Are you Adding Instagram Hashtags in the Comments or Caption?

Instagram has recently changed its algorithm, and has been been releasing updates that made it harder for brands to generate engagement and reach.

These changes will help decrease spam and irrelevant content of certain Instagram accounts. If you manage an Instagram account, you would know that using the right hashtags can extend the reach of your posts which results in more followers, visibility and interaction.

Hashtags are placed either in captions or in comments. However, some users have been placing hashtags in comments to manipulate the system.

Testing different tactics is a strategy to success, but what works for a beauty brand might generate different results when managing an Instagram business account in the health industry.

If you are an active user on Instagram, you will notice a trend of adding hashtags in the comments section. This was considered a tactic to outsmart the Instagram algorithm & keeps the caption section looking nice and clean.

So, should you be applying this & add hashtags in the comments or stick to captions?

When it comes to working in digital marketing & social media, testing & evaluating results is the best strategy to understand the right tactic that works for you.

Below is some feedback from users who tested & analyzed placing Instagram hashtags in the caption and compared the performance to posts with hashtags in comments.

• Some users reported no different in engagement
• Some users reported better engagement when having hashtags in comments while others said the opposite.
• Some users reported received more engagement in the caption, but said it looks way too messy so kept using hashtags in the comments.
• Some users suggested adding 5 to 6 dots or 8 space distance then the hashtags and using the captions section.

Another study analyzed for a 30-day period, 51 posts with hashtags in the comments, in comparison to 66 posts with hashtags in the post caption. Each post in this study included 30 hashtags.

Posts with Hashtags in the Captions:

• 60.64 Average Likes per Post
• 2.84 Average Comments per Post
• 2.72 Average Profile Visits per Post
• 66 Average Reach per Post

Posts with Hashtags in Comments:

• 55.21 Average Likes per Post
• 3.39 Average Comments per Post
• 2.88 Average Profile Visits per Post
• 51 Average Reach per Post

So, if you are still wondering whether to add Instagram hashtags in the comments or the caption section. The answer simply is that there is no winning tactic here. But one important thing to highlight that some users noticed their account got shadowbanned when placing hashtags in the comments or revive old Instagram posts by editing & changing hashtags used in captions.

So if you are having an engagement issue then your account might be shadow-banned by Instagram.