How to post in instagram with hashtags
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 hashtagsThese are basic keywords to describe your product or service, like #handbag or #divebar
Niche hashtagsThese get a little more specific, showing where you fit in the context of your industry, like #travelblogger or #foodblogger
Industry Instagram community hashtagsCommunities exist on Instagram, and these hashtags help you find and join them. Think #gardenersofinstagram or #craftersofinstgram
#1 Social Media Tool
Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.
Start free 30-day trial
Special event or seasonal hashtagsThese 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 hashtagsEven 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 hashtagsEvery 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.
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 hashtagsPerhaps 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 hashtagsThese 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
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.
How to hide hashtags on Instagram StoriesView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)
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.
View this post on Instagram
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.
Get Started
Grow on Instagram
Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
Free 30-Day Trial
How to Use Hashtags on Instagram for Amazing Growth in 2023
Wondering how to use hashtags on Instagram?
Trying to make sense of conflicting information?
Here’s all you need to know about:
- What are Instagram hashtags?
- How many hashtags to use on Instagram.
- Using Instagram hashtags in comments, caption, and after posting.
- The most popular Instagram hashtags.
- The best Instagram hashtags for likes.
- Banned Instagram hashtags.
- And exactly how to post Instagram hashtags.
Plus so much more, for #InstaSuccess!
What Are Instagram Hashtags?
You know that pound (#) sign on your keyboard? Just add it before a word and voila, you have a hashtag!
Like #HashtagTips 😉
A hashtag is a word or a group of words preceded by a pound (#) sign, which is used to categorize and find conversations around a particular topic or trend.
On Instagram as well as Twitter (where hashtags started), Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks, hashtags become a link to a collection of other content marked with the same hashtag. So it’s an easy way for people to find the kind of content they’re interested in.
Hashtags serve an additional purpose on Instagram – users can actually “follow” hashtags to see some of that content show up in their feed.
Hashtags also help Instagram understand what your content is about, so they can recommend it to users who’d be interested in it.
These 3 features are why you should use relevant hashtags – you want your content in front of people who will care about it, give it a like, and maybe even follow your account.
How Do I Add Hashtags on Instagram?
When you write an Instagram caption, type a hash mark # followed by your keyword or words.
As you type, Instagram will fill in some popular suggested hashtags, showing the number of posts already using them.
If you see one you’d like to add, simply tap and it’ll be added to your post.
You can also add working hashtags to comments, but only on your own posts. More about this later.
Note that typing a space or punctuation mark will end the hashtag right there. For instance if I type #don’tdothis, the hashtag is going to be #don! Or if I type #instagram marketing, it’ll be #instagram. And you don’t want that!
How Many Instagram Hashtags Can I Use?
Instagram lets you add up to 30 hashtags – but that doesn’t mean you should.
Or should you?
Truth is, there’s no verified answer. You can find a study that backs every idea from using 1-3, through to all 30.
Perhaps because the research results have been inconclusive and unhelpful, no new studies have been done for 3 years. That’s historical in the world of social media.
But in March 2022, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, explained that hashtags will help Instagram figure out what your content is about. That could increase the likelihood of your content appearing on a hashtag page.
Later he added,
…they’re not going to meaningfully change the amount of reach you get when you post. So if you expect a night-and-day difference, you’re going to be disappointed.
The bottom line, per Instagram, is that more hashtags won’t “meaningfully” increase your reach. You can’t expect twice as many eyeballs on your posts from using twice as many hashtags.
Yet research and users have found that more hashtags = more engagement.
Test it and see
Confused? No surprise there, it’s clear that even Instagram doesn’t know where the sweet spot is.
Many bloggers who specialize in Instagram just go for the full 30 hashtags. It’s never been shown to reduce results.
Want the latest? READ How Many Hashtags on Instagram 2023.
I cover the latest conflicting announcements from IG and how to test the best number for your own account.
Is There a Maximum of Hashtags on Instagram?
The maximum allowed Instagram hashtags is 30. I recommend you use them all – unless you’re happy with your follower number and engagement.
Want to grow? Use 30 hashtags!
What’s the hack to use 60 hashtags on Instagram?
There used to be a trick where you could first post 30 hashtags in a comment, then go back and edit the photo caption to add 30 more hashtags.
Instagram didn’t notice the hashtags in the caption edit, so you could effectively post a total of 60.
They caught on in 2018, though. So the maximum is 30 Instagram hashtags in 2023. And it’s plenty!
Should I Post Instagram Hashtags in Comments or Caption?
Instagram hashtags may be placed in the photo or video caption at the time you post.
Or, hashtags may be added in a comment (or several comments) after posting.
There’s no difference to their functionality, so it’s your choice.
I prefer adding hashtags in comments, as these are quickly buried once you get a few user comments.
Starting in 2018, the caption is cut off after 2 short lines of text, so caption hashtags don’t show at first glance either.
However, IGers clicking either the “More” tag or the comment icon will see the full caption – including all the hashtags you placed there.
If you write an engaging caption with a call-to-action or question (please do!), people may get distracted by a raft of hashtags and forget to complete your desired action.
This is why I recommend Instagram hashtags in comments rather than captions.
LEARN MORE: Instagram Hashtags in Comments or Caption?
How to Hide Hashtags on Instagram
Want your hashtags in the caption? You can hide them, so they can’t look spammy!
Make them invisible by preceding them with five dashes or periods, each one on a line by itself.
NO space after the period or it won’t work. If you post this in your first comment, IGers will just see […] after your name in the photo stream.
Note: The hashtags are only invisible in the photo stream! If someone clicks to read comments, they will see the hashtags.
It’s easiest to create your hashtag text file in your phone’s Notes app (see image below), and paste it into Instagram. Even though there are now ways to add line breaks on Instagram, it’s a bit clunky to use.
NOTE: If you’re having problems with this trick, it’s almost always because you have a space at the end of your line. It’s a bizarre and annoying quirk, but Instagram will take out the return if there’s a space at the end of the preceding line.
If you’re confused on whether to hide hashtags in a comment or caption, and which actually works better, do a split test! You can do this manually, or for easier comparing, use Tailwind.
Tailwind makes setting up either way easy. Schedule your posts, then automatically publish them to your business account.
Try a week each way, then check Tailwind’s fabulous analytics to see which worked better for you.
Try out Tailwind’s Free Forever plan! No credit card required.
• • • Try TailWind for Instagram FREE now • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may earn a referral fee if you sign up.
Can I add hashtags to someone else’s Instagram post?
No. You can’t add working hashtags by commenting on any other account than the one you’re signed into.
Anyone can comment on someone else’s post with hashtags, but the other IGer’s post won’t appear in that hashtag feed.
If you see people leaving hashtag comments on others’ posts, they may be suggesting that the original poster add that hashtag.
A little helpful advice, perhaps.
Or, they may not know. But generally I see these hashtag comments between groups of IG friends who are helping each other get featured on Instagram hub accounts.
What Are the Most Popular Hashtags on Instagram for 2023?
With Instagram stressing the importance of relevant hashtags as they pivot towards semantic keyword search, I don’t recommend using the most popular hashtags. They’re just not helpful.
Popular tags are definitely not the best way to reach your target audience. In fact, they virtually guarantee fake “bot” likes.
But you want to know what’s trending! So here goes.
The most popular hashtags of all time (according to Later’s data) are:
- #love
- #instagood
- #photooftheday
- #fashion
- #beautiful
- #like4like
- #picoftheday
- #art
- #happy
- #photography
- #followme
- #style
- #follow
- #instadaily
- #travel
- #life
- #cute
- #fitness
- #nature
But the top 50 hashtags for 2023 are a bit different. This list is based on usage within the Later app and updated June 2022.
- #love
- #interiordesign
- #design
- #fashion
- #instagood
- #style
- #inspiration
- #art
- #travel
- #summer
- #realestate
- #foodie
- #homedecor
- #smallbusiness
- #shoplocal
- #motivation
- #wellness
- #health
- #lifestyle
- #beauty
- #food
- #home
- #selfcare
- #photography
- #fitness
- #nature
- #handmade
- #ootd
- #photooftheday
- #skincare
- #architecture
- #selflove
- #shopsmall
- #luxury
- #supportlocal
- #instafood
- #beautiful
- #mentalhealth
- #mindset
- #business
- #vegan
- #linkinbio
- #healthy
- #family
- #interior
- #entrepreneur
- #interiors
- #delicious
- #explore
- #realtor
Here are the 10 best Instagram hashtags for likes, according to All Hashtag, an Instagram analytics tool:
- #like4like
- #liking
- #likeall
- #likeforlike
- #likes4likes
- #love
- #instagood
- #tagblender
- #likesforlikes
- #ilikeback
Really want more? Here are the 100 top hashtags from 2021:
#followforfollow#instagood#likeforlike#instamood#work#photooftheday#fashion#f4f#music#instapic
#inspiration#black#gym#sunset#bestoftheday#like4like#cute#landscape#night#pretty
#hot#photo#awesome#fitfam#sun#swag#follow4follow#workout#happiness#Repost
#like#beauty#summer#Beautiful#nyc#blogger#photography#lifestyle#instalike#Halloween
#fall#fit#motivation#travel#blue#followme#TagsForLikes#nofilter#vscocam#TBT
#healthy#smile#instagram#girls#artist#fitness#lol#model#design#art
#instadaily#hair#beach#funny#cool#follow#l4l#vsco#london#party
#picoftheday#style#goals#foodporn#love#newyork#luxury#ootd#Home#pink
#me#Selfie#life#friends#makeup#nature#health#autumn#sky#fun
#Family#igers#blackandwhite#photographer#food#amazing#girl#happy#fashionblogger
However – just because these work for the “average” account doesn’t mean they’ll work for yours. And as I said before, they’re not a great way to reach the right people.
I suggest you get a little more creative with your hashtags. Read on…
Should I use popular Instagram hashtags?
If you’re using 30 hashtags, okay, go ahead and make 1 or 2 of those popular ones.
This will get you some quick likes. However, most of those will be fake, bot likes.
Yes, automated “bot” activity is still a problem on Instagram in 2023.
Use popular tags, and you’ll likely also be the target of annoying follow-unfollow activity.
This is where those rule-breaking IGers use automation to follow accounts they think might follow them back. If you don’t follow back, and sometimes even if you do, they’ll unfollow you later.
Don’t take it personally, as it’s all automated. No one is making any judgement of your account.
Please don’t ever do automated follow-unfollow on Instagram. You risk your account being shadowbanned or even closed.
But back to those top tags, they may work for likes in the first second after you post. Your post will be quickly buried in the hashtag feed.
In addition, they’re often used by spammers and quickly get banned!
Using banned hashtags may put you in league with spammers and arouse Instagram’s suspicions about your account.
Banned Instagram Hashtags 2023
So now you want to know: which hashtags are banned by Instagram?
Unfortunately this is an ever-moving target. According to Markitors.com:
… the hashtag #happythanksgiving was completely overrun with spam, so they banned it. From here on out, if you use the hashtag #happythanksgiving, not only will your content most likely not show up for that hashtag, you might also be flagged for spam. The repetitive use of banned hashtags, leading to multiple flags to your account, could even result in shadow banning or account removal.
Of course, in order to avoid these forbidden hashtags, you have to know which tags are banned.
How is anyone supposed to know that #happythanksgiving is considered “spam”?
There are 3 ways to avoid using banned hashtags:
- Don’t use any of the most popular Instagram hashtags.
- Research any hashtag before using it.
- Use Tailwind Hashtag Finder. NO banned hashtags are ever included.
To research currently banned tags, search for a specific hashtag in the search bar.
Click on the hashtag and scroll through the pictures.
If you reach an end where a message says the posts are “currently hidden,” it’s a banned hashtag.
Want to save the hassle of researching banned tags, and find the best assortment of hashtags for your audience?
Click to learn more about Tailwind Hashtag Finder for Instagram.
Or jump in and try it out!
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
What Are the
Best Instagram Hashtags?I don’t recommend popular tags, for the reasons stated above.
Here’s what I do recommend:
Use hashtags that are relevant to your niche.
Using specific and relevant hashtags helps you connect with people who are looking for exactly what you’re posting.
You can find relevant tags by searching your keywords in Instagram, or using a site like Hashtagify.me.
Watch what others in your niche are using.
See what your peers and influencers are posting on their photos.
Check out the related tags Instagram suggests when you tap a tag that’s relevant to your content. Try them if they seem useful!
Be sure your hashtags are active.
Check the hashtag feed to see that the tags you’re using are currently being used by others.
Hint: If you scroll down 20 rows and are still finding content posted in the last few seconds, that tag is too active!
Stop using the most popular hashtags like pretty, beautiful, love and similar ones.
Your post will be buried in that feed within milliseconds. In researching this, I also discovered a lot of posts in those tags that I don’t even want to be seen with (some I even felt obligated to report).
If you insist, sprinkle in a few of them, when relevant to your post.
Not necessarily the ones with 100M’s of posts, but one or two over 1M might give you some quick likes.
Note: Your content really needs to be awesome to stand out in a lighting-fast moving tag feed!
Create a branded hashtag for your company or a campaign.
Check that these tags aren’t already being used, particularly in a way you wouldn’t approve of!
Prompt fans and followers to use your tag, and you’ll soon learn just who your superfans are. Support, encourage, and regram them!
Easily find the best hashtags for Instagram!
Try out Tailwind! No credit card required.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may earn a referral fee if you purchase a plan.
Can I Add Hashtags to Instagram after Posting?
Once upon a time, using hashtags was easy:
- You posted a bunch with your photo.
- You came back later, deleted those tags, and added a bunch more.
- Magically, your post was bumped to the top of those hashtag feeds, regardless of how long it had been since the original post.
- Your engagement spiked once again.
But Instagram changed all that for us in March 2015.
No matter when you add a hashtag to your photo or video, it will appear in that hashtag feed with other photos and videos posted at its original posting time.
Or as Instagram says:
Keep in mind that if you add a hashtag to a photo after it was posted, the photo will still appear on the hashtag page according to the time it was originally posted, not the time the hashtag was added.
The short answer is yes, you can add hashtags to your own posts after posting.
Popular hashtags must be added immediately, or your post will never surface in those feeds.
If you like, you can delete those later and add niche hashtags in their place.
Personally, I think your time is better spent on creating new Instagram posts.
Why Are my Instagram Hashtags Not Working?
You may be the victim of a shadowban.
A shadowban hides your Instagram posts from users who don’t follow you, which can be detrimental to growing your account and getting more followers.
If you get shadowbanned on Instagram, only you and your current followers will see your post when they search for the hashtags you used. If someone who doesn’t follow your account searches for one of those hashtags, they won’t see your post!
This defeats the purpose of using strategic hashtags to grow your Instagram community.
I’ve even had readers say they can’t find their own posts in the hashtag feeds! This could also be due to shadowban. Or, as IG calls it, “issues with hashtag search. ”
Instagram doesn’t admit there is such a thing, by the way, so don’t expect to get help from them.
You can use the “Report a Problem” feature in your account settings under “Support.” I no longer get a reply when I do this, but it can’t hurt.
I would suggest saying “my post isn’t showing in the hashtag feeds” and not use the word “shadowban.”
How Can I Avoid Being Shadowbanned?
Instagram shadowbanning is sometimes a result of spammy behavior.
However, some normal behavior is also getting users shadowbanned:
- Repeated use of the same hashtag group within 24 hours.
- Using “broken” or banned hashtags.
Sometimes a normal, everyday hashtag can be banned.
Popular tags are often used on content that violates IG community guidelines. Then Instagram might block the hashtag outright, meaning you can’t even search for it on IG, or they’ll limit the posts shown in that hashtag feed.
With the shadowban, it appears that even if you use a single banned hashtag in your post, Instagram will prevent your post from appearing on any of the hashtags you used!
So, you could search each hashtag feed individually for evidence that a tag is broken or banned. Don’t use those!
OR, just make your life easier by using Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder!
It will give you fresh, related choices so you’re not repeating the same hashtag group, and it will only suggest tags that are Instagram-approved!
To try Tailwind Hashtag Finder, click here.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may earn a commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase a plan.
How to Post Instagram Hashtags for Best Results
If you insist on using uber-popular hashtags, you MUST post them in your post caption.
If you wait even a second to post them in a comment, they’re pretty much worthless, as your post will be buried in that hashtag feed the instant you add it.
If you post hashtags in several comments, post the more popular ones first.
Post hashtag comments in the order of how fast the hashtag feeds move!
Niche hashtags CAN still be added at a later date!
DON’T bother adding hashtags where the original date of your post would have it buried deeply in the feed – BUT there are some cool super-niche hashtags that have only several hundred to a few thousand posts in them. Many of these even have avid fans!
For easiest hashtagging, keep groups of 30 hashtags in your phone’s Notes app.
Create and save a set of 30 tags for each type of post you make (or less than 30 if you insist 😉 ).
Copy your hashtag group before you make your IG post!
Then you have them ready on your clipboard to add in a comment immediately. No fumbling, no wasting valuable seconds. Or, set up a text shortcut!
Conclusion: Do
This for Instagram Hashtag Success!Make your Instagramming easy!
Sign up for Tailwind and see how simple posting can be.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
Use 11 to 30 hashtags to grow your account.
Hide your hashtags in a comment with . and return, 5 times.
Use more hashtags relevant to your niche.
- What are your keywords?
- What are peers/competitors/influencers using?
- What does Instagram suggest as related?
Use fewer (or none) of the most popular hashtags.
Choose hashtags that are actively used (but not too active!).
Create a custom tag for your brand or campaign.
- Be sure to check first to see if it’s already being used.
- Promote your tag’s use by followers.
- Engage / shout out your fans who use it!
Keep hashtag groups in your phone’s Notes app.
- One group for each type of content you post.
- Copy them to your clipboard before you post content.
- Follow up immediately with hashtags in a comment.
Bonus tip: Your hashtags will magically work much better if you’re posting awesome visuals! People are scanning those hashtag feeds, and you need to stand out.
Well done! Learning how to use hashtags on Instagram will help your account grow.
Want more?
Learn how to grow your Instagram followers 10 more ways!
How to use hashtags on Instagram?
Help Center
Instagram features
About photos and videos
Hashtags can be added to captions or comments on posts. If you have a public profile and add a hashtag to a post, it will appear on that hashtag's page.
To add a hashtag to a photo or video:
Instagram app for Android
Take or upload a photo or video.
Select a filter, click the icon (if it's a photo), or select Next (if it's a video). nine0003
Click Add a signature..., enter the # symbol followed by text or an emoticon (example: #flowers).
Tap (if it's a photo) or select Share (if it's a video).
Instagram App for iPhone
Take or upload a photo or video.
Select a filter and click Next.
Click Add a signature..., enter the # symbol followed by text or an emoticon (example: #flowers).
Click Share.
Instagram Lite for Android
instagram.com in a browser on a mobile device
instagram.com in a browser on a desktop
To add a hashtag to an already uploaded post, edit the caption or write a comment with the hashtag.
If you click on a hashtag added to a post, you can see a page of photos and videos with the same hashtag that other people have uploaded.
Things to keep in mind:
Posts from private profiles do not appear on hashtag pages.
Numbers can be used in hashtags. However, spaces and special characters such as $ or % are not allowed.
You can only tag your own posts, not other people's photos or videos.
Up to 30 hashtags can be added to one post. Otherwise, your comment will not be published.
Was the article helpful?
Similar articles
Vacancies
Terms of use
Privacy policy
How to put hashtags on Instagram, Odnoklassniki, TikTok and other social networks . The tool is good. You just need to know which hashtags to use and be able to use them in modern social networks.
How to correctly put hashtags on Twitter, Facebook*, Instagram* and other social networks - in the article. nine0003
What is the hashtag
This is the key to the content you are interested in. This is a label in the form of a word or a short phrase without a space, preceded by a "#" sign. A full-fledged hashtag is a link to a general feed where you can find this or that content.
Hashtags are useful in that they sort information by queries, combining it into groups. This helps set up navigation and makes searching much easier.
Do not confuse "tag" and "hashtag". A tag is a tag associated with a user, and a hashtag is a tag associated with a topic. There is also a geotag - a label tied to a geolocation, a specific place or address. nine0003
We wrote more about hashtags in the blog:
- “How to write hashtags on Instagram*: guide”;
- "How to correctly put hashtags on VKontakte: instructions";
- "How to choose hashtags for social networks - a guide."
In the materials we tell you how to use hashtags in specific social networks, how to select them so that they work.
Here we will talk about how to arrange them correctly.
How to use hashtags
What could be easier than writing hashtags? :–)
We put a hash mark in the search bar, and after that - the necessary word or phrase without a space, and it automatically turns into a link to the general search feed on this topic. Just add the "#" sign, and you can now click on the word and see other similar publications. Hashtags can be entered in the body of a post or material, indicated at the beginning or at the very end.
There are some rules for using hashtags:
- Language . Hashtags can be written in any language, even Arabic script. Many users believe that they can only write in Latin and Cyrillic, but this is not so. There are really many available languages, enough for any audience.
- Spaces . The "#" sign and the search words or phrases are written without spaces. If there is a space in the hashtag, then the part after the space will be read separately.
If you really need to separate words and make them understandable, use underscores. nine0108
- Quantity . Use several hashtags - separate them with spaces, commas will not help here.
- Digits . If you want to diversify hashtags and stand out, use numbers.
- Symbols . Hashtags do not use characters other than underscores. You definitely won't be able to use "?," "!" and similar marks.
- Length . Do not use long phrases, complex queries are not interesting to users, they are hard to read and even harder to write. These hashtags simply won't find you. nine0108
- Publicity . If you want the publication to be visible to all users, do not close the profile. Hashtags in a private profile will remain only on your page.
How to write 2 or more hashtags
To write more than 2 hashtags, use a hashtag before each word or phrase, and separate the hashtags with spaces. Remember, the main thing is not the number of tags, but their relevance. Hashtags must match the topic of the post. nine0003
Hashtags in different social networks
Regardless of the social network, hashtags work in much the same way - they attract users to the published content and help them find the information they need. They help you customize your profile navigation and categorize your posts by topic. Below we will talk about the features of each network separately.
This only works on TikTok, don't trust sites that advise using banned charactersHashtags on Twitter
Twitter is the first social network where hashtags appeared and gained popularity. But there are some nuances here:0003
- Do not use spaces or other characters in the hashtag.
- Hashtags for tweets from public profiles are available to everyone. Of the closed - only to the owners.
- The number of hashtags in a tweet is unlimited. But due to the short length of the tweet, it is recommended to use no more than 2 hashtags per post.
- To search for content and accounts that interest you by keyword, enter the relevant hashtag in the search field.
Twitter hashtags are not used as much now as they were when they first appeared. nine0003
How to publish posts with hashtags on Twitter:
- Open the main Twitter page. We are looking for a box at the top of the main page with the phrase “What’s happening?” or "What's new with you?"
- Tweeting about what we care about. Be mindful of character limits.
- Add hashtags as usual - put "#" and enter the keyword. If there is already such a hashtag, the system will highlight it in blue or offer to choose one of the popular ones in the search results.
- At will, we spice up the tweet with a picture, gif, emoticons or files. nine0108
- Posting a tweet for everyone to see.
You can choose privacy settings on Twitter:
- visible to everyone;
- is visible only to friends;
- is only visible to selected users.
Remember - if the post is published only for selected users or only for friends, it will no longer be included in the general hashtag search. nine0003
Facebook hashtags*
Facebook* posts with hashtags differ in that you can set privacy before posting.
There are several settings:
- Available to all . A post with a hashtag will be visible to everyone who searches for it.
- Available to all friends . All your subscribers will see. For those who are not subscribed, the hashtag post will not be available.
- Visible to all friends, except... Visible to all friends, except those to whom you do not want to show the post. For those who are tagged, the post will not be available both on the page and in the general hashtag search. nine0108
- Only available to certain friends .
Only those with whom you want to share will see. No one else will be able to see the post.
- Just me . The post will only be visible to you. No one except the owner will see this post, even if there are 100500 hashtags.
But it’s better not to insert more than 2-3 hashtags into a post, Facebook doesn’t like it *. Although officially it is not prohibited.
Facebook News Feed* can be customized. How - we tell in the article "How to set up a news feed on Facebook * - instructions."
How to use hashtags on Facebook*:
- Opening the Facebook page*.
- Writing a post about what worries you. We insert photos, audio recordings, videos and everything you need.
- Add a hashtag as usual - put "#" and write a keyword or phrase that will help people find the post.
- Publishing a post by selecting the desired privacy settings.
nine0108
If you are planning to create or promote a Facebook business page*, read our article “Facebook business page guide*: how to create, set up and connect a store” .
VKontakte hashtags
VK hashtags are not as popular as they are on Instagram* or TikTok. But you can also find information on them. The hashtag is put in the same way as everywhere else. In the search bar, at the beginning we put a hash mark, and then the word to be found. nine0003
How to add hashtags in VKontakte:
- Open the page in VK.
- On the left, select "My Page".
- In the "What's new with you?" tab share something new, optionally attach a picture, photo or video.
- We put "#" and a keyword by which people can find the publication.
You can also choose the time of publication (delayed posting), privacy and subject of the post. nine0003
For delayed publication, you can use not only native tools in VKontakte. SMMplanner delayed posting service is much more convenient and functional. In it, you can prepare publications immediately for a day, a week or even a month and do more important things. Postponed publications can just as well be prepared for Instagram* and Facebook*, and not just for VKontakte. Follow the link - free access to all functionality for 2 weeks. Try :–)
In SMMplanner, you can do more than just prepare publications and post them. It's very easy to create templates so you don't have to write a call to buy, company name or hashtags every time. We set it up once, then just paste it into the publication - and you're done! nine0003
Hashtags in Odnoklassniki
Not working correctly. When searching for a hashtag, the system selects not only them, but also words with the same content. In the issue, you can see the words in any text, titles and signatures.
How to publish a post with a hashtag in Odnoklassniki:
- Open your page in Odnoklassniki. We are looking for a field for a new entry in the center.
- We write a post about what excites or what we want to share. nine0108
- Add the necessary media: audio, photo, video or other files.
- Enter the hashtag. We start with "#" and enter a keyword or phrase that people can use to find the post.
- Publish the post by choosing who can see it.
If you plan to develop a community in Odnoklassniki, read a useful article about its development - "Guidelines for maintaining a commercial community in Odnoklassniki".
Instagram hashtags*
The most hashtag-bearing social network. Almost every publication is generously seasoned with hashtags, even not always suitable ones.
Hashtags play a big role in this social network, with their help you can not only find the necessary content sorted by topic, but also promote your account. If, of course, they are used correctly. nine0003
If you have absolutely no idea what hashtags to put under the posts, you can use the mind of our bot "Gennady". He only needs a photo of the future post, he will offer several hashtag options for publication at once. Ideally, when your head doesn’t want to cook, and competitors haven’t come up with new hashtags for your niche.
More details about the bot itself and its implementation can be found in the article “This week: selecting hashtags from photos and pinning them in OK”.
We also recommend the Followers Hashtags tool in Pepper.Ninja - it collects hashtags that are followed by the audience of any open account, yours or competitors. To do this, you just need to specify a link to your Instagram* account, set the name of the upload and wait for the service to collect a table with popular hashtags. nine0003
How to publish a post with a hashtag on Instagram*:
- Fly into the Instagram application*. In the upper right corner, click on the plus sign.
- From the files you saved earlier, select those that we want to publish.
- Set up the order in which your photos or videos will be displayed.
- Optionally set up filters, add text or stickers.
- Hashtags can also be added to the text. This is done using a lattice, through a space if there are more than one. nine0108
- In the upper right corner, click on the checkmark.
- We publish and collect reactions.
Read more about hashtags on Instagram* and their benefits in our article “How to correctly search for posts and people by hashtags on Instagram*: instructions”. There we figure out how to find anyone and anything.
Let's say you have placed all the necessary hashtags, planned posts and published them for more than a week, but there is no result. You can go to DataFan and check all the post statistics. Analyze why the theme or promotion does not work, and find a solution for each such problem. nine0003
Hashtags on TikTok
Hashtags are very popular on TikTok and work even with symbols that are not clickable on other social networks. Posts are sorted by views.
What's unusual is that on TikTok you can put a variety of hashtags, not only those that are allowed for other social networks. In addition, there are trends - the most popular videos, video topics, hashtags, melodies and people. If a hashtag is trending, it is shown more often than other videos of the same author. nine0003 Have you tried searching Instagram* for dollar signs? And in TikTok you can
How to put hashtags on TikTok:
- Open the application.
Click on the plus at the bottom of the screen in the center.
- Creating a publication. Add a video from the gallery or shoot a new one. We press "Next".
- There is a Hashtags button under the video description frame, click on it. A hash bar appears in the description itself, after which you can enter a keyword. Each time you press this button, a hash bar and the most recently used queries appear. nine0108
- Don't forget to separate hashtags with spaces. Customize privacy and other settings as desired.
- Click "Publish".
If you need to repost videos from TikTok to Instagram *, welcome to the article "How to repost videos from TikTok to Instagram * - guide". Everything is explained and detailed there.
Youtube hashtags
Youtube hashtags can be used in the same way as in social networks. With their help, you can find videos on topics. nine0003 Have you recently searched for a video using hashtags?
How to use hashtags on YouTube:
- Open your page on YouTube.
- Adding a new video for publication. It is desirable that it be copyrighted. YouTube punishes for other people's videos in accounts.
- Adding a description and hashtags by which you can find the video. This is a very important part of the publication - it determines whether people will watch the video or not.
- We publish the finished video. nine0108
Do you plan to broadcast simultaneously on Instagram* and YouTube? We also have such an article - “How to broadcast on Instagram * and on YouTube at the same time?” Just looking for popular hashtags in 2021, you are here - "Top 50 hashtags on Instagram * in 2021 and how to use them."
In conclusion
We figured out how to put one or more hashtags on social networks manually or through SMMplanner.