Instagram set a cap on content discovery on its platform on Friday. The number of hashtags that can be added to a reel or post is being restricted. As opposed to spamming posts with generic and numerous hashtags, the Meta-owned social media behemoth claims that employing fewer and specialised hashtags can greatly aid producers in content discovery and performance. The purpose of this action is to stop anyone from abusing the functionality.
Instagram’s hashtag feature was first introduced in 2011 and is said to help with content discovery. This feature allows postings to show up more frequently in trending lists, topic-based searchers, and algorithm-driven suggestions, according to the internet giant. Users used to be able to include up to 30 hashtags in a post on the Meta-owned social media platform, but this is no longer the case.
Instagram will permit up to five hashtags in a Reel or post starting today, the company said via the Creators account.
The social networking giant stated, that they found out that using fewer (up to 5) more targeted hashtags instead of many generic ones can improve both user content’s performance and people’s experience on Instagram. Some users have reported receiving notifications or restrictions as low as three hashtags during the gradual adoption, even though the worldwide limit is set at five. Instagram says that the adjustment aims to increase content discovery, decrease spam, and stop hashtag misuse by making producers more deliberate and focused.
It encourages content producers to use hashtags more deliberately and to concentrate on those that are pertinent to the material they are posting. As an illustration, Instagram stated that beauty makers can draw in visitors interested in beauty content by using hashtags linked to beauty.
Even though artists frequently use generic hashtags like #reels or #exploration, they don’t “actually help” the material show up in the exploration feed and other locations. Conversely, these could negatively impact the performance of the content, according to the company.
Instagram also was reportedly testing a cap of three hashtags per Reel or post earlier this month, according to a prior report. There were supposedly three hashtags permitted when adding a hashtag, according to a message that flashed.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has already stated that hashtags “don’t work,” making it clear that they are no longer the primary source of reach or visibility on the platform. He also clarified that hashtags primarily assist with search and categorization rather than significantly boosting overall reach.
It is also gather that, it use is to aid the system in correctly classifying your material, by using very narrow, specialist hashtags (such as #sydneybeach rather than #travel), even though that these days, broad tags like #reels or #exploration are seen to be unproductive and could have a detrimental influence on post performance.
Also creators should concentrate more on using searchable keywords in captions, bio text, and alt text for improved discoverability because hashtag utility is decreasing, as focus on engagement metrics, the “watch time,” shares, and saves are given priority above hashtag volume in the current algorithm.
This modification is part of a larger Meta strategy to prevent “engagement hacking,” which is comparable to the Threads app’s current one-tag limit.
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