
As a rule of thumb, you can divide the number of posts for a hashtag by 1,000 to find out how many likes you need to appear in the top posts.
Hashtags with millions of posts will require thousands of likes, while a hashtag with a few thousand posts will be much easier to break into.
You can easily find out how competitive a hashtag is by running a search for the tag on the Instagram search bar. The number of posts for the hashtag will be displayed beside it in the search results.
How many Instagram hashtags should I use?
If you feel so inclined you can use up to 30 hashtags to describe your interior photographs. However, if you do so you will probably just confuse and annoy your audience.
Rather than focusing on hashtag volume, focus on hashtag quality. As with interiors, minimalism will beat clutter every time.
The most popular interior photography hashtags for Instagram
There are several popular interior photography Instagram hashtags that you can use when posting new content.
Always remember that unless you have a very popular account you should avoid hashtags with over 100,000 posts. Instead focus on hashtags which have a few thousand posts, where you have a shot at appearing in the top posts.
| Hashtag | Post number |
| #interiorphotography | 1,051,661 |
| #interiorphotographer | 242,433 |
| #interiordesignphotography | 163,692 |
| #interiorphoto | 91,061 |
| #interiorphotographers | 22,999 |
| #interiorphotoshoot | 21,382 |
| #interiordesign photographer | 20,701 |
| #interiorphotos | 11,181 |
| #interiorphotographerlondon | 2,657 |
| #interiorphotograph | 2,385 |
| #interiorphotochallenge | 1,411 |
Connect with clients on Cherrydeck
Building a genuine engaged following on Instagram by using hashtags correctly can create business opportunities for interior photographers.
However, Instagram was not built with the intention of helping professional photographers to connect with potential clients.
Cherrydeck recognizes the challenges that professional photographers face in the competitive digital environment and offers a platform designed to help photographers connect with potential clients.
Signing up to our busy platform is 100% free and it is quick and easy to create a profile for your interior photography business.
Once you have signed up with Cherrydeck you’ll also have access to:
- New commissions and collaborations made available on our platform.
- Tools to boost your Instagram reach and following.
- Discounts on software for creative professionals via our Partner Deals program.
- The ability to present your events to our large creative community.
Visit Cherrydeck now to find out more.
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