The “hashtag” (#) was popularized on Twitter but is now used to group content across the internet, mainly on Instagram. Farmers often ask us, “what exactly is a hashtag?” and “why and how do I need to use them?”
As American adults spend an average of 145mins a day on social media, they’re constantly looking for new brands and stories to follow and products to buy. With an algorithm that’s catered to individual users, understanding hashtags can effectively boost your Farms’ marketing efforts to build awareness in your community, elevate your brand, and increase your follower count.
Read: 3 Time-Saving Social Media Tactics to Boost Farm Sales
Watch: How Farmers Can Rebuild a Winning Social Media Strategy
WHAT IS IT?
Think of the hashtag as a marketing tool. You can pull it out of your toolbox when you want to accomplish a specific job—targeting customers or a given topic. Every time you use a hashtag within the content you share, that hashtag’s specific job is to “index” that content so it appears in specific people’s Instagram “feeds.” (A “feed,” by the way, is what Instagram calls their scrolling homepage. It is similar to Facebook’s “newsfeed.”)
When the pound sign “#” is written in front of any words, they become indexed. You’ll see that when you click on the word, it will link you to a different “place” online. We used the hashtag #AlabamaFarmers in this post on our Instagram page. If you click that hashtag, it takes you to an entire collection of photos that have been indexed with this hashtag. (Check it out!!)
See what we mean? It’s a tool that categorizes what people share on Instagram to group it, much like how books are grouped by category at the library. As a result, anyone with a passion for #AlamabaFarmers will see a post associated with that hashtag—enabling you to target prospective customers who share a common interest or passion.
Because Instagram is a platform for sharing photos, whereas Facebook has many text-only posts, hashtags are more frequently used on Instagram. Take a look through Instagram. Notice what hashtags people you follow are using and the frequency. Click a few of them and look at the collection of photos associated with that hashtag. How many photos have been indexed with that hashtag? As you begin to post more frequently to your Farm’s Instagram, you will get the hang of choosing hashtags that properly index your Farm and increase exposure to like-minded people with a passion for your Farm. Then, consumers will have an easier time discovering you and your products, and you'll grow your following.
HOW DO I USE IT?
The number of hashtags per post can vary depending on your Farm and the visibility. Top brands typically use 3-5 hashtags per post, so it’s easy to believe you should as well. However, some Farms use up to 30 hashtags and see great success. If the hashtags are relevant to your Farm and the photo you share, the number of hashtags doesn’t matter (but it’s best to keep it at a max of 30).
For instance, if you share a photo of your orchard or your livestock, you might use the hashtag #KentuckyProud (if you were a local Farmer in Kentucky) — get the picture? Once you begin to use hashtags, you’ll discover you can use common sense to succeed.
That being said, there are certain hashtags that will prove to be sharper tools than others. For example, #Iowa already has more than 4 million photos associated with it, while #DavenportIowa has around 50,000 associated photos. For a Farm in Iowa, you have a much better chance of being discovered and seen by potential customers if you are in a smaller grouping. Hashtags should be narrowed down to target your local audience. Once a hashtag hits more than one million users, you will find it's hard to be visible to others. So, instead of #eatclean use #eatcleanfood; instead of #eatlocal use #eatlocalgrown. Aim to use words that have accumulated somewhere between 2,000 and 60,000 posts.
Here are common Hashtags categories that you can consider using:
Products: Hashtags with special ties to your products (e.g., CSAFarm, RealPork, RainbowEggs, RawMilkRevolution, etc.).
Practices/Industry: Hashtags about your industry or practices! (e.g., #NaturallyGrown, PasturedProteins, HumanelyRasied, WildCaught, etc.).
Consumer/Audience: These are hashtags that you know your audience is using. Remember, they’re more likely to interact with those hashtags! (e.g., #FarmersMarketFinds, #KnowYourFarmer, #SupportLocalFarms).
Location: If you have a physical location that you are targeting, then use the local hashtags! If you’re in Iowa, you might use #IowaFarming #IowaAgriculture #EasternIowaFarm #MidwestFarmer
WHY DO I USE IT?
You are busy, and this is “one more thing” to add to the list of other tasks. However, hashtags will help boost your visibility and access the customers you want to access. Only 1% of Americans attend farmer’s markets regularly, but there are customers who are shopping for locally grown food online every day. If you index yourself correctly on Instagram, your community will find you!
As a final tip, we suggest choosing a list of 10-20 hashtags and sticking with those. Once you identify the hashtags that make sense for your Farm and your products, you can reuse them. Save the group of hashtags as a note on your phone or somewhere you can “copy and paste” it quickly. That way, whenever you want to post to your Instagram feed, you can reference your list and simply transfer some of those hashtags to your post. It’s worth taking the time to do this so more people online will see your products and visit your online store.
Given that people check their social accounts up to 10+ times a day, hashtags are an important touchpoint for your Farm’s marketing. Remember—it’s all about staying “top-of-mind” for your customers. One way to do this is by appearing in their Instagram feeds with regularity.
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution for Farmers to grow and manage their business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.