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How to properly use hashtags on instagram


Ultimate Guide [+101 hashtags for 2023]

What are Instagram hashtags?

Top Instagram hashtags

Types of popular Instagram hashtags

Instagram Hashtag FAQs

7 tips for how to use hashtags on Instagram

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

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

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

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

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

What are Instagram hashtags?

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

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

Why use Instagram hashtags?

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

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

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nike LA (@nikela)

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

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

Top Instagram hashtags

These are the top 50 hashtags on Instagram:

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

Popular B2B Hashtags

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

Popular B2C Hashtags

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

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

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

Types of popular Instagram hashtags

Instagram breaks hashtags down into nine distinct types:

Product or service hashtags

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

Niche hashtags

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

Industry Instagram community hashtags

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

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Special event or seasonal hashtags

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

Location hashtags

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

Daily hashtags

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

Relevant phrase hashtags

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

Acronym hashtags

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

Emoji hashtags

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cartems Donuts (@cartemsdonuts)

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

Instagram Hashtag FAQs

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

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

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

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

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

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

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

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


Source: VW on Instagram

How to hide Instagram hashtags in the caption

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

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

View this post on Instagram

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

How to hide hashtags on Instagram Stories

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

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


Source: Christina Newberry

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

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


Source: Instagram

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

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

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

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


Source: Hootsuite

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

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

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

Get the free guide right now!

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

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

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

Check out the competition

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

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

See what hashtags your audience is already using

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

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


Source: Instagram

Use Instagram’s Related Hashtags feature

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


Source: Instagram

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

Create a branded hashtag

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

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by lululemon (@lululemon)


Source: Lululemon on Instagram

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

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


Source: Instagram

Use Hootsuite’s hashtag generator

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

Enter: Hootsuite’s hashtag generator.

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

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

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

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

That’s it!

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

7 tips for how to use hashtags on Instagram

1. Use Insights to see which tags work best

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

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

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

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

2. Include hashtags on Instagram Stories

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


Source: Instagram

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


Source: Instagram

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

3. Avoid banned hashtags and spammy hashtags

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

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

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


Source: Instagram

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

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

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

4. Understand how hashtag pages work

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

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

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

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

5. Don’t use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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A Guide for Every Network

Hashtags are one of those funny social media features that can be difficult to understand and use. But, once you get the hang of them, the results come pouring in.

Using hashtags is essentially a way to group together conversations or content around a certain topic, making it easy for people to find content that interests them.

Hashtags can be used on just about any social media platform, but they’re most popular on Twitter and Instagram.

If you are using social media to market your brand, then you should use hashtags. Hashtags can help boost your brand’s social media reach and engagement.

But using hashtags effectively is more than just making #ThrowbackThursday posts on Instagram.

A good social media strategy should include a mix of popular, relevant, and branded hashtags.

This post breaks down the basics of effectively using hashtags on social media and why you should use them.

You’ll also learn:

  • how to find hashtags that will work best for your brand
  • why using only popular hashtags isn’t the right approach
  • essential tips for using hashtags on every social media platform out there

Let’s get started.

What is a hashtag?

Why use hashtags?

The most popular hashtags in 2022

How to find the best hashtags to use

How to increase organic reach with hashtags

How to use hashtags on every network

Bonus: Read the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

What is a hashtag?

The pound symbol on your keyboard — also called an octothorpe — was initially used to mark numbers.

It was first used for hashtags in the summer of 2007 by Chris Messina. That’s when the web marketing specialist walked into Twitter’s offices with an idea. Because of the platform’s brevity, he suggested the company start using the pound symbol to group related Tweets together.

This was the first-ever use of the hashtag:

how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?

— Chris Messina 🐀 (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007

Since then, the use of hashtags, their reach, and their effectiveness has only grown.

Hashtags are a way to connect social media content to a specific topic, event, theme, or conversation.

They’re not just for Twitter anymore, either. Hashtags are effective on other social media platforms too. (Find more details on how to use hashtags for each platform below.)

Hashtag basics
  • They always start with # but they won’t work if you use spaces, punctuation, or symbols.
  • Make sure your accounts are public. Otherwise, the hashtagged content you write won’t be seen by any non-followers.
  • Don’t string too many words together. The best hashtags tend to be relatively short and easy to remember.
  • Use relevant and specific hashtags. If it is too obscure, it will be hard to find and it won’t likely be used by other social media users.
  • Limit the number of hashtags you use. More isn’t always better. It actually looks spammy.

Why use hashtags?

Hashtags are a great way to connect with like-minded people, and they can be used for just about anything.

For example, if you’re a small business owner, you could use hashtags to promote your products or services.

You could also use hashtags to raise awareness for a cause or to start a conversation.

Hashtags are also a great way to keep up with trends and breaking news.

Here are a few more reasons you should be using hashtags in your social media strategy.

Increase engagement with your followers

Including hashtags in your posts means taking part in a conversation happening on that social media platform. And most importantly, it makes your posts visible in that conversation.

This can lead to greater engagement, boosting your brand’s social media engagement through likes, shares, comments, and new followers.

Build brand awareness with branded hashtags

Creating a branded hashtag can be an effective way to promote your business and drive conversations.

Branded hashtags can be as simple as using your company name or incorporating a tagline into a hashtag.

For example, JIF Peanut Butter made TikTok history in 2021 with its branded hashtag #JIFRapChallenge which featured rapper Ludacris rapping with a mouth full of peanut butter.

The hashtag challenged users to make their own video, or Duet with Luda, with a bit of JIF in their grill.

This challenge saw more than 200,000 impressions and 600 unique videos created.

@ludacrisdtp

#ad Put Jif in your grill and duet me for real. #JifRapChallenge @jif

♬ #JifRapChallenge – Ludacris

Another example is #PlayInside, a hashtag Nike Los Angeles made popular during the pandemic when people were stuck in their homes.

#PlayInside is now featured on more than 68,000 posts, and it’s still growing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nike LA (@nikela)

 

Show support for social issues

Using a hashtag that’s connected to an issue beyond your brand is a way to mobilize behind an important cause or issue.

For example, 2021’s most retweeted Tweet comes from K-pop sensations BTS, who took to Twitter with a #StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate message.

#StopAsianHate#StopAAPIHate pic. twitter.com/mOmttkOpOt

— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) March 30, 2021

 

Add context to a social media post

On Twitter, you don’t have a ton of space to write a caption. Only 280 characters, to be exact.

On Instagram, longer captions aren’t always the most effective. Same with Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or any other platform. Sometimes less is more.

Using a hashtag can be a simple way to contextualize what you’re talking about, without using up valuable characters or writing repetitive captions.

For example, BTP Lancashire (the British transport police force in Lancashire, UK) got creative with their Twitter word limit when asking locals to stay off train tracks.

No trespassing. Please stay off the tracks.

🌥 ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ 🚁 ✈️

🏢🏚_🏢 _ / |_ 🏫 ⛪️ 🌳
____🚶__🚄🚃🚃🚃🚃_____
🏡🏥🏦 _ / | 🚔 🏡🌳🏡
🏡🏚🏣 / | 🚔 🏡 🏨 #WorldEmojiDay⁠ #WorldEmojiDay2021@WorldEmojiDay

— BTP Lancashire (@BTPLancs) July 17, 2021

 

Hashtags contextualize this creative Tweet, making it clear that BTP Lancashire is taking part in the World Emoji Day conversation while also delivering an important PSA.

Help your target audience find you

On LinkedIn and Instagram, users can follow hashtags as well as other users. Using a few popular hashtags can be another way to help new users find your brand.

For example, if you use #travel on your Instagram posts, someone who follows that hashtag will see your recent post in their feed. You might even gain some new followers this way.

Disclose sponsored partnerships

This section is for influencers and brands who work with influencers.

When working with brands, influencers have to let their audiences know that a piece of content is sponsored. It’s the law — the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) released detailed advertising disclosure guidelines for online influencers in 2019. Failure to comply can result in high fines for both the influencer and the brand.

So, influencers: always add hashtags clearly indicating a sponsorship to branded posts.

Brands: make sure that you look for such hashtags when reviewing and accepting influencer content.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jess Morris (@jessicasaramorris)

 

The most popular hashtags in 2022

The most popular hashtags out there aren’t necessarily the best hashtags.

For example, the hashtag #followme has more than 575 million posts on Instagram. Hashtags that solicit likes don’t engage your followers and don’t add any meaning to your social media post.

They also look really spammy. And you don’t want that.

But don’t ignore popular hashtags, either. For example, #throwbackthursday or #flashbackfriday or other daily hashtags can be fun ways for your brand to join a wider social media conversation.

As of April 14, 2022, these are the top 10 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)

Of course, popular hashtags differ depending on what social media platform you’re using. On LinkedIn, popular hashtags include #personaldevelopment and #investing.

While there are millions—even billions—of posts using popular hashtags, they’re relatively universal. They aren’t specific to an industry or a theme. And don’t say a lot about your brand.

So, try to identify niche hashtags that are relevant to your brand and what you represent.

How to find the best hashtags to use

To find hashtags that are specific to your brand, your industry, and your audience, you’ll have to do a little research.

1. Monitor social media influencers and competitors

Start by doing a competitive analysis on social media. Gather intel about your competitors and any relevant influencers within your brand’s niche.

Make note of which hashtags they use most often and how many hashtags they use in each of their posts. This will help you learn how your competitors are engaging with your shared target audience and which keywords they tend to use.

2. Know which hashtags are trending

RiteTag lets you type your social media caption into the text bar and upload the photo you’ll pair with your caption.

RiteTag generates trending hashtag suggestions based on your content. You’ll see the best hashtags to get your post seen immediately, as well as hashtags to get your post seen over time. Click “Get Report” for a detailed analysis of the hashtags it displays.

3. Get a social media listening tool

A social listening tool like Hootsuite lets your brand use search streams to discover which hashtags are the best for each social network you’re on. Put simply, search streams make it easy to see which hashtags are the most popular and the most effective.

Learn more by watching this video:

4. Find related hashtags

If you already have a good grasp of which hashtags are working well for your brand, consider using related hashtags. These might be a little more specific than the popular hashtags you’re already using, which could help you connect with a more targeted audience.

On LinkedIn, you can find more hashtag recommendations after clicking on a hashtag. Choose the “Discover more hashtags” buttons after clicking on the ellipsis.

5. Analyze which hashtags were successful on past posts

Keep track of which hashtags you’ve used on past posts. Analyze which posts have been most popular, then see if there’s a trend with the hashtags you’ve used.

If you notice some of your most popular posts always contain a few of the same hashtags, make a point to include those in your future posts as well.

6. Use a hashtag generator

All this research to come 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.

How to increase organic reach with hashtags

When you use hashtags, your post becomes discoverable to people who are searching for that hashtag.

For example, if you’re a wedding planner and use the hashtag #weddingplanner, someone who is engaged and looking for your services may come across your post.

The best way to increase your organic reach with hashtags is to use ones that are relevant to your business and industry.

Do some research on which hashtags are most popular in your industry, then start using them in your posts.

Once you have a stockpile of relevant, high-performing hashtags, you can start using them in your posts.

Be careful though, Instagram recommends only using 3-5 hashtags per post. Our research backs up this claim and we even found that overusing hashtags can hurt your reach.

How to use hashtags on every network

Here, find simple, easy-to-read tips for using hashtags on different social media platforms.

Twitter hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

1-2

Where you’ll find hashtags on Twitter:

You can use hashtags anywhere in your Tweets. Use them at the start for emphasis, at the end for context, or in the middle of your post to highlight a keyword.

Hashtags can also be added in a comment when you Retweet, in replies and in your Twitter bio.

You can also:

  • Type a hashtagged keyword into Twitter’s search bar to find hashtagged content.
  • See trending hashtags in Twitter’s trending topics.
A couple of essential Twitter hashtag tips:
  • Technically, you can use as many hashtags as you like in a Tweet, within the 280-character limit. But Twitter recommends using no more than two.
  • If you’re creating a new hashtag, use Twitter’s advanced search capabilities to make sure it’s not already being used.

Instagram hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

3-5

Where you’ll find hashtags on Instagram:

Include hashtags after writing a great Instagram caption. You can also include hashtags in the comments section when engaging with your followers.

Bonus: Read the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

Get the free guide right now!

And you can include up to 10 hashtags in your Instagram Stories. (However, Instagram Stories are no longer featured on hashtag pages or shown to users who follow a tag.

This means that hashtags won’t necessarily help get your Stories in front of new audiences, but you can still use them to add context to your content. )

It’s also possible to include hashtags in your brand’s Instagram profile bio.

For even more tips on Instagram hashtags, read this detailed guide.

And, of course, watch our strategy video:

You can also:

  • Search hashtags in the Tags tab of Instagram’s Explore section.
  • Follow hashtags. That means content from any creator will show in your feed, as long as it includes the hashtag you’re following.
A couple essential Instagram hashtag tips:
  • Consider posting your hashtags as the post’s first comment so followers can focus on the great caption you’ve written.
  • With an Instagram Business account, you can access Instagram Insights. Then you can see how many impressions your profile got from hashtags.
  • Avoid adding hashtags in the middle of your captions or comments, as they can potentially make your content less accessible to people using text-to-speech readers.
  • Grouping hashtags at the end of your caption (or in a comment) is the safest bet.

Facebook hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

2-3

Where you’ll find hashtags on Facebook:

Hashtags can be included in any part of your written Facebook post or in the comments.

Hashtags are also useful for grouping content in private Facebook groups by theme or topic.

This is important for brands to keep in mind as private channels like Facebook groups continue to grow in popularity.

You can also:

  • Search for a hashtag using Facebook’s search bar.
  • Click on a hashtag to see a feed of Facebook posts using that same hashtag.
  • Search hashtags used in private Facebook groups using the “search this group” bar under the group’s menu.
A couple essential Facebook hashtag tips:
  • Because so many users’ profiles are private on Facebook, remember that it’s more challenging for brands to track how users are interacting with your hashtags.
  • Monitor your brand’s hashtags and see which public profiles are joining in the conversation by using the URL facebook.com/hashtag/_____. Include the keyword you want to search at the end.

YouTube hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

3-5

Where you’ll find hashtags on YouTube:

Add a few hashtags in your brand’s YouTube video title or in the video description.

Click on the hyperlinked hashtag to see a feed with other videos that also use that same hashtag.

Remember: Don’t use more than 15 hashtags. YouTube will ignore all the hashtags, and maybe even flag your content because of your spammy behaviour.

YouTube hashtags aren’t the only way to help users find your videos. We have 12 tactics that will help your brand’s videos get views.

A couple essential YouTube hashtag tips:
  • Hashtags are hyperlinked in titles and descriptions, so followers can find other content with the same hashtags by clicking on either.
  • If you don’t include hashtags in the title, the first three hashtags in the description will show above the title of your video.
  • Type in “#” into the YouTube search bar to find popular tags on YouTube.

LinkedIn hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

1-5

Where you’ll find hashtags on LinkedIn:

Incorporate hashtags anywhere into your LinkedIn posts.

You can also:

  • Search hashtags using the platform’s search bar.
  • See trending LinkedIn hashtags will show in the “news and views” section on the home page.
  • Get hashtag suggestions from LinkedIn as you write an update.

For more tips, read this guide to using hashtags on LinkedIn.

A couple essential LinkedIn hashtag tips:
  • LinkedIn is a professional platform. Keep the use of hashtags professional too.
  • Follow hashtags on LinkedIn to see recent posts incorporating that hashtag.

Pinterest hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

2-5

Where you’ll find hashtags on Pinterest:

While Pinterest is considered more of a keyword engine, hashtags can give your content an extra boost when used correctly.

When using Pinterest for business, include Pinterest hashtags when writing a Pin description or in a written description when Repinning.

Pinterest even offers hashtag suggestions (in the mobile version only) when creating a new Pin.

A couple essential Pinterest hashtag tips:
  • Think of Pinterest as a search engine. Use hashtags that are searchable, specific and that contain relevant keywords.
  • Don’t use more than 20 hashtags in a Pin description.

TikTok hashtags
Optimal number of hashtags to use:

3-5

Where you’ll find hashtags on TikTok:

Hashtags on TikTok can be found in video descriptions or on the Discover page.

On Discover, you’ll be able to view trending hashtags and any videos currently using them.

You can also use the search bar to find hashtags that interest you.

A couple essential TikTok hashtag tips:
  • Use a combination of niche and trending hashtags.
  • Leave space in captions for your hashtags.
  • Create a branded hashtag challenge to engage your audience and boost brand awareness.
@amandainwonderlandd

@simmonssleep @charlidamelio @dixiedamelio #CONTEST #SIMMONSDREAMROOM #FYP #FORYOU #VIRAL #charlidamelio #dixiedamelio #simmons #mattress

♬ Sunny Day – Ted Fresco

If you’re not already, it’s time to start using hashtags in your social media posts. Even though they first gained popularity in 2007, they’re even more useful today for your brand!

Find the best Hashtags and manage your entire social media presence with Hootsuite. Schedule posts and Stories, easily engage your audience, measure performance, and more. Try it free today.

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How to use hashtags on Instagram?

Help Center

Instagram features

About photos and videos

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

To add a hashtag to a photo or video:

Instagram app for Android

Take or upload a photo or video.

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

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

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

Instagram App for iPhone

Take or upload a photo or video.

Select a filter and click Next.

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

Click Share.

Instagram Lite for Android

instagram.com in a browser on a mobile device

instagram.com in a browser on a desktop

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

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

Things to keep in mind:

Posts from private profiles do not appear on hashtag pages.

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

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

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

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how to get to the TOP + Wow-chips

The classic idea of ​​website promotion looks like this: “This is when you drive in the phrase “buy wallpaper Syzran” and my site is at the very top.”

Experienced specialists understand that now the conversation has turned to SEO promotion. And you won’t believe it, but Instagram also has a kind of SEO, using which you can attract subscribers to your account. And that's... Instagram hashtags.

What it is and why

If you are an active Instagram user, you have seen a large list of blue words written through the bars (written as #) at the end of user posts.

Clicking on any of them will take you to a page dedicated to this word with a list of publications in which it is mentioned. Those are the hashtags.

By the way, I highly recommend our article. There we told everything in detail what we needed and how we appeared.

Related:
What is a hashtag and what does a business need it for

But let's get back specifically to how hashtags work on Instagram. So let's go.

Hashtags

In short, hashtags on Instagram are a special thematic tag that groups the content of different users into one group. That is, in fact - keywords, thanks to which you can find publications on Instagram that suit you.

Important. Next, you will learn a super-method for selecting the most popular hashtags on Instagram, but first we will learn the basics so that logical relationships form in our heads.

Why do we need

Proper use of hashtags will help attract people to your page who are interested in this topic, that is, in fact, your future customers. All that remains is to sell them your product / service correctly. But this is a topic for another article.

1. Rules for adding hashtags

It seems like you don't need a lot of brains to write hashtags on Instagram. You take the words that fit the meaning and write in a row. But if you want to get the maximum, then you should still know the basic rules of how to put hashtags on Instagram correctly.

  1. Write hashtags in Cyrillic and Latin. But remember, when using English words, you begin to compete with the whole world, and not just in Russia;
  2. A hashtag does not necessarily represent a word. It can also be a phrase. For example, the phrase “favorite Instagram” can be written as #favoriteinstagram or #favorite_instagram. From this follows the third rule...
  3. You cannot use spaces or special characters. Hashtags can only be separated by an underscore (_). And in rare cases, using numbers and emoji;
  4. Write a series of hashtags separated by spaces. This looks more aesthetically pleasing and is perceived by Instagram not as spam;
  5. The maximum number of hashtags in one post is 30. If you write a lot of hashtags, the trick will fail and Instagram will either cut them or simply post posts without text at all.

Chip. Where to put them? You can write hashtags in Instagram comments, more precisely, in the first comment, and not just in the post.

They will also be ranked. The quantity is the same - no more than 30 pieces. Below I will tell you how you can use it for your own purposes.

2. Types of hashtags

Remember I wrote that hashtags are keywords? The most interesting thing is that they, like keywords in contextual advertising and SEO, are distributed by frequency.

True, Instagram does not have the ability to view the frequency of a particular hashtag. But it is possible to see how many publications are issued by hashtag separately. This is how they share:

  1. High-frequency - from 100 thousand publications;
  2. Medium frequency - from 10 to 100 thousand publications;
  3. Low-frequency - from 500 to 10 thousand publications;
  4. Rare - up to 500 publications.

To make it more clear: here is an example of a high-frequency, that is, very popular (read hackneyed) hashtag:

High-frequency hashtags
3. Types of hashtags

And to complete the lecture part, I will also tell you that hashtags are divided not only into types according to the frequency of their mention, but also into the types of their use:

  1. Spam hashtags (e.g. followme) . Used to collect likes or followers. They give little effect. Use them sparingly and carefully;
  2. Geo-hashtags. Hashtags mentioning the city/region/country. If you have a local business, be sure to use them;
  3. Content hashtags. They are relevant to the content of the post. Mandatory to use, as they will bring targeted visitors;
  4. Trendy. Used to increase account activity. However, you need to use trends close to the business;
  5. Branded. Mandatory hashtags by which your buyers can recognize your posts. In fact, this is your signature on Instagram;
  6. Rubricators. Used to navigate within your account. And also for promotions, contests, sweepstakes and more.

Important. Do not use ready-made lists of the best hashtags. They tacitly refer to the type of “Spam hashtags”, since there are almost no living or adequate people according to them.

What hashtags to choose

Ideally, your key task, if we are talking about the right approach to doing business on Instagram, is to assemble the semantic core of your future business profile along with the content plan for Instagram. Optimally, it should be 100-150 hashtags, close to what you do and what you will advertise on Instagram.

As advertising

And right away. If you want to collect only popular hashtags in the hope of always being on top, then I can upset you. This will not give the desired effect, since either bots or people who themselves want to sell something “scam” them.

Therefore, when forming the semantic core, be smarter and collect an equal number of high-frequency, mid-frequency and other types of hashtags.

This way you will increase your chances of attracting customers, not fake pages.

SEARCH SERVICE

How to choose hashtags? This can be done in three popular ways (bypassing spam lists of the best hashtags): manually, by “withdrawing” them from competitors, using special programs and services. I still recommend using a service where everything is already thought out and there is analytics - Instatag.

Its beauty is that the hashtags are sorted by direction and there are even special classifiers like “hashtags for likes”. All you need is to go to the service and select the hashtags that you need.

Instatag

Do not forget to carefully study our article. There we have collected the best services to promote your Instagram account!

Related:
Instagram promotion services: the best to be in the top

COMMON ERRORS

Instagram is one of the few social networks where hashtags play a significant role.

And that's why experienced marketers, advertisers, and people of related professions are so actively using them and teaching how to do hashtags on Instagram correctly.

But either they themselves do not fully understand Instagram algorithms, or people do not attach any importance to this, when using hashtags they make a lot of mistakes. Which negatively affect the promotion of their pages:

  1. Lots of hashtags. Often, business accounts post a lot of hashtags in the hope that it will drive traffic. But unfortunately, the more hashtags, the more you turn the system against yourself, signaling that you are a spammer;
  2. Lots of popular hashtags. Another error. It is better to post hashtags like #stretch ceilings_vologda than just #stretch ceilings. The number of likes will be less, but there will be more customers;
  3. The same hashtags. This is a powerful signal to Instagram that you are a spammer. The punishment can be very severe. In each post, change your hashtags, and release some without them at all;
  4. Closed page. Very often people try to write hashtags on a closed page. This is a completely useless exercise, since hashtags on closed pages are not ranked by Instagram.

By the way, there can be 2 types of punishment for incorrect use of hashtags: complete deletion of the account (the worst) and “shadow ban”, this is when you see your publication, but the subscribers do not.

Related:
Shadow ban: signs + how to get out

In general, punishments are extremely rare, but I was obliged to warn.

Different approaches

If we are talking about the classic hashtag scheme that most users use, then it's just to write a list of all the words that come to mind and are more or less relevant to the posted publication.

This certainly has an effect, and little by little traffic will be attracted. But there are smarter approaches to put them more efficiently that I recommend using.

Life hack. Optimize your customer interactions on Instagram with MyBotan. The chatbot will automatically respond to messages, save data about the client and his requests. And you can not only choose a ready-made answer template, but also create your own. Agree this will facilitate the work in the social network? Click and test for 3 days for free -> MyBotan

1. Improved version

First, you prepare hashtags for each post in the amount of no more than 20. The ideal number is about 10. And at the end of the post, highlight them in a separate block from the text. Readers will perceive this more loyally for the perception of the main text.

Improved version

2. Native version

In the text of the post itself, you need to place several hashtags (preferably 2-4), scattering them along the entire length.

The remaining 7-10 hashtags, you post in the first comment. This is how we kill 2 birds with one stone: it all looks beautiful and users go inside the post to look at the comment.

Native variant

3. Bomb variant

The main task of hashtags is to attract traffic to the site and help the publication to reach the TOP or up the user feeds.

Therefore, you can use the following trick, which is called the “like bomb”. In the post itself, you publish 30 hashtags, in the first comment 30 more.

At the start, this will give a small but increase in likes. In addition, do not forget that you need to “give impetus”, that is, boost likes and comments with the help of special services, for example, TmSmm, Instaplus.pro.

Two moments. After a couple of days, don't forget to remove most of these hashtags, leaving only low frequency ones. Otherwise, Instagram will impose restrictions on you as a spammer. The second point - do not repeat such a thing often. Otherwise... you know the punishment.

Bomb version

Briefly about the main thing

That's all. To be honest, I gave away almost everything I knew.

Hashtags are a good way to attract customers, if they are used correctly, and not mindlessly stamped, attracting people who work through mass liking.

All that is required of you now is to apply all the knowledge gained in your Instagram account. And then, do not stop and constantly work on updating them, because today you are doing well, and tomorrow your competitor is also doing well, and the overall effect is not the same.

Learn more