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How to find hashtags for 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.

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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🚀 Selection of hashtags for Instagram — LiveDune Blog

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Hashtags for Instagram promotion

Instagram hashtags are a simple and affordable method of free promotion. They work similarly to keywords in Google or Yandex, that is, they help users navigate to the content they are interested in, and they allow a brand or blogger to increase coverage and attract a new audience.

Why do we need hashtags

Do hashtags still work on Instagram

How to choose the right hashtags

How to make hidden hashtags

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Why do we need hashtags

Initially, hashtags were invented to make it easier for users to find the information they need. Now the possibilities of tags have expanded. Hashtags make it easy to group content into topics and categories. Stores using navigation hashtags can place different categories of goods to make it easier for customers to navigate the assortment. An example of a brand navigation hashtag: #faberlic_discounts or #faberlic_flavors. nine0003

Unique hashtags are also used during sweepstakes, sales or marathons, so that participants and anyone who is interested can follow the progress of the event.

Do Instagram hashtags still work? For example, the #travel hashtag has over 600 million posts. It is placed on travel, or simply laying out beautiful nature. Among the huge amount of published content under this hashtag, your post will simply get lost and will not be of any use. nine0003

In order for hashtags to work, namely to increase reach, bring in new subscribers or customers, they must match the subject of the profile and the published content. The more accurate your tags are, the more likely you are to be found by potential customers. For commercial accounts on Instagram, it is better to choose medium-frequency and low-frequency hashtags. They are more specific and designed for a narrow target audience. For example, instead of the general hashtag #renovation of apartments (about 3 million posts, that is, a high-frequency query), it is better to choose #renovation of apartments insochi (about 10,000 posts, that is, a medium-frequency query). The more you specify the request (add a city, district, specify a service), the less competitors you have for this hashtag. Besides mid- and low-frequency tags are the most converting - they are followed by people who know exactly what they want.

How to choose the right hashtags for Instagram

The selection of tags requires a competent approach and analysis so that potential customers and subscribers can find you and your offer.

Research your competitors' accounts

One of the easiest ways to find the right tags is to look at your competitors and related accounts by topic/audience interests. In order not to manually analyze each post, add a competitive account to LiveDune and go to the Posts tab - the Hashtags table. All the tags that were posted in the account will be collected here - the larger the font, the more often the hashtag was used. Conveniently, hashtags are taken into account both from the text of the post and from the comments under the post. Click on the hashtag you are interested in - a page on Instagram will open, where you can see its frequency. It is convenient not to drive in the hashtag manually. nine0009

Search for hashtags by keywords

In the Instagram app, click on the magnifying glass icon and enter a keyword/phrase that relates to your niche or published content in the search box, then go to the "Tags" tab. The search result will show all popular hashtags and their frequency. Try to choose also mid-low frequency hashtags, for this, specify the phrase.

You can also search for key phrases in Yandex Wordstat, it's convenient that in the service you can immediately filter requests for a specific region . Additionally, Wordstat will return related queries that your potential customers have requested, which makes it easier to select future hashtags. After you create a list of requests, go to Instagram and check their frequency. Select low-frequency ones and use them in your posts.

Avoid banned hashtags

To avoid being blocked or shadowbanned by Instagram, avoid using banned hashtags - anything related to violence, slander, pornography, drugs, firearms dealings, and organized hate groups crime and terrorism. nine0003

Temporarily or permanently, Instagram blocks certain tags from appearing in search results. To check if you're accidentally using a banned hashtag, just type the word into the search bar and see the result.

How to make hidden hashtags

To focus on the text of the post, hashtags can be placed in the comments, and not added to the post itself. They work on the same principle. N There is another life hack that will allow you to completely hide hashtags. nine0009

  • Write any comment to your post.
  • Add a reply to this comment. Write hashtags in it.
  • Delete the first comment. The second comment will be automatically hidden, but the hashtags will still work, i.e. Your post will show up with the hashtag you entered.

This method has one drawback - you will not be able to view and edit hidden hashtags on Instagram. I'll have to delete the post and start over again. Properly selected hashtags can attract a new audience and increase desired coverage on Instagram. But hashtags are not the only free way to promote. We described all promotion methods in the article “How to promote an account on Instagram for free”. nine0009

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The most popular hashtags on Instagram: everything you need to know

There are many theories about popular hashtags on Instagram: how they work, increase reach and help promote your account. We’ll tell you how everything really works and how to work with hashtags, select tags for a post and analyze effectiveness.

What are Instagram hashtags

A hashtag is a word preceded by a # symbol that acts as a link within a social network. Users use hashtags to mark posts related to a particular topic. Sometimes personal hashtags are created to separate the posts in the account into different categories. nine0003

On Instagram, you can put up to 30 hashtags under one post. All subsequent words will simply not work as hashtags, but will look like plain text.

Hashtags can be placed not in the body of the post, but in the comments. The main thing is that this comment is left by the owner of the account.

It does not matter how much time has passed between the publication of the post and the addition of hashtags. But if hashtags are added much later, the post will not reach the top for them: this is greatly affected by the speed of gaining likes, and for old posts it is low. nine0003 There are also

hashtags in stories. They work on the same principle as hashtags in an account: when clicking on a tag, the user goes to the feed with other publications where the same hashtag is used.

Why Instagram hashtags are needed

Hashtags solve several problems: from contest mechanics to account promotion.

  1. Sort photos by subject

Initially, hashtags were invented to determine the topic of publications: it is really convenient to find all posts about food in one click. And now Instagram hashtags work that way, especially on people's personal accounts. nine0003

  1. Create rubrics

Bloggers or brands write about various topics. So that posts in one account do not mix, they use personal hashtags with a category designation, for example: #mashaest, #mashasport, #mashatravels original).

  1. Help run a contest, giveaway, sfs

Without hashtags, most contest mechanics would be impossible. By hashtags, the organizers find participants and determine the winner. nine0003

  1. Group UGC content

Brands find posts with UGC thanks to hashtags. Users post reviews, photos from establishments, shots of products on their personal pages, but at the same time indicate the brand hashtag. With the help of the hashtag, the company finds this content and can react to the publication or use the author's post on their page.

  1. Attract new people to the account

Users find new accounts through hashtags and like or follow the account. nine0003

  1. Help find clients

In some areas, unspoken rules have been formed for publishing hashtags, through which you can find the accounts of people or companies that interest you.

For example, nail salons and private masters indicate the hashtag #manicure NAME OF THE CITY (district, metro station). Customers know about this and search for a service in the right place using hashtags.


What is a shadowban

This is a myth. For several months, the topic of the shadowban has been very relevant for marketers. According to the theory, Instagram bans for some tags, and the account does not appear in the search results for them. nine0003

Instagram support denied this information. Representatives of the social network explained that the algorithms for generating hashtag results are very complex and not all posts, in principle, can get into this feed. Therefore, sometimes (rarely) the post is not shown by the hashtag, but the point is not at all in the shadow ban.

However, there is a blacklist of hashtags: they are associated with prohibited topics (violence, swearing, sexual content). They are prohibited from being used.

How to get to the top by hashtags

Being in the top 9 posts for a popular hashtag on Instagram can bring additional likes, reach, and sometimes followers.

Hashtags are conditionally divided into:

High-frequency - more than 100,000 publications.

Medium frequency - more than 50,000 publications.

Low frequency - up to 50,000 publications.

Depending on the size of your account, choose the appropriate type of hashtags. Hundreds of factors affect reaching the top by hashtag, but the main one is the speed of a set of reactions under the post. nine0003

  1. Select the tag you want to rank for.
  2. Look at the current top: how many likes are on the posts and when they were published.
  3. If your account usually gets fewer likes in the same amount of time, choose a less popular hashtag.
  4. Set a time to post when your audience is active (via Instagram stats or more advanced with Popsters.ru, details below).
  5. Post with a hashtag. nine0108

An easy way to rank for a popular hashtag on Instagram: Stories with that tag are also displayed in the hashtag results. In them, the competition is lower than in the tape. Try to get into the collection of stories.

Most popular hashtags on Instagram

Users search for the most popular hashtags on the social network. There are millions of posts with these hashtags. They have a common theme, for example:

#love #instagood #me #tbt #cute #follow #followme #photooftheday #happy #beautiful #selfie #picoftheday #like4like #instagramanet #instatag #smile #friends #fun #fashion #summer #instadaily #igers #instalike #swag # amazing #tflers #follow4follow #likeforlike #bestoftheday #l4l

As you can see, most hashtags on Instagram are aimed at mutual activity. Once upon a time, users could honestly reply with a subscription to users who posted the #follow4follow hashtag. But now you will only collect mass followers and mass likers. These hashtags are not suitable for popularity.


It is impossible to reach the top for such hashtags, and you will quickly fail in the general feed. They only give autolikes from users who are set to post with popular hashtags. nine0003

Why do you need it? What will the most popular hashtags on Instagram give you? You may get more likes. But this is activity from irrelevant accounts, most often commercial or bots.

There are ways to get to the top of thematic hashtags , thanks to the use of popular hashtags without cheating.

  1. Post with 30 popular hashtags.
  1. After 5-10 minutes, delete these hashtags and put thematic, low-frequency ones that will remain in the post forever. nine0108

This scheme does not look like an example of competent promotion, whether to apply it is up to you.

How to find popular hashtags on Instagram

Services for selecting hashtags

Popular tags are published on different resources - there are a lot of them in Google search results. You can find collections in apps like MyTager.

Instagram recommendations when searching

Start typing a hashtag in the Instagram search bar and the social network will suggest similar options. nine0003


Does account promotion through hashtags work?

The scheme of getting likes only for the right words in the signature looks attractive, but this method is outdated. Some users believe that popular hashtags on Instagram will help them promote their account, but in practice it turns out that they receive only a few dozen likes (and this is not a bad result) from irrelevant accounts.

Whether popular hashtags are suitable for you to promote your Instagram account, you can only find out by experience - test the effectiveness of different hashtags. nine0003

Users do not search for information on thematic hashtags, new accounts are found in the "Recommendations" section. Getting there is a separate challenge. The list of recommended publications is individual for each user. It is affected by what the user likes, comments and saves.

How to find topical quality hashtags

Use no more than 5-10 hashtags per post. Choose hashtags that are relevant to your account. To find them, refer to the accounts of competitors. See what hashtags your audience is using. nine0003

Come up with hashtags yourself - define the keywords for your account. Keep in mind that Instagram doesn't differentiate between word declensions, so nouns must be in the nominative case.

Don't use too long phrases, because spaces don't work in hashtags and it looks sloppy.

How to use hashtags on Instagram

Just like in the real world, Instagram has its own unspoken rules of communication. In order not to look stupid, stick to the rules for posting hashtags. nine0003

  1. A hashtag is a word, not a phrase.

#Don't #write #sentences from #hashtags. This looks messy.

  1. Do not use other people's personal hashtags.

Make sure that if you are not just not the hundredth #waving, but also not the second, so as not to confuse your subscribers and the subscribers of the hashtag author who took it first.

  1. Remember that hashtags get read too.

And #super #cute #sexy #girl will confuse your friends and colleagues. nine0003

How to analyze hashtags with Popsters

Popsters analyzes posts with hashtags from any Instagram account. Using hashtag analytics, you can find out which hashtags have the most influence on the activity and reach of publications. See your statistics, statistics of your competitors or any accounts you are interested in.

To start the analysis, find the account using the search bar. Select the date range you need and click the "Upload" button.

nine0002 On the left is a section with graphs.

The following indicators are of particular interest here:

Hashtags

The graph shows the number of posts with a certain hashtag for the given period. This indicator counts the number of hashtags used in publications, finds the most popular hashtags in the Instagram account.

Hashtags/ER

The graph shows the average ERpost for posts where hashtags are used. This graph will help you evaluate the effectiveness of contests or categories. nine0003

Relative activity by hashtags

The ratio of average activity in publications with certain hashtags to regular publications.

Search by hashtags with criteria

To find posts of a certain type that contain a hashtag, select "Search by hashtags" in the search bar. Enter the hashtag you are interested in and a set of parameters: "+has:audio", "+has:video", "+has:photo", "+likes:100".

Learn more