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How hashtag works on instagram


Ultimate Guide [+101 hashtags for 2023]

What are Instagram hashtags?

Top Instagram hashtags

Types of popular Instagram hashtags

Instagram Hashtag FAQs

7 tips for how to use hashtags on Instagram

Instagram hashtags can make or break your Instagram marketing strategy. Use them correctly and you’ll get your posts seen by more people likely to be interested in your products or brand.

But use the wrong and you can actually do damage, from annoying potential followers to getting penalized by Instagram’s algorithm.

To use hashtags for Instagram effectively, you need to understand exactly how they work, and put some thought into a strategy.

You’re in the right place to do just that. Watch our video below, or read on!

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

What are Instagram hashtags?

A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, and/or emoji preceded by the # symbol (e.g. #NoFilter). They are used to categorize content and make it more discoverable.

Hashtags are clickable. Anyone who clicks on an Instagram hashtag or conducts an Instagram hashtag search will see a page showing all the posts tagged with that hashtag.

Why use Instagram hashtags?

Hashtags are an important way to expand your Instagram audience and get more reach. When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag. If you use a hashtag on your Story, it could be included in the relevant hashtag Story, which also appears on the hashtag page.

People can also choose to follow hashtags, which means they could see your hashtagged post in their feed even if they don’t follow you (yet).

Instagram hashtags can be a great way of building community online so people are motivated to engage with your brand. For example, as the way people work out suddenly changed in 2020, Nike Los Angeles used the #playinside hashtag to feature local people getting active in their homes.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nike LA (@nikela)

All that being said, times they are a changin’. We recently ran an experiment looking specifically at the effectiveness of Instagram SEO vs Hashtags in 2022. And the results, well let’s just say they were eye-opening.

Check out the article or watch the video below to see what we found:

Top Instagram hashtags

These are the top 50 hashtags on Instagram:

  1. #love (1.835B)
  2. #instagood (1.150B)
  3. #fashion (812.7M)
  4. #photooftheday (797.3M)
  5. #beautiful (661.0M)
  6. #art (649.9M)
  7. #photography (583.1M)
  8. #happy (578.8M)
  9. #picoftheday (570.8M)
  10. #cute (569.1M)
  11. #follow (560.9M)
  12. #tbt (536.4M)
  13. #followme (528.5M)
  14. #nature (525.7M)
  15. #like4like (515.6M)
  16. #travel (497.3M)
  17. #instagram (482.6M)
  18. #style (472.3M)
  19. #repost (471.4M)
  20. #summer454.2M
  21. #instadaily (444.0M)
  22. #selfie (422.6M)
  23. #me (420.3M)
  24. #friends (396.7M)
  25. #fitness (395.8M)
  26. #girl (393. 8M)
  27. #food (391.9M)
  28. #fun (385.6M)
  29. #beauty (382.8M)
  30. #instalike (374.6M)
  31. #smile (364.5M)
  32. #family (357.7M)
  33. #photo (334.6M)
  34. #life (334.5M)
  35. #likeforlike (328.2M)
  36. #music (316.1M)
  37. #ootd (308.2M)
  38. #follow4follow (290.6M)
  39. #makeup (285.3M)
  40. #amazing (277.5M)
  41. #igers (276.5M)
  42. #nofilter (268.9M)
  43. #dog (264.0M)
  44. #model (254.7M)
  45. #sunset (249.8M)
  46. #beach (246.8M)
  47. #instamood (238.1M)
  48. #foodporn (229.4M)
  49. #motivation (229.1M)
  50. #followforfollow (227.9M)

Popular B2B Hashtags

  1. #business (101M)
  2. #entrepreneur (93M)
  3. #success (82M)
  4. #onlineshop (70M)
  5. #smallbusiness (104M)
  6. #marketing (69M)
  7. #branding (38M)
  8. #marketingdigital (39M)
  9. #innovation (14M)
  10. #ecommerce (12M)
  11. #retail (8. 2M)
  12. #onlinemarketing (8M)
  13. #contentmarketing (6.5M)
  14. #marketingtips (6.2M)
  15. #marketingstrategy (6M)
  16. #marketingstrategy (6M)
  17. #startups (5.3M) 
  18. #management (5.1M)
  19. #businesstips (5.1M)
  20. #software (5M)
  21. #B2B (2.6M)
  22. #instagramforbusiness (1.4M)
  23. #b2bmarketing (528k)
  24. #eventmarketing (408k)
  25. #b2bsales (125k)

Popular B2C Hashtags

  1. #training (133M)
  2. #smallbusiness (104M)
  3. #business (101M)
  4. #sale (95M)
  5. #onlineshopping (85M)
  6. #marketing (69M) 
  7. #marketingdigital (39M)
  8. #promo (35M) 
  9. #socialmedia (32M) 
  10. #digitalmarketing  (25M)
  11. #startup (24M)
  12. #socialmediamarketing (19. 7M) 
  13. #sales (19M) 
  14. #advertising (15M) 
  15. #ecommerce (12.3M) 
  16. #networking (12.1M)
  17. #onlinebusiness (11.4M) 
  18. #onlinemarketing (8M) 
  19. #smallbiz (7M) 
  20. #company (7.9M) 
  21. #startuplife (5.6M) 
  22. #contentmarketing (6.5M) 
  23. #socialmediatips (3.2M)
  24. #marketplace (2.5M)
  25. #b2c (350k)
  26. #b2cmarketing (185k)

Keep in mind that the most popular Instagram hashtags are not necessarily the most effective.

A large number of posts may mean lots of people follow that hashtag, but it also means there’s a ton of content on it and your posts might get lost. Instagram suggests using a combination of popular and niche hashtags to reach different audiences, from broad to specific.

Types of popular Instagram hashtags

Instagram breaks hashtags down into nine distinct types:

Product or service hashtags

These are basic keywords to describe your product or service, like #handbag or #divebar

Niche hashtags

These get a little more specific, showing where you fit in the context of your industry, like #travelblogger or #foodblogger

Industry Instagram community hashtags

Communities exist on Instagram, and these hashtags help you find and join them. Think #gardenersofinstagram or #craftersofinstgram

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Special event or seasonal hashtags

These can refer to real holidays or seasons, like #summerdays, or they can be used for all those National [Thing] Day holidays, like #nationalicecreamday or #nationalnailpolishday

Location hashtags

Even if you geo-tag your Instagram post, it can still be a good idea to include a hashtag that refers to your location, like #vancouvercraftbeer or #londoneats

Daily hashtags

Every day has plenty of its own hashtags, from #MondayBlues right through to #SundayFunday. We created a whole list of daily hashtags for you to choose from if you’re looking for an easy source of hashtags to add to your posts.

Relevant phrase hashtags

These hashtags combine elements of product hashtags, niche hashtags, and community hashtags. Basically, they’re phrases people use on Instagram to connect to existing communities in a slightly insider way, like #amwriting or #shewhowanders

Acronym hashtags

Perhaps the best-known acronym hashtag is #TBT for Throwback Thursday. Other popular acronym hashtags include #OOTD for outfit of the day, #FBF for flashback Friday, and #YOLO for you only live once.

Emoji hashtags

These hashtags can include emojis on their own, like #????, or words or phrases with emojis attached, like #sunglasses????.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cartems Donuts (@cartemsdonuts)

Branded hashtags are another great option for businesses on Instagram. We’ll get into more details on those later in this post.

Instagram Hashtag FAQs

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

You can include up to 30 hashtags on a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a Story. If you try to include more, your comment or caption won’t post.

That said, just because you can use that many hashtags for Instagram doesn’t mean you should. There’s no right number of hashtags for every business, or even for every post by the same business.

The consensus is that about 11 hashtags is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 3 and 5.

You’ll need to do some testing to determine what works best for your particular business.

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

When you’ve spent time crafting a great Instagram caption, you may not want to end your post with a prominent collection of hashtags. Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to make your hashtags less visible.

How to hide Instagram hashtags in a comment:
  1. Write your caption as usual but don’t include any hashtags.
  2. Once your post is published, simply click the speech bubble icon under your post to leave a comment.
  3. Write out or paste the hashtags you want to include in the comment box and tap Post.
  4. On mobile, your hashtags won’t be visible unless a user taps View all comments. However, on desktop, your comment will remain in the top position, so this trick works better if you’re targeting a mobile audience.


Source: VW on Instagram

How to hide Instagram hashtags in the caption

You can also use hashtags within the caption itself without them being super-visible.

  1. At the bottom of your caption, tap Return or Enter. If you don’t see a Return or Enter button, tap 123 to bring it up.
  2. Enter a punctuation mark (try a period, bullet, or dash), then hit Return again.
  3. Repeat steps 2 to 4 at least three times.
  4. Instagram hides captions after three lines, so your hashtags won’t be viewable unless your followers tap … more. Even then, your hashtags will be visually separated from your caption so they don’t distract from your copy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)

How to hide hashtags on Instagram Stories

You can hide hashtags on Instagram Stories, too. One option is simply to minimize the appearance of your hashtags by pinching and shrinking them to make them quite small. You can also tap the hashtag sticker to change it from a white background to a semi-transparent one.

If you want to hide your hashtags entirely, you can paste an emoji, sticker, or GIF overtop to obscure them.


Source: Christina Newberry

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

Unlike Twitter, Instagram doesn’t publicize a list of trending hashtags. However, if you search for a hashtag on Instagram, you’ll see how many posts use that hashtag. You’ll also see a list of other popular Instagram hashtags using similar words, with post counts included too.


Source: Instagram

To search for a hashtag on desktop, enter the hashtag including the # symbol into the search box. On mobile, enter your search term in the search box, then tap Tags.

If you’re paying attention to your Instagram feed, you’ll learn to quickly spot trending hashtags as they emerge. Don’t be too quick to jump on a trend, though. Only post using a trending hashtag if it really makes sense for your business, and for the specific content in your post.

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

The easiest way to search multiple hashtags on Instagram is to set up search streams in a social listening tool like Hootsuite to track the hashtags you’re interested in so you can see all the relevant content on one screen without having to conduct each one as an individual Instagram hashtag search.


Source: Hootsuite

Instagram business profiles can conduct up to 30 unique hashtag searches in any given seven-day period.

We wrote a full post about the benefits of social listening if you want to dig deeper into how this works.

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

Get the free guide right now!

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

Here’s the truth. You could upload your photo to one of the many Instagram hashtag generators out there and get a bunch of free suggestions for hashtags. But, these suggestions aren’t going to be as strategic and effective as doing the research yourself.

Here’s some tips to try for coming up with Instagram hashtags that will actually drive reach and engagement.

Check out the competition

You don’t necessarily want to model your competition’s strategy too closely, but taking a look at the hashtags they use can give you some good clues about what’s working for others in your industry.

Maybe you’ll discover new hashtags to add to your repertoire. Or you could decide you don’t want to compete for the same eyeballs, in which case you can search for alternative hashtags to use.

See what hashtags your audience is already using

After all, if your audience is already using a certain hashtag, then other people just like them are probably using it too. Finding these existing Instagram communities is a great way to expand your audience and reach the people who are most likely to be interested in your business.

Keep an eye on your top followers and see what hashtags they’re using. Instagram’s search tool can give you some additional information about which hashtags the people you follow care about. When you conduct an Instagram hashtag search, the search tool will show you if anyone you follow also follows that hashtag. (Note that this only works on mobile, not on desktop.)


Source: Instagram

Use Instagram’s Related Hashtags feature

On any hashtag page, right above the “Top” and “Recent” tabs, you’ll find a list of related hashtags that you can scroll through by swiping left.


Source: Instagram

This is a great way to find relevant hashtags that might be a bit more niche than the big keyword-based hashtags you originally searched for. That means a more targeted audience with less content to compete with. These can be some of the best hashtags for Instagram brands wanting to connect with passionate communities.

Create a branded hashtag

The best hashtag for your brand may be one you create yourself. A branded hashtag is simply a tag that you create to promote your own brand or campaign.

You can then let your audience know about your hashtag by including it in your Instagram bio and highlighting it in your captions and Instagram Stories. You could also consider running a contest with a branded hashtag to popularize the hashtag while also collecting user-generated content.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by lululemon (@lululemon)


Source: Lululemon on Instagram

Make sure to follow your branded hashtag, both within the Instagram app and using a stream in your social media dashboard, so you can monitor how it’s being used. Look for opportunities to reshare great content or connect with influential members of your audience.

To follow a hashtag within Instagram, simply tap it, then tap the blue Follow button on the hashtag page.


Source: Instagram

Use Hootsuite’s hashtag generator

Coming up with the right hashtags for every. single. post. is a lot of work.

Enter: Hootsuite’s hashtag generator.

Whenever you’re creating a post in Composer, Hootsuite’s AI technology will recommend a custom set of hashtags based on your draft — the tool analyzes both your caption and the images you’ve uploaded to suggest the most relevant tags.

To use Hootsuite’s hashtag generator, follow these steps:

  1. Head to Composer and start drafting your post. Add your caption and (optionally) upload an image.
  2. Click the hashtag symbol below the text editor.

  1. The AI will generate a set of hashtags based on your input. Check the boxes next to the hashtags you want to use and click the Add hashtags button.

That’s it!

The hashtags you selected will be added to your post. You can go ahead and publish it or schedule it for later.

7 tips for how to use hashtags on Instagram

1. Use Insights to see which tags work best

If you’ve made the switch to an Instagram business profile, you have access to post insights that tell you how many impressions you received from hashtags.

1. Select the post you want data on and tap View Insights below the post on the left.

2. Swipe up to see all the insights for that post, including the number of impressions from hashtags.

This data helps you figure out which hashtags are most effective for improving reach.

2. Include hashtags on Instagram Stories

Hashtag pages have an Instagram Story icon in the top left corner. Click on it and you’ll see a collection of Stories posts tagged with the hashtag from people with public profiles.


Source: Instagram

There are two ways to add hashtags to your Stories. The first method is to use the hashtag sticker.


Source: Instagram

Or you can simply use the text tool and the # symbol to type out the hashtag the same way you would on a photo or video post.

3. Avoid banned hashtags and spammy hashtags

When inappropriate content becomes associated with a hashtag, Instagram might ban that hashtag.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t use it at all. Instead, it means that if you click on the tag, you will only see top posts. You won’t see recent posts, and there won’t be any Stories associated with the hashtag.

Here’s what it looks like when you run into a banned hashtag:


Source: Instagram

The only way to know if a hashtag is banned is to check it before you use it. This is a good practice to put in place every time you add a new hashtag to your repertoire. Using banned hashtags can cause a drop in engagement, as your use of legitimate hashtags might also become less effective because you could be dropped in the algorithm.

Even if they’re not banned, you should avoid hashtags that shamelessly solicit likes and followers. Examples include #followme, #like4like, #follow4follow, #tagsforlikes, and so on.

Using these will attract bots, spammers, and other Instagram users who have no intention of engaging with you in any meaningful way. They also show your followers that your brand is okay with engaging in spammy behaviour. And that’s not a good look.

4. Understand how hashtag pages work

Hashtag pages are a great way to expose your content to a new audience, especially if you can get featured in the Top section.

Hashtag pages show off all the content associated with a specific hashtag. If someone searches for a post and yours is the most recent with that hashtag, it will be the first thing they see in the Recent section.

Of course, it’s much easier to stay at the top of the Recent section for a less-popular or really niche hashtag.

Keep in mind that the Recent section is sorted based on when each post was originally shared. If you add hashtags later, either through a comment or by editing the caption, this won’t bump your post up for recency.

5. Don’t use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags

It might be tempting to simply copy and paste the same long list of hashtags on every post, but don’t do it. Instagram’s community guidelines clearly state that “posting repetitive comments or content” is not okay. If you use the same hashtags for every post, your content will be penalized by the algorithm.

When you create a post, only use hashtags that make sense. If you tag a post with #wanderlust, for example, your content must be something globetrotters will want to comment on, like, and share.

It’s not about getting seen by a lot of people, it’s about getting seen by the right people. That’s how hashtags lead to higher engagement and more followers. Pick and choose the right keywords for each post individually.

6. Make sure that hashtag means what you think it means

Hashtags are often a string of words stuck together. That can create some problems when it’s not clear where one word ends and the next begins.

One of the worst examples of this was the #susanalbumparty fiasco from way back in 2012. It was a launch celebration hashtag for Susan Boyle’s new album. But read it slowly and you might pick up some words in the middle that clearly make the hashtag a bit… problematic.

Amazon played with this kind of hashtag mistake to promote Top Gear. This was done on purpose, but it would be an easy mistake to combine a possessive “s” and the word “hit” by accident.

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A post shared by Mathew chronic (@clarkson_and_memes)

Brands sometimes also are too keen to hop onto a trending hashtag without fully understanding the context. When the context is challenging, this can create a PR disaster for the brand.

And sometimes a brand just doesn’t check to see if a hashtag is already in use before creating a whole campaign. Burger King was guilty of this back in 2013, when they used the hashtag #WTFF to mean “What The French Fry.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by #WTFF (@wtff2013)

Since you already know what WTF stands for, you can probably guess why this was a problem.

7. Save hashtags for future use

If you often use the same hashtags, you can save them in a note to reduce time typing them in over and over.

Wait, didn’t we just tell you not to use the same hashtags on every post? It’s true—you should not overuse the same set of hashtags. That said, it is still really useful to have a list of hashtags relevant to the various kinds of content you post. You could even create separate lists of hashtags relevant to the different types of posts you create.

Just create a list of hashtags in your notes app, ready to add to your posts.

You can then pick and choose a few hashtags to use each time, rather than having to remember the hashtags or search for new ones for each post. This also gives you the time to check out what kind of content is already being posted for these hashtags, so you don’t make one of the mistakes mentioned above.

Just remember that every one of the Instagram hashtags you use on a post must fit with the content and should not be too repetitive. Don’t copy and paste your whole saved list onto every post.

Manage your entire Instagram presence and save time with Hootsuite. Schedule posts and Stories, find the best hashtags, easily engage the audience, measure performance, and more. Try it free today.

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2022’s Best Instagram Hashtags: The Ultimate Guide

Instagram Tips & Resources

By Amanda Demeku

•

Updated on June 15, 2022

•

10 minute read

Ready to reach new audiences with Instagram hashtags? #LetsGrow!

Published November 18, 2021

​​Instagram hashtags are still one of the most effective ways to get more eyes (and engagement!) on your Instagram posts in 2022.

But how do you use hashtags for Instagram? How do you find the best hashtags for your Instagram account? Which hashtags are trending right now? And should they go in your caption or in the comments?

We’re answering these questions, and more, in our ultimate guide to Instagram hashtags.

How Do Instagram Hashtags Work?

Instagram hashtags are fundamentally a way to label and categorize your content. They then help Instagram serve your posts to relevant users.

In their most simple function, the hashtags you use fuel the search results on the Instagram Explore page:

But it doesn’t end there. Hashtags are also used as a reference for the Instagram algorithm, so it can categorize your content and suggest it to users it thinks will have a high interest.

So… Do Hashtags Still Work on Instagram in 2022?

Hashtags have always been the heart of much debate, especially following Instagram’s recent recommendation to only use between 3-5 hashtags (more on that later). 

As Instagram slowly pivots towards semantic keyword search, it opens up a new world of possibilities in content discoverability – indicating that the words in your captions or the topics in your videos will become searchable too. 

However, despite these major advancements, hashtags do still work on Instagram. Paired with a strong content strategy, they can help yield impressive results.

Ready to get the full download on Instagram hashtags? Check out our YouTube video guide now: 

The Top 50 Most Popular Instagram Hashtags in 2022

Using ultra-popular hashtags isn’t always the best strategy for getting more engagement on your posts and stories, as they’re less likely to be seen. 

That said, it’s helpful to know what’s trending on the app, so here’s an up-to-date list of the top 50 hashtags for Instagram based on usage over the last month:

  1. #love

  2. #interiordesign

  3. #design

  4. #fashion

  5. #instagood

  6. #style

  7. #inspiration

  8. #art

  9. #travel

  10. #summer

  11. #realestate

  12. #foodie

  13. #homedecor

  14. #smallbusiness

  15. #shoplocal

  16. #motivation

  17. #wellness

  18. #health

  19. #lifestyle

  20. #beauty

  21. #food

  22. #home

  23. #selfcare

  24. #photography

  25. #fitness

  26. #nature

  27. #handmade

  28. #ootd

  29. #photooftheday

  30. #skincare

  31. #architecture

  32. #selflove

  33. #shopsmall

  34. #luxury

  35. #supportlocal

  36. #instafood

  37. #beautiful

  38. #mentalhealth

  39. #mindset

  40. #business

  41. #vegan

  42. #linkinbio

  43. #healthy

  44. #family

  45. #interior

  46. #entrepreneur

  47. #interiors

  48. #delicious

  49. #explore

  50. #realtor

*Updated June 2022. Data based on usage within the Later app.

In need of some #Inspiration? Check out Later’s Hashtag Suggestion feature. Discover the best hashtags for your account in seconds!

How Many Instagram Hashtags Should You Use On Your Posts?

As we’ve mentioned, Instagram recently advised that creators should use between 3-5 hashtags on their posts, despite allowing up to 30 per post.

This goes against everything we've previously heard about how hashtags work on Instagram, but based on their new focus on keywords and SEO, it does (kind of) make sense.  

Instagram is introducing more “suggested” content feeds – like the Instagram Reels tab, for example. But in order to provide suggested content that truly is a “good match,” Instagram needs to be able to accurately categorize it. The theory? Fewer hashtags = more reliable self categorization.      

To test this theory, Later looked at 18M+ Instagram feed posts – comparing the number of hashtags used per post with average reach rates.  

As you can see, using more hashtags = better results. Reach rate increases by 11% (from 24% to 35%) as the number of hashtags grows from one to 30. 

To put that in perspective, for an account with 20K followers, that’s an additional 2.2K accounts reached per post. 

We even looked at whether this trend had changed compared to 2020, but the results were fairly consistent. 

So, how many hashtags should you use on Instagram? For now, using more hashtags is still the best strategy for increasing your reach and engagement on Instagram feed posts. However, as Instagram introduces more “suggested” content feeds, focusing on fewer, hyper-relevant hashtags could be a tactic worth testing.

#TalkDataToMe: Read Later’s full data report now to discover the optimal number of hashtags for reach and engagement.

What Are the Different Types of Instagram Hashtags?

Before selecting hashtags for your posts, it’s a good idea to consider the different types of hashtags you can include.   

This will help make sure you’re covering all the bases with your hashtag strategy.

There are five main types of hashtags to consider: 

  • Location-based hashtags, like #BryantPark or #LowerEastSide

  • Branded hashtags for campaigns or events, like #Later or #LaterCon 

  • Industry hashtags that describe your niche, like #SocialMediaManagers or #WeddingPlanners

  • Community-focused hashtags to bring your community together, like #VanLifeLiving or #IAmASweatyBetty

  • Descriptive hashtags which describe the content of your actual post, like #WoodwickCandles or #SheaButterProducts 

There’s no secret formula for how many of each of these hashtags you should include, but keeping the different categories in mind can provide valuable inspiration and help guide your strategy.

What Are the Benefits of Using Hashtags on Instagram

Using relevant, targeted hashtags on your posts and stories is one of the best ways to get discovered by new audiences on Instagram.  

Using the “right” hashtags can put you in front of your target audience, even if they haven’t connected with you before.

This can translate into more engagement, more followers, and more customers for your brand or business! 

But that’s not all. Hashtags also have plenty of uses beyond improving your discoverability. You can use them for community-building, sourcing user-generated content (UGC), running campaigns, researching your audience, and more.

That’s why it’s so important to have a clear and well-crafted hashtag strategy — without one, you could be missing out on opportunities to optimize your account and drive engagement.

For example, check out Later’s Instagram post announcing our latest Linkin.bio customization:

We use hyper-relevant hashtags like #linkinbio, ​​#smallbiztools, and #linkinbiotool in the caption so that users can easily discover our content if they’re on the lookout for a link in bio tool, like Later's Linkin. bio. 

Tl;dr: Hashtags help people find your content — increasing the likelihood of likes, comments, shares, and saves!

How to Find Trending Instagram Hashtags for Your Content Strategy


Later’s data report shows that adding 20-30 hashtags to your Instagram posts is the best way to increase your reach and engagement rates. 

But how do you find this many relevant hashtags for every post? Here are 3 different tactics you can use:

Tactic #1: Use a Hashtag Suggestion Tool like Later

Later’s Instagram hashtag tool, Hashtag Suggestions, is an easy way to find hashtags based on the content of your post and similar hashtags in your industry.

To use it, type a hashtag into the tool’s search bar, hit “Suggest,” and it’ll immediately generate new hashtags, sorted by relevance:

Sign up for a Later account to find the perfect hashtags for your Instagram strategy – in just a few seconds! 

Tactic #2: Conduct Research on the Instagram Explore Page

The Instagram Explore page is a great source of inspiration for your Instagram hashtag strategy.  

For the best results, search for keywords that are relevant to your brand or content and check out the “Top” results. 

These posts are clearly performing well with the Instagram algorithm, so take note of the different hashtags being used and whether they could work for your content.

Tactic #3: Check Instagram Hashtag Volume Using Instagram’s Tag Search Tool

When it comes to finding the best hashtags, post volume is a really important metric.

If a hashtag has already been used on millions of posts, the chances are your post will be drowned out amongst the masses.

On the other hand, if a hashtag only has a few hundred posts, it's likely that no one is searching for it on the Instagram Explore page. For a safe middle-ground, aim for hashtags with between 10K-200K posts. 

To check a hashtag's post volume, head to Instagram's tag search tool on the Explore Page.

This is a great way to vet your hashtags, and can also provide valuable inspiration. For example, you might discover a more niche hashtag that starts with the same keyword, but has a much healthier volume of posts.

Should You Use Hashtags on Instagram in the Caption or Comment Section?

Instagram has confirmed that hashtags are effective in both your post caption and the comments section – so it’s totally up to you where you want to share them. 

It is worth considering timeliness though. If you’re manually posting hashtags in the comments section, you’ll want to do this as soon as your post is published. 

TIP: If you use Later’s Instagram Scheduler, you can schedule a First Comment to go live at the same time as your post.

This is a great way to keep your caption aesthetic clean, while still benefiting from all the added exposure benefits of a good hashtag strategy.

Later’s First Comment tool lets you schedule a comment to go live at exactly the same time as your post – available on all paid plans.  

How Hashtags Can Be Used to Increase Likes On Instagram

With the right Instagram hashtag strategy you won’t just reach more people — but the right people for your brand or business.

Read: people who are likely to engage with your content.

Using 20-30 relevant hashtags will help your posts show up in more search results on the app, increasing the likelihood of likes and comments.

Take Sweaty Betty, an empowering workout brand whose target market are women with a passion for fitness. 

The account uses the search-led hashtag, #GlobalRunningDay to generate likes and a branded hashtag, #iamasweatybetty to champion a sense of community and togetherness: 

Boasting over 2.5K likes (and a pretty chatty comments section!), these niche hashtags are perfect for growing a community of like-minded runner aficionados and encouraging users to tap that heart!

Being intentional and using hashtags that your target audience is actively searching for will increase your exposure and like count. It’s a win-win.

How to Save Time With Your Instagram Hashtag Strategy 

Finding 20-30 fresh hashtags for every post you share is extremely time-consuming – but there are ways to make the process more efficient.

One way is to curate lists of 20-30 hashtags that align with your main content themes, which you can quickly adjust and add to each post.

With Later’s free Instagram Scheduler, you can create “Saved Captions” that contain your curated lists of hashtags.  

You can quickly add them to a post caption (and edit them) in two taps!

How to Build an Effective Instagram Hashtag Strategy With Analytics

The best way to build your hashtag strategy?

Building from a solid foundation. Once you've found the hashtags you want to use, it's important to start testing them and digging into your analytics.

Analyzing the performance of your hashtags is the best way to monitor the success of your experiments, and will allow you to fine tune your strategy over time.   

With Later's Hashtag Analytics tools, you can track key insights about your hashtags – including a breakdown of which are driving the most likes, comments, saves, and reach on your Instagram posts.

It automatically compares the hashtags you use with post performance over time – giving you an overview of what’s working, and what’s not, for your account. 

Hashtags are a powerful way to reach new audiences and grow your account, but it takes time and effort to see big results. 

Whether you use 10 or 30, a consistent hashtag strategy is still one of the most effective routes for growth on Instagram.

#LetsGrow!

Ready to take your hashtag strategy to the next level? Check out Later’s Instagram hashtag tool, Hashtag Suggestions, to help streamline your workflow now! 

About the Author

Amanda Demeku

Amanda is a Content Marketer at Later based in Toronto. When she’s not busy writing you can catch her playing tennis or sipping all the pop-culture tea. Say hi on Instagram — @amandademeku

Plan, schedule, and automatically publish your social media posts with Later.

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How to use hashtags on Instagram?

Help Center

Instagram features

About photos and videos

Hashtags can be added to captions or comments on posts. If you have a public profile and add a hashtag to a post, it will appear on that hashtag's page.

To add a hashtag to a photo or video:

Instagram app for Android

Take or upload a photo or video.

Select a filter, click the icon (if it's a photo), or select Next (if it's a video). nine0003

Click Add a signature..., enter the # symbol followed by text or an emoticon (example: #flowers).

Tap (if it's a photo) or select Share (if it's a video).

Instagram App for iPhone

Take or upload a photo or video.

Select a filter and click Next.

Click Add a signature..., enter the # symbol followed by text or an emoticon (example: #flowers).

Click Share.

Instagram Lite for Android

instagram.com in a browser on a mobile device

instagram.com in a browser on a desktop

To add a hashtag to an already uploaded post, edit the caption or write a comment with the hashtag.

If you click on a hashtag added to a post, you can see a page of photos and videos with the same hashtag that other people have uploaded.

Things to keep in mind:

Posts from private profiles do not appear on hashtag pages.

Numbers can be used in hashtags. However, spaces and special characters such as $ or % are not allowed.

You can only tag your own posts, not other people's photos or videos.

Up to 30 hashtags can be added to one post. Otherwise, your comment will not be published.

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Why hashtags on Instagram and do they work in 2022

Article provided by ITForce agency specialists.

You might think that there is no person on the social network Instagram* who has never heard of hashtags. But we know for sure that there are people who have never used them.

And here are some reasons why the user does not use them:

  • does not know how they work;
  • does not consider them to be important;
  • does not know how to track their performance.

What are hashtags on Instagram*?

Words in the social network Instagram* or any other that start with the hash sign #, and there are hashtags .

Most often, hashtags can be seen at the end of the text of the post. Or recently, a set of hashtags is placed in the first comment.

That's how unattractive a lot of tags at the end of a post look

Another quite popular method of using hashtags is to focus on a word or phrase in order to highlight its meaning:

Hashtags well-fitted into the text

Sometimes this variant of using tags looks extremely appropriate.

Why do we need hashtags on Instagram*?

Initially, the idea to use hashtags was as follows:
any network user marks a hashtag under his photo, and everyone else can see photos of similar topics by this tag. nine0003

These are a kind of labels on the network that can be used for various purposes:

  • To divide the posts of one user into groups or topics . For example, a girl’s blog, in which she indicates topics under each post: cooking, sports, parenting. These topics have their own markers: #cooking_at home, #sport is life, #mybaby. By clicking on such a tag, users will be able to see all publications on this topic at once, and not search for them in posts. At the moment, this feature has been completely taken over by Instagram* Guides. nine0102
High-frequency hashtag
  • Trading pages can most often use hashtags as a free method of promotion , because in the search bar the user has a choice of several tabs for the desired query.

Search query in the profile header:

Accounts in the search results for the keyword "cosmetologist"

Hashtags:

Tags for the keyword "cosmetologist"

Geolocation:

"Places" tab for the keyword "cosmetologist"

All of them take part in the search. And the more precisely the question is asked, the more likely it is that the right people will find you. This is how hashtags on Instagram* help users and page owners.

There are no special rules for writing hashtags, the main thing is that a word or phrase starts with # and immediately follows it without a space or underscore.

Example:

  • the correct hashtag is #reference ;
  • incorrect - # reference .

Instagram* itself will show that you wrote the wrong hashtag, because the correct one will be highlighted in blue, like a link.

An example of the correct and incorrect spelling of hashtags

There is also an opinion that hashtags should be visible and attract the attention of users. For this, a variety of emoticons are used, which can be several or very many.

And here we see an excess of hashtags in the post

In fact, it does not matter at all how the hashtags will look in the post itself. This will not affect their performance. nine0003

Which hashtags to choose for the best results?

By analogy with search queries, hashtags can be high-frequency and low-frequency.

Example:

  • #beautician is a high-frequency query, you will find a large number of profiles of both private beauticians and beauty salons. Number in search - 4.2 million
An example of high-frequency requests
  • #beautician_kharkov - a less high-frequency request, there will be all cosmetologists from one city, but cosmetologists from other cities can also be caught, this practice is common. The number in the search is 312 thousand. nine0102
An example of a narrower hashtag
  • #saltovkabeautician - here you will find a beautician who is geographically located in the same area of ​​the city as you and is best suited by location. The number in the search is 1.7 thousand.
Number of publications by tag #saltovkacosmetologist

Are hashtags needed on Instagram*? Yes. The more accurately the hashtag is written in the search, the more likely it is to find exactly what you were looking for.

A few tips for working with hashtags:

  1. It is better to use hashtags with countries and cities. See in advance that they are low-frequency.
  2. Formulate the query as if you were looking for something on Google. Instead of #women_clothing_ukraine, it is better to write #women_bermuda_shorts.
  3. See what tags your competitors and your customers are using. This can be done manually, spending 10-15 minutes on the strength.
  4. Gather the hashtags into a list and try inserting pairs into your posts one by one. Then follow the performance in the statistics of each entry. nine0102
Hashtag conversion statistics

How to find hashtags by photo

“Gennady” is a telegram bot that selects hashtags on Instagram* and other social networks based on uploaded photos. It works simply - we throw a photo and a smart algorithm selects the most suitable hashtags for it.

An example of automatically selected hashtags through the bot "Gennady"

How to find hashtags by photo:

Step 1. Go to "Bot Gennady" and press the /keywords command or the button "Hashtag by photo". nine0003 How to choose a hashtag from a photo

Step 2. Attach a photo or image (a button with a paperclip) and send it to the bot.

Step 3. In a second, we get a list of relevant hashtags. You can copy all or part of them - for this, click on the "Edit hashtags" button.

The bot can process only one photo at a time

Use the "Gennady" bot to automate the work.

"Hashtag by photo" will help you choose hashtags for the post, and "Idea Generator" will tell you what type of content to post on the social network. nine0003

How to collect subscriber hashtags

Pepper.Ninja is a social media scraping service. It has a tool "Subscribers hashtags" - it collects hashtags that are subscribed to by the audience of any open account, yours or competitors.

It's very simple:

  • provide a link to your Instagram* account;
  • specify the name of the unloading;
  • get a table with popular hashtags.
Parser of subscribers hashtags in Pepper.Ninja

This way you will find out what hashtags your target audience is following, and you can use them in your posts to increase your reach and reach a new audience. In addition, you will be able to learn more about the interests of your audience, as well as intercept competitors' subscribers.

Use Pepper.Ninja to ensure your posts reach the target audience.

How many hashtags can I write under one post?

The maximum number of hashtags allowed by Instagram itself is 30. This does not mean that you need to use them all at once. It is better to divide the selected hashtags into groups and track their performance. nine0003

Moreover, a post with 30 hashtags at once looks like a canvas. Often in the social network there are posts that contain one word or smiley, but at the same time have many hashtags.

Emoticons and tags instead of text

We conclude that when the user does not know what to write, he replaces the post with hashtags.

Do hashtags work on Instagram* in 2022?

In one of the Telegram SMM channels, we asked a question about hashtags, and here are the results of the survey:

Polling users about the relevance of hashtags

Subscribers of this channel are SMM specialists, marketers or active network users. We were interested to know the attitude of the experts themselves to hashtags. After all, it is they who will be able to tell for sure whether hashtags are still working or not.

Survey results:

  • Only 10% of users said they didn't see results.
  • 21% refused them altogether.
  • 53%, including our team, prefer the use of hashtags, as they see the results of these tags from their own experience. nine0102

Conclusion

Should I put hashtags on Instagram* in 2022? Definitely yes, since it is still one of the most effective free promotion methods.

Tips from us: