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

 My first business that I looked into was Krispy Kreme. It is similar to what I'm using for this class. Krispy Kreme encourages their followers to use the hashtag " Krispy Kreme" to share their sweet moments. Many folks have heard of Krispy Kreme as it has many locations nationwide. Having Instagram and using hashtags are an add on to attract more audiences. They use the generic company's name as the hashtag, however if it is a special occasion then they will include it as well. Once a headline is posted with a picture, the hashtag usually follows after.  When I click on the hashtags they use besides the name of the business, I don't see Krispy Kreme as an option. For example, Krispy Kreme posted Halloween donuts with the #spookyseason. They are currently advertising their Haunted House Collection. I proceeded to click and 5.2M posts used the same hashtag "spooky season". With that being said, Krispy Kreme has 1.8 followers and 4,375 posts. Posting every day. The content that gets the most response was the seasonal and special occasion. Graduation and choctoberfest. Definitely something I'd like to try. A glazed covered chocolate donut. The last post was 6 hours ago. During seasonal occasions they get about over 35k likes vs. 15k likes on a normal post. They get quite a few mixed comments. Some warning customers that the donuts don't appear to be the same as it promotes on their Instagram. Either the design is off, or the portion size is overly exaggerated.

Dunkin Donuts is another business I viewed their Instagram page. They have more than 11,300 locations worldwide. Majority is 8,500 in 41 states and 3,200 internationally across 36 countries. With these many locations Dunkin Donuts have already formulated a fanbase. It's well-known name, having an Instagram is just icing on the cake. Going through the page Dunkin Donuts does not use hashtags in any of their posts, However, the content and headline is catchy. Dunkin Donuts accumulates 2.2M followers and has 2,068 posts. The last post was an image of a glazed donut with a tarantula chocolate donut hole on top of it. On average they post daily depending on the holiday season. Otherwise, it's weekly for them. The spider donut post received 49.1k likes and 465 comments in which the portion of that were negative comments. Consumers complaining about the company changing the rewards system and creating an app. Apparently longtime customers feel that the company is no longer connecting with them and ignoring their frustrations. Hopefully they can solve this issue.

Donut Bar SD is located in the downtown area. They were awarded the most winning donut shop in the US. Chef Santiago encourages Instagram influencers to use the hashtag " donut bar SD, donut bar, best donuts in the world, and Chef Santiago." Donut Bar was featured on The Food Network, Travel Channel, and Forbes to name a few. All of their posts have around 10-15 hashtags. All mentioning the locations, other social media platforms, type of industry, and occasion. In terms of hashtag placement, it's normally a few spaces down from the subheading of the image or video. Also, right at the end of content sentence, a hashtag is followed. When I hit the hashtags bakery and Chula Vista, they do appear on the search. 93.3K followers and 5,741 posts. They post daily, the last post was two hours ago and previously before that was eight hours ago. Halloween and anything with strawberry appears to be the most popular in response and likes. On an average day they generally get up to 150-495 likes. They get a few comments here and there. 

Super Donuts Carlsbad is a local donut shop that's been around since 1983 in the Village. When you come across the page, #superdonuts is placed after the introduction of the business. They use the same four hashtags on each post, " #superdonuts, #donuts, #carlsbad, and #carlsbadvillage. All in which is emphasized on location and food type. The special ordered donuts get the most likes because of how they are presented. Decorative and vivid colors get the most attention. They average about 50-200 likes and less than 8 comments. The last post was August 21 and got 49 likes and 2 comments. They post monthly and are not regular with the other 3 shops I viewed. 

After exploring these common businesses, I've learned that being consistent can help reach more of an audience. Also doing reels or short videos will keep it fresh and entertaining. Creating content that's trendy with our own products can benefit us. Going forward we will be using #encinitas, #momandpopshop #pinkbox #donuts #tidesanddonuts.