Instagram Hashtag: 30 Most Popular and Trending Hashtags

You’re already using social media to advance your online business goals but by effectively implementing strategic hashtags across your platforms you can: 

• Increase your chances of being found by a relevant audience.

• Receive double the engagement on posts.

• Monitor marketing campaign performances and conversations. photography hashtags

Hashtags began in 2007 when Twitter used them to categorize topics. These days they are used across social media platforms to help you connect and engage with audiences beyond your immediate followers. 

How Important are Hashtags on Instagram? 

You already know the effectiveness of popular hashtags reaching a targeted audience on Twitter, but I would argue that hashtags on Instagram are more important than all other social media platforms. 

TrackMaven found that 11+ hashtags get the maximum engagement from Instagram followers. But this doesn’t mean you should overload your posts with all the popular hashtags you can find. 

Image Source: TrackMaven

Today, we’ll provide you with the essential tips you need to use hashtags on Instagram to meet your social media marketing goals. 

30 Most Popular and Trending Hashtags

But there is no guarantee that the above hashtag will work for all types of profile. But in general, those hashtags are working fine. 

How to Use Hashtags on Instagram? 

You can use Instagram Hashtag in the following 10 ways. 

#1: Figure Out Your Number 

Instagram allows users to add up to 30 hashtags to posts and using the full amount of hashtags can result in explosive growth for your account. 

Save a few lists of relevant hashtags to the notes on your phone and then refer back to them whenever you create a new post. 

However, the right amount of Instagram hashtags is different for everyone and using the full amount isn’t the only way to success. Do some recon and figure out how many hashtags and what kinds of hashtags other people in your niche are using. 

Play with numbers and try out different amounts of hashtags. Track the engagement that you have with these different posts.

Which posts were more popular? 

Test outposts with a slightly higher or lower amount to find out what works best for you. 

#2: Brand Your Hashtags 

70 percent of Instagram hashtags are branded. This is useful because these hashtags are easy to track and relate directly to your own company. 

Branded hashtags can be used to monitor the success of marketing campaigns and they can be used across platforms. Keep them short and easy to remember – this will encourage your followers to use them too. 

#3: Use Community Hashtags 

As well as using hashtags that are specific to your own brand, make the most out of Instagram’s community hashtags. Examples of these are hashtags like #FitFam or #OOTD. 

These kinds of hashtags are widely used. When other people use them they are more likely to find your page. In this way, you will attract an audience of consumers that are interested in products and pages relevant to your brand. 

#4: Keep It Relevant 

Try not to use hashtags that are not relevant to the image that you are posting. They will be less successful and you won’t attract the desired audience. 

Many marketers get sucked into looking at the vanity metrics (likes and impressions), as opposed to looking at metrics that actually matter for business. 

This leads to them utilizing the most popular hashtags in order to maximize likes. What this results in is a ton of likes from bots and fake accounts. 

In order to avoid this, do a practice search for some of the hashtags that you would like to use and see what comes up. Remember that your image is the real pull factor here and you want it to be relevant as well as something that stands out. 

#5: Don’t Forget About Instagram Stories 

Remember that hashtags can be used not only on Instagram posts but also on Instagram stories. 

Hashtag pages have an Instagram story icon in the top left-hand corner and if you click on this you will see a collection of posts from people with public profiles. You can use up to ten hashtags on your Instagram story. 

Frequently posting on both Instagram and Instagram stories is essential to encouraging online engagement with your brand. 

#6: Add Hashtags to Your Bio 

When a user taps the hashtag in your bio they will be taken to the page of that hashtag to follow it. If you post similar content with the same hashtag as in your bio, this will increase the chances of your post being seen. 

If you have a branded hashtag this might be a great way to encourage engagement. 

#7: Make Them Specific 

Broader community-style hashtags are a great starting point but if you really want to foster engagement on your Instagram page you should include hashtags that are much more specific. 

Although fewer people may view the post, those that do will be more interested in your niche and be higher quality followers. 

For example: 

if you are travelling to a specific place your should tag the location and the name of the business. People that have visited this place can easily find you and you may gain potential followers. 

Again, it might be worth checking what successful Instagrammers in your area are hashtagging. Using the same specific hashtags as they do will maximize your potential impact. 

#8: Hide Your Hashtags Like a Pro 

Aesthetically, hashtags don’t look pretty. If you’re only using a few, it might not ruin the aesthetics of your caption, but if you’re using 10+ and you’re worried about looking spammy, you can hide them! 

One of the most common ways to hide them is by using dashes or full stops five times in a row, each on a line of its own. This creates some space between your engaging caption and those distracting hashtags. 

Of course, this only makes the hashtags invisible in the main image stream and if a user clicks to see the rest of the caption they will be able to see them. 

The old way of hiding hashtags is to post them in the comments. This method is fine, but it can be problematic because you need to be fast. 

Time is of the essence when you are dealing with building engagement on Instagram and if you take too long to post the hashtags in the comment, they won’t impact discovery whatsoever. 

That means using a scheduling tool that also allows you to schedules a comment with your hashtags or doing so manually with the hashtags saved in your notes. 

#9: Avoid Being Shadow Banned 

Shadowbanning is Instagram’s response to what it perceives as spammy behaviour.

Image Source: Meltwater

But normal behaviour can also get your page inadvertently shadowbanned too. This includes activities like using the same hashtag group in the space of 24 hours and using hashtags that have been banned. 

Sometimes hashtags that are pretty normal can be banned. It is worth searching each hashtag individually to check if it’s banned – if it is, don’t use it. You can also use Tailwind’s hashtag finder. This basically does the same thing but with minimum effort.

Tailwind can grow your Instagram and Pinterest profile flawlessly. 

#10: Use Instagram’s Search Function 

Remember that you don’t have to use paid-for tools to maximize your hashtags. Using Instagram’s own search function is a great way to figure out which hashtags are popular and relevant to you and your brand. 

Type in a keyword and then select the ‘tags’ tab. The site will give you a list of all the keywords associated with the theme you’ve chosen and you will be able to see the number of posts it has been tagged in. 

If there is a big number next to the tag then this means that the hashtag is popular and has high engagement. It does mean a lot of people are following it but there is also the possibility that your post will get lost. Opting for a hashtag with a lot of followers, but not too many, is the best way to maximize your hashtag choice. 

Follow the above tips and your Instagram hashtags will guarantee you an increase in followers, which will ultimately explode your brand forward and translate into higher engagement and higher sales. 

Align your Business Objectives with your Hashtag Strategies 

When creating content for Instagram, focus on your business objectives as opposed to hashtags. Don’t try to maximize your likes with a spray and pray strategy. 

Sustainable business growth on Instagram means having true followers. People that actually care about your business and engage with your content. 

That’s the fundamental truth about marketing, it’s rarely successful when it reaches everybody and more likely to be successful when it reaches the right people with the right message. 

This means targeting the right audience is key, and you can only achieve this if you are clear with your business objectives on Instagram.

Stefanos Bournias

He is a content marketing consultant that specializes in SaaS businesses. He’s worked with start-up founders, content managers and inbound marketers to deliver quality content that increases brand awareness, traffic and qualified leads.

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