How many hashtags should you use on instagram 2020

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:

#love (1.835B)
#instagood (1.150B)
#fashion (812.7M)
#photooftheday (797.3M)
#beautiful (661.0M)
#art (649.9M)
#photography (583.1M)
#happy (578.8M)
#picoftheday (570.8M)
#cute (569.1M)
#follow (560.9M)
#tbt (536.4M)
#followme (528.5M)
#nature (525.7M)
#like4like (515.6M)
#travel (497.3M)
#instagram (482.6M)
#style (472.3M)
#repost (471.4M)
#summer454.2M
#instadaily (444.0M)
#selfie (422.6M)
#me (420.3M)
#friends (396.7M)
#fitness (395.8M)
#girl (393. 8M)
#food (391.9M)
#fun (385.6M)
#beauty (382.8M)
#instalike (374.6M)
#smile (364.5M)
#family (357.7M)
#photo (334.6M)
#life (334.5M)
#likeforlike (328.2M)
#music (316.1M)
#ootd (308.2M)
#follow4follow (290.6M)
#makeup (285.3M)
#amazing (277.5M)
#igers (276.5M)
#nofilter (268.9M)
#dog (264.0M)
#model (254.7M)
#sunset (249.8M)
#beach (246.8M)
#instamood (238.1M)
#foodporn (229.4M)
#motivation (229.1M)
#followforfollow (227.9M)

Popular B2B Hashtags

#business (101M)
#entrepreneur (93M)
#success (82M)
#onlineshop (70M)
#smallbusiness (104M)
#marketing (69M)
#branding (38M)
#marketingdigital (39M)
#innovation (14M)
#ecommerce (12M)
#retail (8. 2M)
#onlinemarketing (8M)
#contentmarketing (6.5M)
#marketingtips (6.2M)
#marketingstrategy (6M)
#marketingstrategy (6M)
#startups (5.3M)
#management (5.1M)
#businesstips (5.1M)
#software (5M)
#B2B (2.6M)
#instagramforbusiness (1.4M)
#b2bmarketing (528k)
#eventmarketing (408k)
#b2bsales (125k)

Popular B2C Hashtags

#training (133M)
#smallbusiness (104M)
#business (101M)
#sale (95M)
#onlineshopping (85M)
#marketing (69M)
#marketingdigital (39M)
#promo (35M)
#socialmedia (32M)
#digitalmarketing (25M)
#startup (24M)
#socialmediamarketing (19. 7M)
#sales (19M)
#advertising (15M)
#ecommerce (12.3M)
#networking (12.1M)
#onlinebusiness (11.4M)
#onlinemarketing (8M)
#smallbiz (7M)
#company (7.9M)
#startuplife (5.6M)
#contentmarketing (6.5M)
#socialmediatips (3.2M)
#marketplace (2.5M)
#b2c (350k)
#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:

Write your caption as usual but don’t include any hashtags.
Once your post is published, simply click the speech bubble icon under your post to leave a comment.
Write out or paste the hashtags you want to include in the comment box and tap Post.
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.

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.
Enter a punctuation mark (try a period, bullet, or dash), then hit Return again.
Repeat steps 2 to 4 at least three times.
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.

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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:

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

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.

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:

Use a Hashtag Suggestion Tool like Later
Draw Inspiration from the Instagram Explore Page
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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How many hashtags can be inserted on Instagram in posts, stories and reels

Without hashtags, nowhere. We put them under posts, insert them into stories and Reels. We are looking for companies, publications, places, interesting information on them. But there are a few questions: how many hashtags can I insert on Instagram* and do I need to use all available tags in each post?

We figure out how many, how and what hashtags can be inserted on Instagram* in any publications.

Hashtag relevance

We have talked about the benefits of using hashtags on Instagram* many times in our posts. For example, in the articles “How to correctly write hashtags on Instagram*: guide” and “Why do we need hashtags on Instagram* and how to use them in 2021”.

The effectiveness of hashtags has not decreased in 2021. They are still used by businesses that want to make it easier for users to interact with an account and break into recommendations, and users who need to quickly find content on a specific topic or improve page navigation. nine0003

To make it easier to select hashtags for publications, use the help of our telegram bot "Gennadiya". It does a great job of tagging any content. Send him a photo for a post - and choose the hashtags that you like from the suggested hashtags.

Allowed number of hashtags for a post

The maximum number of hashtags for a photo or video is 30. You won't be able to add more. Your post will not be published until you remove the extra tags. You can, of course, send them in the comments, but then it will be a fence of hashtags, not a post. nine0003

Before littering each entry with a lot of labels, consider whether it would be useful. You should not use more than 8-10 hashtags under one post, otherwise they look like a sheet. Not every follower who comes to your page will like to wade through a lot of hashtags. Few people will read all 30 tags, and, most likely, they will leave your page without checking in under the post. Socialinsider's 2021 detailed hashtag study confirms that it's better to use 6-12 hashtags rather than all 30.

Please note that using the maximum number of hashtags under each post may result in account shadowban.

If you want to find hashtags that will help you collect likes, read our article “What hashtags to use for likes on Instagram* in 2021”. In it, we figured out in detail which tags should be put to get likes, and which ones are better to refuse. Of course, hashtags alone will not work to increase the number of likes and subscribers, as well as promote the page. Even if you insert the maximum number of tags. To understand how to market with the right amount of tags, check out our article How to Promote Services on Instagram* in 2021. nine0003 Thai noodles heavily seasoned with hashtags

Best number of tags in posts

Add 6-12 tags to posts that reflect the content of the post as much as possible. Then the user will not cling to a huge number of tags. You can read more in Socialinsider's 2021 hashtag study, but it's in English.

Our blog has an article "How to write hashtags on Instagram *: guide". It tells you how best to write tags in posts, reels and stories, what types and types there are, and why you should use them on Instagram*. Read it, you won't regret it :-)

Allowed and optimal number of hashtags in Stories

Stories tend to have smaller reach on Instagram* compared to posts. But users are more likely to interact with content, thanks to stickers and other built-in communication tools. They evaluate the quality of interaction with the audience of a blogger or a company.

You can use no more than 10 hashtags in stories. But this will be a lot. The recommended number of tags per story is 3–5. There is not much space for text in the History, so you need to try to fit everything. nine0003

We have an article about why hashtags are on Instagram*. Read it if you want to develop your account and understand relevant tags.

The optimal number of hashtags is combined with the beauty of the mountains

The allowed number of hashtags in Reels

There is also a hashtag limit on Instagram* when posting Reels. A maximum of 30 tags can be inserted. Here is the same rule as in the posts: a clear match to the topic of the video, otherwise the user can hide you from the feed. It is better to put several tags - 3-5, but on the topic. To make it easier to insert hashtags, look at the reels on a similar topic and use the author's hashtags. Or take a look at our collections of "80 hashtags for promotion and promotion in social networks" and "Popular hashtags about nature: how and why to use." nine0003

There is a possibility that when using hashtags in rils, the video is driven into certain limits and stops collecting maximum views. Learn more about this format in our article "Instagram Reels: Everything you need to know about Instagram Short Reels*".

What hashtags to refuse if you have a lot of them

There are some tags that you should not insert into posts for various reasons. They will not be banned for them, but user factors will also not be up to par. Below are 3 common types of hashtags for which subscribers will not say thank you. nine0003

Irrelevant

What we talked about above. If you write posts about construction, you do not need to use the hashtags #vacation, #earnings and the like. What the post is about is in the hashtags. The exception may be unique hashtags of the company, which should be used more often.

Millionaire tags

Another type of hashtags that do not add value to the post are high-frequency hashtags, the publications of which have exceeded one billion. If you insert such a hashtag, then the post will linger in the search for only a couple of minutes, if not less. And then it will get lost in the thickness of others of the same kind, which came out a couple of minutes later. For example, the #love hashtag has dozens of new posts per second. You can’t even hope to get your portion of attention on such a tag. It is better to pay attention to medium and low frequency hashtags. nine0003

Raffle without draw

If you don't plan to raffle anything, give away prizes or run contests, don't use these hashtags. Users will come by the tag, see that the topic of the post is fundamentally different from the hashtags, and leave. Or they may start complaining that they went to the draw, but he is not here.

This #prank is a strange thing - there is a “prank” tag, but there is no competition

In conclusion

We figured out how many hashtags you can put on Instagram* under posts and stories, which tags and mistakes to avoid. We clarified not only the maximum, but also the optimal number of hashtags so that everything in the post is organic. nine0003

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More information about hashtags, Instagram* and digital - in our blog.

in a post or in the first comment? — Social networks on vc.

When it comes to the best place to put hashtags on Instagram (in a post or in a comment), social media experts are divided.

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To debunk hashtag myths, Socialinsider partnered with Quuu to analyze 649,895 posts from 6,784 business accounts with varying follower counts. The research report contains useful information for choosing the location of hashtags, their number and design, depending on the size of the accounts and the purpose of the post. nine0003

1. Most brands use hashtags in the text of the post

There is a perception that putting hashtags in the first comment makes a post neater and more engaging, while having hashtags in the post itself can look spammy. It seems that not all brands think so.

87.7% of brands use hashtags in profile text, compared to only 12.3% in comments.

Among all analyzed posts in 9In 3.8% of cases, hashtags were placed in the text, in 6. 2% - in the first comment.

2. Reach and number of impressions are higher when hashtags are placed in the text of the post

Posting hashtags in a post gets more impressions, regardless of account size. However, a detailed analysis reveals clear differences between accounts with up to 100,000 followers and more than 100,000.

How to use hashtags for maximum reach

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The use of hashtags in the text of the post gives more coverage for posts of small and medium profiles. However, for accounts with more than 100 thousand followers, the situation is different: the average reach of posts with hashtags in the text is lower (14.8%) than for posts with hashtags in the first comment (16.9%).

Jenn Herman, social media strategist, notes: “It makes no significant difference to the algorithm where exactly you place your hashtags. The exception is the most frequent hashtags like #love. Using such a hashtag in a comment can lead to a drop in reach.” nine0003

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How to use hashtags to increase impressions

If the main goal is to make the post visible to the maximum number of users, while engagement is not important, impressions will be the key metric. In this case, hashtags should be placed in the body of the post, regardless of the size of the profile. nine0003

Unlike small and medium-sized accounts, the average number of impressions of a post of large Instagram accounts (more than 100 thousand followers) practically does not depend on the location of the hashtags.

Naturally, the result also depends on the number of hashtags.

3. Brands love extremes: if not 7, then 30 hashtags at once

Experts regularly try to determine the ideal number of hashtags in an Instagram post.

Some people think that the optimal number is up to 7, others - up to 11, others are sure that it is worth using all 30 hashtags (maximum on Instagram). And someone simply advises brands to “find your magic number.” nine0003

Socialinsider and Quuu experts also recommend doing your own experiments. Read more about this in the Instagram hashtag guide.

The recommendations below are based on how the analyzed brands use hashtags.

Among the brands that place hashtags in the text of the post, two extremes can be distinguished: either there are 7 hashtags, or their number is close to 30

These extremes are clearly visible on the graph:

Things are different with hashtags in the first comment - in most cases there are only two of them:

However, is this the best option?

Alex Khan, Social Media Coach: “I think A/B testing is always a must. In my experience, there is no difference in where hashtags are placed. Since Instagram changes its algorithms regularly, it's much more important to constantly test what works best for you, use a variety of hashtags, and experiment with new ones."

4. Engagement depends on the number of followers, placement and number of hashtags

At first glance, it may seem that the placement of hashtags has little to no effect on user engagement rates.

A closer look reveals that engagement is affected by both the placement of hashtags and the number of followers.

So, where to place hashtags and how many should there be?

By segmenting profiles by number of followers and looking at each group individually, you can get a general idea of which posts are most successful. nine0003

Below are recommendations on the number and placement of hashtags for accounts with different numbers of followers (peak values are taken into account).