Week 8 Part 1: Expanding Your Reach On Instagram By Using Hashtags #

I chose businesses that were bakeries to see how they used Instagram for their businesses.

Buttercream Bakeries used a lot of beautiful images of their cakes.  They had over 4,500 posts and 259 followers.  They appear to post at least once a week, but it seemed inconsistent.  They have 25.9k followers and get a fair amount of engagement from their followers.  Certainly a lot of likes!  The last time they posted was about a day ago.  They use hashtags like #greatdanebakery, #cookiedough, #buttercreambakeries, #halloween, #monsters, #buttercream.  They had posted a few of their creations in honor of Halloween so hashtags like #thisishalloween and #nightmarebeforechristmas to showcase her Halloween cupcakes and treats.  I think they do a great job on their Instagram.  

Crimson Cake also uses beautiful photos of her custom cakes and sweets.  She has 1538 posts and 2153 followers.  She gets about at least 100 likes on her posts and posts several times a week.  She doesn't use a lot of hashtags, but when she does it's #crimsoncake, #osidecakes, or #crimsonkidscakes but not much more than that.   I think the only thing she could do is to add more hashtags and have them directly related to the images she posts.  

Bakeries has a massive following.  They have 76k followers and about 366 posts.  They use a ton of video clips on their site.  I believe it's mostly videos of making all sorts of chocolate treats.  It's very well done.  Their videos are mesmerizing.  They show how to make these really cool desserts with a time elapse effect that's captivating.  I can see why they have so many followers.  They use a ton of hashtags too!  #chocolateoverload, #chocolateday, #lavacake, #chocolatelover, #chocolatedesert, #choclateheaven, almost #"chocolateanything" .  I can see that probably helped grow their following.  I only posted a few of their hashtags here, but they use a  ton of hashtags, almost more than any of the other businesses I looked at.  I can't think of anything they could do better other than post a link to where we can get the recipes to what they are making in those videos.  I can't wait to go look at their site again and get lost in their videos.  Dreamy!

Lavender Bakeries has 2190 followers and they have 310 posts.  They use images of their bakery goods, although the lighting on them looks inconsistent which makes it feel a little unbalanced.  Overall, they did a nice job.  They also used a ton of hashtags and those hashtags always relate to whatever image they are posting.  For instance, if they post a fruit tart, it'll have hashtags about fruit tarts; #fruittart, #summerfruittart, #summerdesserts, #lavenderbakeries, #tarts, #dessertshops.  For a lemon tart, #lemontart, #lemondessert, and again hashtags her bakery into the mix.  She gets a lot of likes and a few comments on her posts.  I think the only thing I would suggest is to get more consistent images to post and work on the lighting, but her message is great.