However, if I see a #bonsai or #RWC2019 post pop up in my feed that is clearly abusing the hashtag, because it doesn’t actually feature content related to the interest area but cynically piggybacks on it to try to gain prominence, I can tell Instagram to stop showing this post under the hashtag by selecting the “Don’t Show For This Hashtag” feedback option.
This is one way in which users can actively teach the Instagram algorithm what they want to be shown and what not. The other, simpler one is that they will simply swipe away. Regardless of the platform, hashtags allow your input to pop up in traceable global conversations on the topic you are passionate about, taking you into the feeds of people who might not have found you otherwise. If you are tweeting insightful, interesting, newsworthy or funny contributions with a relevant hashtag or two, chances are your posts will gain engagement quickly and rise to the top of the trending, explore, or for you pages – depending on the platforms of choice.
Some more digital strategy advice from Matthew Kobach that works, whether you look after brand accounts or just your own influencer feed(s).
It is not about getting seen by many people, it is about getting seen by the right people. That’s how hashtags lead to higher engagement and more followers. One useful, authentic and proven way of leveraging the power of the hashtag is to include an accurate one in the most important place of all: your profile biography. If you are a ketogenic diet enthusiast, #keto will allow your posts to link seamlessly with the searches and conversations around the topic.
Killing babies
When I think of the year I spent studying towards an honours degree in journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, I feel as though we spent most of our time doing the exact opposite of writing: we were editing. This is something that would serve you well as a content creator.
It is effectively the practice of undoing, deleting, cutting, trimming, shaving or even destroying the writing you have already done. Editing is a euphemism for a very painful process our lecturer, Jo-Anne Richards, used to call “killing babies”. We often think of writing as this creative, fun process where you are cheerfully stringing together a series of useful sentences with words, punctuation and a few key spaces. Easy peasy!
However, one of the key skills you learn in a journalism degree is that writing, in the traditional sense, is only the fun bit right at the start. Most of the real sweat and the true value of any piece is only revealed in the editing, where you refine the raw text into the most coherent, concise and, ultimately, the most useful version of itself. The news doesn’t require frills and fuss; it needs to be understandable to everyone. Even if someone reads only the first sentence, they should already know the where, what, why, when and how before you use a full stop for the first time. This seems very simple, but you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is in practice, especially if you get pretty attached to those words you so carefully selected and strung together. Just like a journalist, an influencer needs not only to edit their words ruthlessly, they also need to edit their content ruthlessly. Create it, save it, walk away from it, come back, review, critique and reconsider it.
Liesl Laurie explains her way of working:
I draft a lot of my things in my notes app, complete with the correct tags and stuff, so I’m sure it’s all there and then I send it out. I think you learn to be very mindful of what you say and how you say it when you’re Miss SA, so I wouldn’t even draft something in the app before I send it. I’ll compose my thoughts somewhere I won’t be able to press send or post by accident, ensure that it’s right and ready and then copy it across. Sometimes I second-guess myself. If I’m uncertain about what I’m trying to say, I’ll send it to my best friends or my cousins who know me well. They’ll be straight up and honest with me. They’ll tell me if it’s coming across as pretentious. I am open about the fact that it’s a work post; it needs to convey a certain message, but I want it to sound like me.
Some influencers and brands run private feeds called “test accounts”, where they post all their content before they post it on their main feed. They check that it sits well with the rest of what is already on their feed. They make sure that the tags and details all show up correctly. They draft their captions, their tweets and their carousels with as much care and forethought as they would if they were the editor of Vogue or the Washington Post.
Someone who always generously shares her devotion to creating content and telling stories that are intentional and consistent is Rachel Kolisi.
When I realised I had a following, I knew I had a responsibility. Everyone’s an influencer in some way, because we all have a circle of influence and are
