Instagram is fantastic, I think we can all agree on that. It gives us so many opportunities to showcase our products, services and personalities online in a visual way. But, did you know that using just one banned hashtag in your Instagram post makes all of the other hashtags used on that image undiscoverable?
Instagram has ‘banned’ over 60,000 hashtags with the aim to clean up their platform and make it safer and less pornographic. Understandably, hashtags that are of a sexual nature are banned but it doesn’t stop there. Instagram has banned hashtags such as #dogsofinstagram, #newyears and even #books!
How to spot if you’ve been shadow banned:
There are a few things you’ll notice if you’ve been shadow banned on Instagram – including a dramatic decrease in engagement.
If you’re worried about a post being shadow banned there are 2 ways you can check:
- Login to Instagram as someone who doesn’t follow your account and see if your photos show up in the most recent section.
- Use an online tool such as Instagram Shadow Ban Tester – this will show you whether your latest posts are safe or whether they’ve been shadow banned.
Don’t get caught out, here are just a few of the banned hashtags we found:
- #adulting
- #newyearsday
- #brain
- #books
- #easter
- #meme
- #costumes
- #boho
- #saltwater
- #tgif
There are so many to look out for! You can see a larger list here.
So, what can you do if you’ve used a banned hashtags?
If you’ve found yourself using a banned hashtag, the solution is a simple one; remove it and don’t use it again. If you really want your image to be found then deleting and re-uploading might be the easiest way to increase engagement.
Are you surprised? I know I am! If you’d like to know more about banned hashtags or how to optimise your Instagram account, please get in touch with us at The Ideal Marketing Company. Call us on 01858 374 170 or email katrina@idealmarketingcompany.com
