Week 7 Part B: How Other Businesses Use Instagram Including Hashtags

Instagram 1: Rectherapyandmore

Her use of hashtags includes a ton of iterations of titles that recreational therapists call themselves (there's not really an agreed upon industry standard which many people cite as a reason the field has low visibility....). I think this is a good practice.

How many followers do they have? 1,288

How often do they post? They were posting once a month until mid 2024.

What type of content gets the most response? Memes, professional/personal updates.

When was their last post made? April 7, 2024

What is the proportion of followers in relation to the number of likes they receive on a typical post? Typically low, sometimes there will be a post that will pop off and get higher engagement but I believe these are posts that were shared to larger rec therapy resource pages.

Do they receive many comments? No.

Instagram 2: letsgetrect

She uses social media trending sounds in a super effective way. She uses general hashtags like "wellness" and "vulnerability" which can be helpful for a casual scroller but I can't imagine it would direct a ton of traffic to her website to book services.

How many followers do they have? 1,676

How often do they post? 1-3 times a week.

What type of content gets the most response? Reels

When was their last post made? March 10, 2025

What is the proportion of followers in relation to the number of likes they receive on a typical post? Low, between 15-50 people a post. Higher than other niche creators I have seen.

Do they receive many comments? No.

Instagram 3: recreationaltherapymemes

This is a different business model than the others listed, this account is more of a content creator/educator. Many hashtags are used, something that content creators seem to do more than traditional businesses. 

How many followers do they have? 5,182

How often do they post? 1-5 times a week

What type of content gets the most response? Political posts, social media trends and trending sounds.

When was their last post made? February 25, 2025.

What is the proportion of followers in relation to the number of likes they receive on a typical post? Much higher than any other rec therapy based accounts I reviewed.

Do they receive many comments? Relatively, yes! When looking at similar creators this account has more comments than peers.

Instagram 4: empower_rectherapy

These folks do a great job of integrating location based hashtags, something that definitely will capture a broader audience that could translate into paying customers.

How many followers do they have? 1,303

How often do they post? Super variable. Some months have zero posts while others have 6+.

What type of content gets the most response? Job postings, employee and client highlights.

When was their last post made? February 1, 2025.

What is the proportion of followers in relation to the number of likes they receive on a typical post? Low. 7-50.

Do they receive many comments? 1-5 per post.

Instagram 5: flowrecreation

Their use of hashtags is pretty minimal, they use the standard rec therapy related ones but they also integrate situation-specific hashtags that also serve as a tonal continuation or commentary on their post. As a millennial that used hashtags this way from the inception of Instagram, I love this. As a business strategy it is probably not serving them but it is fun nonetheless.

How many followers do they have? 3,103

How often do they post? 1-3 times a week.

What type of content gets the most response? Every post is pretty close to the same response rate! Usually this would make me suspect that someone is paying for followers or engagement but I went through the likes and they all seemed to be from legitimate profiles. Super impressed. 

When was their last post made? March 10, 2025.

What is the proportion of followers in relation to the number of likes they receive on a typical post? Low, but higher than most accounts like this. 50 people.

Do they receive many comments? No. Rarely even one. 

I learned a lot about hashtag usage. I definitely would try to practice using the different titles of rec therapists to make sure I'm reaching people through a vanity of search terms. I also thought a lot about the importance of geographically relevant hashtags. Even if services are being offered virtually I feel like this is a great way to connect with potential community partners.

Some hashtags that would work for this buisness- #recreationaltherapy #rectherapy #recreationtherapy #therapeuticrecreation #TR #RT #CTRS #TRS #NCTRC #ATRA #therapyisfun #adventuretherapy #carlsbadactivities #northcounty #sandiego #northcountyfun #sober #buildcommunity #selfcare #makelifeworthliving #carlsbadhealth #holisticsd #worthliving