Week 8 Part A: How to Expand Your Reach on Instagram by Using Hashtags

The first business I researched is Lucha Libre taco shop, the reason why I searched them up is because they sell tacos just like I plan to. I've been to their restaurant before and they make great food. I have been following them on Instagram for a couple of years and they seem to be doing great on that platform. They post almost daily. They also use a lot of hashtags on their posts which seems to work for them because they have fifteen thousand followers. Their hashtags are not just related to food, they are also related to lucha libre which is big in the Mexican community. Some of the hashtags they use I think would really work for me, for example the hashtag foodie and food-porn I think would help my business because those are very popular hashtags. Lucha Libre is a great local San Diego restaurant that I recommend everyone checks out!

The second business I looked up for this blog post is city tacos. Just like the first business I chose city tacos because they sell tacos just like how I want to. Their food is also really great, and they seem to use Instagram really well because they have 1800 pictures on their page. They post daily and use hashtags on most of their posts, they seem to use hashtags differently though as they seem to post the hashtags as comments on their original post. They have about fifteen thousand followers on Instagram, which makes sense because they have 8 physical locations. They also post daily sometimes two or three times a day. Their last post was today 4 hours ago. The one hashtag I would take away from them is taco Tuesday because everyone knows about taco Tuesday. I would make hashtags about the locations I'm at because that will be sure to get eyes on your business in the community you wish to be at. Those hashtags are the ones I would take away from them I just wouldn't put them as a comment under the post.

The third business I looked up was Gabby' Funnel Cakes which is also my family's  business back home in Chicago. This business has just started using Instagram this year even though they have been around for 7 years now. They do use hashtags on their post which is good because all the other big businesses use hashtags. They have 160 posts on their page which is good considering they have only been on Instagram for a year. They post daily at the beginning of the year but have slowed only posting once a week sometimes once every three weeks. They have about two thousand followers which is not bad for a small family owned business in Chicago. Their last post was 5 days ago and it was a picture of people waiting in line to receive their orders. The one thing I really like about this page that I will take is the style of pictures they use. Their page is filled with pictures of their food like funnel cakes and aguas frescas. I think this is great because this makes their page really colorful and pleasing to look at. I got hungry just scrolling through their page. This is something I want for my own page, I want people to get hungry by just looking at my pictures. 

The last and final page I looked up was Primos tacos which is a local food market here in Vista. I love this place because every Tuesday for taco Tuesday they sell 69 cent tacos. Primos uses Instagram really well because at their store they put up pictures of customers that have tagged them in pictures. Even though they use Instagram a lot they do not use very many hashtags. This doesn't seem to affect them at all since they have 6500 followers on Instagram. They also post almost daily sometimes posting twice a day, their last was yesterday. They 298 posts on their page which is really good but also not as much as places like city tacos and lucha libre. The one thing I love about their page that I will use on my own page is how well they interact with the community and their followers. They always respond to their followers and seem to post them on their page and at their store. They also receive many comments which is a great sign because it shows the community really loves them. 

Those four pages I have posted about are all successful and it is no surprise that they all use Instagram to better their businesses. I will take a little from all these pages and use them to further my own business.