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How many hashtags instagram 2020


Ultimate Guide [+101 hashtags for 2022]

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.

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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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The Number of Hashtags You Should Use on Instagram, According to 18M Posts

Instagram Tips & Resources

By Monique Thomas

•

Updated on November 12, 2021

•

8 minute read

How many hashtags should you use on Instagram? We've got the answer.

Published November 12, 2021

“How many hashtags should I use on Instagram?” It’s a question that’s created much debate on social media. 

Should you only choose a few niche hashtags? Use the allotted 30? Are they even worth it anymore?

Later analyzed over 18M Instagram feed posts (excluding Instagram Videos, Reels, and Stories) to find the answer.

How Many Hashtags Should You Use on Instagram?

According to a recent post from Instagram’s @creators account, users should use between 3-5 hashtags. 

Yes, it surprised us too – especially when Instagram allegedly told creators to aim for 8-15 hashtags earlier this year.  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)

As Instagram continues to expand their discoverability and SEO tools, it makes sense that they want users to experiment with fewer, more relevant hashtags – this could help them accurately categorize and recommend your posts in suggested content streams, like the Instagram Reels feed or the updated hashtag search tabs:

It could also be a way for Instagram to streamline spammy hashtag use. At times, users include irrelevant hashtags to try to maximize the full allotted 30.

However, when we looked at how the number of hashtags impacts reach (after analyzing over 18M Instagram feed posts), we found that using more hashtags typically yields the best results. 

As you can see, while posts with 20 hashtags receive the highest average reach rate, those with 30 hashtags are close behind.  

We wondered if this trend had changed over recent years, and saw that the results were still pretty consistent in 2020: 

And even more interesting: the average reach rate significantly increases as the number of hashtags increases beyond 5 per post – as reflected in the steeper curve graphs.

When it comes to average engagement rate, using 30 Instagram hashtags per feed post results in the most likes and comments: 

Similar to reach rate, the average engagement rate grows significantly as the number of hashtags increases beyond 5. 

The takeaway? Go big or go home when it comes to your hashtag strategy. 

While using a few hashtags is good, using 20-30 relevant (and targeted) hashtags is even better for your overall reach and engagement rates. 

Still, one size doesn’t fit all, so you’ll want to analyze the performance of your hashtags to gauge what is and isn’t working (more on that later).

And remember: hashtags are a longterm game and not a quick fix for reach or engagement. But mixed with valuable content and a consistent posting cadence, you can reach new, highly-engaged audiences.

FYI: With Later, you can schedule your Instagram posts in advance for free (and access our Hashtag Suggestions tool on any paid plan). Sign up today! 

How to Find the Right Hashtags for Your Brand 

Our data findings are clear: the more hashtags you use, the better. 

However, using the right hashtags for your account is key. Every hashtag you use should be relevant to your content, audience, and business. 

Later’s Social Media Specialist, Lindsay Ashcraft, agrees: “With the right hashtag strategy, you can increase your reach and build a community of people who’ll engage with your content.” 

If you’re struggling with inspiration for which hashtags to use, it helps to break them into different categories and add more structure to your approach. 

Here are five 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 

That said, finding new hashtags to use on Instagram can be time-consuming and takes some trial and error.  

But don’t fret! There are some ways to streamline the process. Here are three ways to find the right hashtags for your brand: 

  1. Use a Hashtag Suggestion Tool like Later

  2. Draw Inspiration from the Instagram Explore Page

  3. Discover Tags Using Instagram's Search Tool

#1: Use a Hashtag Suggestion Tool like Later

Later’s Hashtag Suggestion tool 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:

“We use this feature to find new hashtags and keep our hashtag lists updated,” shares Lindsay. “It’s really handy! Make sure you’re typing in niche hashtags for the best results.”

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

#2: Draw Inspiration from the Instagram Explore Page

The Instagram Explore page is constantly evolving, with new topic categories and advanced search functionalities rolling out all the time.  

For example, you can now search by keywords to discover relevant content. Let’s say you own a candle company, and want to see what other accounts are doing. 

Type “candles” in the search, and tons of posts will appear:

You’ll have the option to discover "Top" posts, scroll through accounts that have "candles" in their Name Field, and see posts with a tag containing that keyword:

Using these filters will help you identify posts that are both similar to your business and performing well in Instagram's search results.

While we don’t recommend copy and pasting their hashtag strategy, you can gain valuable insights that’ll help you when choosing hashtags you’d like to experiment with. 

TIP: Keep on top of your hashtag lists by adding them as Saved Captions in Later. You can curate multiple hashtag lists and add them to your captions in two taps!

#3: Discover Tags Using Instagram's Hashtag 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.

With Instagram's hashtag search tool, you can type in a hashtag and discover others that start with the same keyword, along with their post volume.

In this example, we’ll choose #SelfCare (55M posts):

As you scroll down, you’ll be able to find hashtag variations that are still popular but have less competition (we recommend using these!), like #SelfCareIsForEveryone (61K posts) or #SelfCareFam (27K posts). 

When you tap on a hashtag, you’ll be able to see the type of posts that get the most engagement (in the Top tab), and use them as inspiration for structuring your content. 

TIP: Add up to 30 hashtags to a comment rather than your post caption – they still work in hashtag search results! 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 to Optimize Your Hashtag Strategy on Instagram

A great hashtag strategy doesn’t happen overnight – it requires constant trial and error.

“We’re big on experimenting,” says Lindsay. “We’re constantly testing new niche hashtags, trying broad ones, and seeing what generates the most engagement.” 

Analyzing the performance of your hashtags is one of the best ways to judge the success of your experiments. 

Without analytics, you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t – potentially losing out on opportunities to adjust your strategy and engage with new audiences. 

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

Implementing a hashtag strategy is not only great for discoverability, but can help you build a community and drive engagement. 

So, how many hashtags should you use on Instagram? 

While 20 is the magic number for reach, and 30 is the magic number for engagement, they need to be relevant to your brand, content, and target audience.

And remember: a great hashtag strategy takes time, so experiment and see what works for you! 

Ready to start planning and scheduling your Instagram posts in advance? Join Later – the world's leading Instagram marketing platform, today. 

Editor’s Note: Study based on analysis of 18.1M Instagram feed posts published via Later. Excludes Instagram Videos, Reels, and Stories. Data provided by Annie Yao, Nolan O'Reilly, and Barinder Thind. 

About the Author

Monique Thomas

Monique is Later's Editorial Content Marketing Manager. You can usually find her sipping matcha or adding another book to her TBR list. Say hi on Instagram — @wordsbymonique

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

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Instagram Hashtags: Everything You Need To Know in 2022

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© 2022 Later. All Rights Reserved.

How many hashtags attract more likes and subscriptions?

HomeArticleSMM How many hashtags attract more likes and subscriptions?

The most important news in the field of Internet marketing

How many hashtags to use in Instagram posts for the maximum number of likes and comments?

Most recently, Instagram stated that users should use 3 to 5 hashtags.
Just a minute! Not long before, Instagram told creators to aim for 8-15 hashtags. But at the same time, it allows you to use 30 hashtags.

So where is the truth?
In this case, clearly not in the middle.

Yes, and to trust the help, especially at present, to put it mildly, is a so-so idea.

Later decided to check how many hashtags should be used on Instagram now?
And at the same time, test the hypothesis that fewer tags increase the relevance of a post and thereby increase its position.
This seems quite logical, since users often use irrelevant tags to fill in all 30 fields.

Later analyzed 18 million posts, excluding Reels and Stories, of course, and found some interesting dependencies.
Link to the original study https://later.com/blog/how-many-hashtags-on-instagram/

The hypothesis about the advantage of fewer hashtags has been refuted.
Posts with more hashtags performed better.

This is clearly seen here:

We can also see that posts with 20 hashtags are slightly ahead of posts with 30 hashtags.

The company decided to find out - is this a new trend or was it?

The result is again on the screen:

As you can see, the data for 2020 is almost the same as the data for 2021.
And note that exceeding the 5 hashtags recommended by Instagram gives a sharp increase in reach.
Here is the answer for you, is it worth blindly trusting what is written in the help.

And the use of all 30 allowed hashtags gives an increase in engagement in the form of more likes and comments.

This can be seen in this graph:

And by the way, the recommended 5 hashtags per post again showed the worst result here.

Output

It is optimal to use 20-30 hashtags that are most relevant to the content of the post.
How to choose relevant hashtags? This is the topic of the next article! Don't miss it :)

Material based on video:

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Latest week's latest

Top 50 popular hashtags on Instagram in 2022

Cool post for Instagram* written. The picture has been selected. It remains to attract the audience. A simple and free way to attract is to choose hashtags.

You shouldn't cram all known hashtags into one post, otherwise Instagram* may mistake it for spam and send it to a ban. Below we talked about the nuances of using and searching for the most popular hashtags on Instagram * in 2022.

Content:

  • How Instagram hashtags work*
  • Where to find popular hashtags for Instagram*
  • Ways to find and collect relevant hashtags
  • Hashtag selection services
  • Best hashtags for promotion on Instagram*
  • Top 50 Instagram Hashtags* of 2022
  • Instagram target hashtag examples*
  • Which Instagram hashtags* get the most likes

How hashtags work on Instagram*

A hashtag is a # sign with some word. Clicking on it opens a feed with all posts with the same hashtag.

How people come:

  • search for this hashtag on Instagram* or general search;
  • click on a hashtag under some photo and get into the general feed of posts with this tag.

Keep in mind that people will search for the simplest words - #flowers, #sea, #manicure, #vacation.

To search by hashtags, enter the desired word or tag in the search bar

Polysyllabic tags get clicked just as often, but people are too lazy to write them. Therefore, use polysyllabic hashtags on Instagram * for promotion in 2022.

Where to find popular hashtags for Instagram*

Hashtags can be divided by popularity into 3 categories:

  • high-frequency – from 100,000 requests, for example, #sea;
  • medium frequency - from 50,000 to 100,000 requests, example: #sea2022;
  • low-frequency - up to 50,000 requests, for example, #Rostov Sea.

We have already written about how to work with low frequency hashtags on Instagram*. In the article, we will consider popular, and these are always high-frequency tags.

The search results show the most popular hashtags on Instagram* in 2022 on a given topic Posts with the most popular words come out all the time. You will stay in the feed for only a couple of seconds and go down without having time to interest the public.
  • Low involvement. If there are only tags under the post that have nothing to do with the post, for example, #follow, #beautiful, #likes, they will not cause interest. The maximum is to collect autolikes. People won't open and read the post.

    • Take the time to collect thematic tags. How to collect them in 2022 - below in the article.

    Adding favorite tags to posts is convenient in SMMplanner. In the autoposting service, you can create templates with tags so as not to enter tags every time again. You can only slightly change the set depending on the publication.

    Ways to search and collect relevant hashtags for Instagram*

    You can search for popular tags in different ways:

    • in the general Instagram search* – enter words and see how many queries appear;
    • in the top of the hashtag search - in the "tags" tab;
    • similar popular tags - using special services or bots.

    For example, ask Gennady, a Telegram bot, for help. Gennady is responsive and will select hashtags for you by word or photo, as well as suggest an idea for a new post and the best time to publish it. You can see how Gena works in the selection services section.

    How to choose hashtags for Instagram* from all the variety just for your topic:

    • Open the main hashtag search on Instagram*, enter one of the popular search queries for your category, for example, #hotelerspb. The social network itself will offer similar popular tags in the drop-down list: #hoteliers, #hotellers will understand, #hotellers of Russia, etc.
    • Feel free to add tags with geolocation: your city / region / region. For example: #makeupyaroslavl or #handmade gingerbread.
    • Search for similar hashtags. Enter the tag into the search, view the posts from the top or from the recent ones tagged with it. Choose the appropriate tags, which are also placed under these posts.
    • Look at competitors. And in order not to miss anyone, subscribe to the top Instagram hashtags * from your niche. When posts of competitors appear in the feed, do not be lazy to look at their publications.
    Most popular Instagram hashtags* in millions of posts

    The right Instagram hashtags* will help you find your target audience, even if you haven't met before. Tags work well not only in posts, but also in reels. We wrote about the format in detail in the article “Instagram Reels: everything you need to know about Instagram short video reels*”.

    A cool feature of the format is that Instagram* publishes Reels in the "Recommended" tab. This is a good way to get promoted for free, because it’s quite difficult to get there with regular posts or stories.

    Hashtag selection services for Instagram*

    There is no need to reinvent the wheel if it has been done before you. Simplify your life by using programs and services for selecting hashtags. Many of them are free.

    Gennady

    Telegram bot, hashtag generator for Instagram* and other social networks based on the uploaded photo. It works simply - we throw a photo, and a smart algorithm selects the most appropriate hashtags for it.

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

    How to find hashtags by photo:

    Step 1. Go to "Bot Gennady" and press the /keywords command or the "Hashtag by photo" button.

    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 ‌‌

    ‌‌ Similarly, hashtags are selected by the word. Use Gennady's services to automate your work.

    Toptag

    Inside this little service is stored a huge database of various tags, sorted by popularity and subject. With it, you can find which hashtags to put on Instagram * on the selected topic.

    If a person sells sneakers on Instagram*, they should look at popular tags in their direction:

    Hashtag Performance

    The tool helps to check the profile for prohibited tags. It can also analyze the account and determine unique hashtags - the user can see which tags were the most effective as a result of promotion. To use it, you will have to register and understand a little the English-language interface.

    The functionality is small, but it does an excellent job with tags

    There are much more than three services for selecting popular hashtags on Instagram* in 2022, so we invite everyone who wants to test them to the article “Hashtag generators: 8 services that will help you find any hashtags for social networks".

    And if you need an analytics tool to evaluate the effectiveness of using hashtags, we recommend choosing it using the article “The 5 Best Instagram Analytics Services*: Pros, Cons, Opportunities and Prices”.

    Best hashtags for Instagram promotion*

    Here are 7 different types of hashtags that are suitable for any business:

    • product or service name - #photographer;
    • industry niche - #wedding photographer, #children's photographer, #aerial photography for weddings;
    • special event or season - #photoshoot at Christmas;
    • geolocation - #fotovoronezh;
    • daily posts - # everyday life of a photographer;
    • briefly about activities - #backstage shooting, #background for studio shooting;
    • acronyms - #qotd (quote of the day).

    Each of these types of tags can be used in your business - use once or make a regular heading.

    Branded hashtag on Instagram*

    Let's separately write down the moment that it would be good to come up with and introduce a branded hashtag - a unique combination of words or letters that will characterize your company. This is not necessarily the name of the organization. The main thing is that this tag is directly related to your company and helps to identify it.

    If a brand or company has its own branded hashtag, you can ask your followers to follow it. This is a great way to regularly appear in the feed of subscribers and tell them about the new. This increases the chances of user engagement.

    The hashtag #realchinatea can be used to find all publications from the tea workshop

    You can also run contests for certain hashtags on Instagram* and ask subscribers to put them under the posts during the draw. So the tags will be seen by friends of subscribers who may not even know about the company.

    50 top hashtags on Instagram* in 2022

    * 2022, 25 in Russian and 25 in English.

    25 top Instagram hashtags* of 2022 in Russian:

    #beautiful #night #best #selfie #Instagram*
    #dream #friendship #girl #we are #mood
    #guy #city #followmeme #love #children
    #photo #cat #subscribe #joy #smile
    #instatag #evening #favorite #instaphoto #Instagram*_Russian

    It is interesting that this year such hashtags as #friendship and #children came to the top as opposed to the bygone #clouds and #nature.

    25 trending hashtags on Instagram* in 2022 in English:

    #me #instadaily #selfie #photooftheday #followme
    #smile #summer #swag #instalike #igers
    #tbt #picoftheday #beautiful #llike4like #happy
    #night #girls #fun #l4l #instatag
    #amazing #smile #love #fashion #likeforlike

    We remind you, friends, that you need to carefully insert hashtags that have already been used more than a million times. Yes, they can bring a couple of extra likes. But they are unlikely to bring subscribers from the target audience. The most popular tags are useless in finding the target audience.

    Examples of targeted hashtags on Instagram*

    Hashtags for promotion on Instagram* in 2022 are placed under posts with different purposes - to comment, like or subscribe. Each of these purposes has its own popular tags. Top Instagram hashtags* for promotion through comments0 #comments #comment #commentbackteam #pleasecomment #commentator #comment #commentbelow #commentalways #reviews #write me #comments4comments #photooftheday Huge number of posts with this tag

    Instagram hashtags* for likes and followers

    When pictures need more likes, use the following hashtags:

    #like mutually #likes on Instagram* #likesforlike #l4l
    #likeslikes #likename #like4follow #like4like
    #like as non-native #likes mutually #likesforfollow #likesreturned
    Popular English-language tags include many times more posts

    We recommend reading the article “What hashtags to put for likes on Instagram * in 2021”, where this group of tags is discussed in more detail.

    Some users on Instagram* are ready to subscribe to your channel if the account subscribes to them in response. If you use certain tags in posts, you can get new subscribers.

    Actual hashtags on Instagram* in 2022 to get subscribers:

    #subscription mutually #followme #follow4follow #followforfollow
    #subscription4subscription #follow me #follow #subscribe
    #follow your dream #mutual_subscription #followme #follow
    In almost every type of tags, Reels fall into the popular ones

    Attention, the use of such tags does not guarantee that the target audience will come, who will be interested in your content and products. It is quite possible that these will be accounts that will simply hang in the subscribers.

    Instagram hashtags* for business promotion

    To find tags for your niche, you can use the services we talked about above. You can also try to drive in suitable words into the search in these services or in the search for tags on Instagram*.

    For example, if a company sells healthy food in Saratov, you can try to find the following popular tags:

    #goulash with buckwheatsaratov #moynovysaratov #healthyfoodsaratov #home cookingsaratov

    By adding geolocation to the tag, the number of posts becomes less, it becomes much easier to become popular 9012 9012 Think about what the business offers, where and how exactly. And on this basis, select words that can relate to business, and choose the most relevant among them.

    In addition, you can use tags from the categories:

    • motivation: #motivation of the day, #motivationwill help you, #motivationinlife, #motivationinside, #motivation, #motivationday;
    • selling: #sales, #sell, #sell - with the addition of goods;
    • for an online store: #online store, #onlineclothing store, #winternetshop;
    • for a restaurant: #restaurants, #restaurant - with the addition of geolocation, prices, specific dishes;
    • for salon: #beauty salon, #hairdresser, #makeup artist, #manicure, #hairstyle.

    This is not an exhaustive list of trending hashtags on Instagram* in 2022. But there are many useful ones among them.

    Which Instagram hashtags* get the most likes

    You need to understand that posts with hashtags that are correctly matched to the subject of the account will get more than others. Do not cram 30 tags into a post, as in 2016, and spam with high-frequency popular hashtags. For this, instead of large coverage, you can find yourself in a shadow bath without impressions.

    It is best to choose organic tags for posts. The right approach to page promotion will provide you with likes, comments, an increase in subscribers and getting into the top of Instagram *. How to get to the top, we wrote in the article "How to get to the top of Instagram *: 6 tips."

    We recommend choosing different tags for Posts, Reels and Stories so that they can catch the eye of different audiences. For example, if you have a food account, you can use the #cleaneats tag.

    Learn more