Hashtag Expert Review 2023: Is it the Best Instagram Hashtag Tool?
Instagram remains one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1.393 billion monthly active users. Hashtags have become crucial for reaching new users and driving engagement on Instagram. In this review, we‘ll evaluate Hashtag Expert, a tool that claims to help Instagram users find the best hashtags for their content.
What is Hashtag Expert?
Hashtag Expert is an automated Instagram hashtag tool that uses "intelligent algorithms" to suggest trending hashtags for your posts and profiles. Its main features include:
- Hashtag search and suggestion
- Preview hashtag reach, usage, and volume data
- Customize algorithms for personalized recommendations
- Daily lists of trending hashtags
- Save favorite hashtags for quick access
- Get hashtags for multiple social platforms
The goal is to save time searching for relevant hashtags while optimizing posts and profiles to rank higher in hashtag feeds and discovery tools.
How Does Hashtag Expert Work?
Using Hashtag Expert is simple:
- Input a base hashtag relevant to your post, profile, or target audience
- The tool generates a list of suggested hashtags using AI and algorithms
- Review data about the reach, usage, and popularity of each hashtag
- Copy top-ranking hashtags into your Instagram posts
Unfortunately, the website offers limited information, forcing users to download the mobile app to access the core functionality.
Do We Recommend Hashtag Expert?
While Hashtag Expert isn‘t terrible, we can‘t fully endorse it due to a few significant downsides:
Pricing and Limited Transparency
Our main complaint is the lack of transparency around pricing. Nowhere on the website will you find clear pricing information. Users have to download the app and create an account just to see available subscription options.
Based on reviews, Hashtag Expert‘s pricing seems unnecessarily complex:
- Pro plans = $2.99-$34.99
- Hashtags Pro plans = $9.99 – $47.99
Withholding key details like pricing erodes trust and provides a poor user experience.
Questionable Billing Practices
Several negative reviews report unauthorized charges and difficult cancellation processes with Hashtag Expert. Some mention being double-billed even after attempting to cancel subscriptions.
These questionable billing tactics raise concerns over the security of users‘ financial data and whether the company respects cancellation requests. For the high monthly fees Hashtag Expert charges, these practices are unacceptable.
Limited Usage Instructions
The website and app provide almost no instructions on how to use Hashtag Expert‘s features, even with paid plans. How exactly does the "Customized Copy Style" option work? Can free users access daily trending hashtags? With no user guides, support articles, or thorough FAQs available, using the tool remains unnecessarily confusing.
Hashtag Expert Alternative: Flick
After comparing several Instagram hashtag tools, we believe Flick stands as the best Hashtag Expert alternative.
Key advantages Flick offers include:
Easy Web Access: Use Flick directly in your browser. No app required.
Intuitive Workflow: With one-click hashtag suggestions and quick copy-to-Instagram, integrating Flick into your process is seamless.
Insightful Analytics: Flick equips users with in-depth data on hashtag volume, usage patterns, and performance over time.
Affordable Pricing: Clearly-presented pricing starts at $15 per week, more cost-effective than Hashtag Expert.
Accurate Results: Flick taps directly into Instagram‘s Business API for the most up-to-date and complete hashtag data available.
With better functionality, transparency, and overall usability, Flick edges out Hashtag Expert as the superior hashtag research tool.
Developing An Effective Hashtag Strategy
Whichever tool you choose, success on Instagram requires an intelligent, targeted hashtag strategy. Here are 3 tips:
Conduct Keyword Research: Identifying keywords and hashtags aligned to your brand, products, and target audience ensures relevancy. Tools like Flick simplify the research process.
Track Performance Data: Continuously monitor your hashtags using Instagram Insights to double down on those driving the most reach and engagement.
Balance Specific and General Tags: Pair 2-5 branded or product-specific hashtags with 15+ general hashtags around broader topics and interests to maximize discovery.
The Key Role Of Hashtags on Instagram
Recent studies shed light on how integral hashtags remain across the Instagram platform:
- 80% of Instagram users rely on hashtags to discover new accounts and content of interest (Socialinsider)
- Posts with 11+ hashtags average the highest engagement (TrackMaven)
- The top 1% most-viewed hashtags make up 15% of total hashtag impressions (HypeAuditor)
For any brand, business, or creator, an optimized hashtag strategy is vital for cutting through the noise and connecting with new Instagram users in your niche.
Final Verdict: Better Instagram Hashtag Tools Exist
In closing, while Hashtag Expert provides the bare minimum functionality of an AI-powered hashtag suggestion tool, subpar transparency around pricing, billing, and usage instructions severely limits its usability. Coupled with questionable costs that ultimately may not justify the features provided, it‘s tough to recommend Hashtag Expert as a top solution compared to alternatives.
For Instagram users and marketers who rely heavily on hashtags day-to-day, we believe tools like Flick present a far better option in terms of transparent pricing, actionable hashtag performance analytics, quicker workflow functionality, and overall value.
Bottom line, for those seeking to maximize their Instagram hashtag strategy, Flick stands as our current top recommendation in the space. We suggest giving Flick a free trial run to experience the benefits first-hand.