How to put hashtags in instagram

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
#instagram
#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!

• • • 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!

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.

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Types of popular Instagram hashtags

Instagram breaks hashtags down into nine distinct types:

Product or service hashtags

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

Niche hashtags

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

Industry Instagram community hashtags

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

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Special event or seasonal hashtags

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

Location hashtags

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

Daily hashtags

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

Relevant phrase hashtags

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

Acronym hashtags

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

Emoji hashtags

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cartems Donuts (@cartemsdonuts)

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

Instagram Hashtag FAQs

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

How many hashtags to use on Instagram

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

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

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

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

How to hide hashtags on Instagram

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

How to hide Instagram hashtags in a comment:

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

Source: VW on Instagram

How to hide Instagram hashtags in the caption

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

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

View this post on Instagram

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

How to hide hashtags on Instagram Stories

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

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

Source: Christina Newberry

How to find trending hashtags on Instagram

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

Source: Instagram

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

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

How to search multiple hashtags on Instagram

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

Source: Hootsuite

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

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

How to find the best Instagram hashtags for YOUR brand

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

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

Check out the competition

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

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

See what hashtags your audience is already using

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

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

Source: Instagram

Use Instagram’s Related Hashtags feature

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

Source: Instagram

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

Create a branded hashtag

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

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by lululemon (@lululemon)

Source: Lululemon on Instagram

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

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

Source: Instagram

Use Hootsuite’s hashtag generator

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

Enter: Hootsuite’s hashtag generator.

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

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

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.

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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 Syzran wallpaper” and my website 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 is it and why

If you are an active user of Instagram, 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.

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

The correct use of hashtags will help attract people who are interested in this topic to your page, 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 that you don't need a lot of mind 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.

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;
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...
You cannot use spaces or special characters. Hashtags can only be separated by an underscore (_). And in rare cases, using numbers and emoji;
Write a series of hashtags separated by a space. This looks more aesthetically pleasing and is perceived by Instagram not as spam;
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 allow you 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 are divided:

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

To make it more clear: here is an example of a high-frequency, that is, a 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:

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

Which 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 an advertisement

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 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 charm is that the hashtags are sorted by directions 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!

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:

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;
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;
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;
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.

In general, punishment is an extremely rare phenomenon, 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 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.

Interesting. Get more hits and sales on Instagram with the help of the top Taplink multilink service. With it, you can create any form of communication (viber, WhatsApp, Telegram), create cool websites and online stores, and accept orders and payments directly on Instagram. Click and test for 7 days for free -> Taplink (Promo code "inscale7")

how to get to the TOP + Wow-chips

top."

Experienced professionals 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.