Instagram hashtags are still considered one of the best ways to get more attention and engagement on your Instagram posts. But, have you been wondering about how you should use them and which are the right ones for your brand?
Well, that’s the reason we’ve created this article with all the necessary information about top Instagram hashtags. In addition with suggestions of the best hashtags in different categories to speed up your hashtag search.
Table of Contents
- Most Common Instagram Hashtag Types
- Most Popular Instagram Hashtags
- Photography Hashtags
- Fashion Hashtags
- Business Hashtags
- Marketing Hashtags
- Food Hashtags
- Travel Hashtags
- Art Hashtags
- Music Hashtags
- Wedding Hashtags
- Fitness Hashtags
- Mental Health Hashtags
- Motivation Hashtags
- Self Love Hashtags
- Dance Hashtags
- Beauty Hashtags
- Pet Hashtags
- How to Add Hashtags to your Instagram Posts and Stories
- How To Follow Hashtags On Instagram
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
5 Most Common Instagram Hashtag Types
Instagram hashtags are proven one of the best ways to enhance your engagement in your Instagram posts in 2023. Using top Instagram hashtags is vital for your marketing strategy to boost your presence and encourage interactions with your target audience. So, choosing the best hashtags can help extend your reach and boost your brand awareness. However, it can be difficult to notice trends and patterns at first sight. That’s why creating a successful Instagram hashtag strategy for your Instagram account, along with research of trending hashtags is critical for your business’s goals.
Here are some types of the most common Instagram hashtags:
- Product-specific hashtags
A product hashtag is a hashtagged phrase used on social media related to a specific product or service of a brand. It should be a phrase or word that attracts interest in your product or service and raises awareness about your brand.
- Community building hashtags
Community hashtags are Instagram hashtags that connect like-minded users around a specific subject. They’re a great way to connect with others, improve the searchability of your posts, gain followers, and grow your community.
- Special events and holidays hashtags
The purpose of these hashtags is to enable those at an event or on holidays to connect, share their opinions, experiences, and content they’ve created during their stay.
- Location-specific hashtags
Location-based hashtags offer businesses the opportunity to get in touch with people around the globe by just adding a location hashtag to a post of yours.
- Acronym hashtags
Acronym hashtags are important so you can be involved in conversations, comments, and Instagram captions between people; simply put, you equip yourself with knowledge around social media and the internet slang, and accordingly, you stay informed about current trends.
So, let’s dive more into the world of top Instagram hashtags.
Type #1: Product-specific hashtags
A great product hashtag is a powerful tool for your marketing strategy, as it best depicts your brand’s image and what you offer to your audience. By creating this kind of hashtag you promote your product/services and that means you get to connect with your target audience and get discovered by potential customers.
The main use of a product hashtag is collecting content that applies to your customers’ needs. A branded or a product-specific hashtag should fully represent the brand and intrigue its audience. Creating trending hashtags that are clear and branded is quite difficult to achieve, but it’s important as it’s the key element that will make people remember and actively use it.
Type #2: Community building hashtags
Building a brand community is becoming more and more crucial for businesses. Besides the fact that it greatly benefits market research, it also enhances brand loyalty and social media growth.
The primary reason for a community’s existence is to add value, serve, and accommodate the needs of the community members. Community hashtags are beneficial as they drive more loyalty and customer advocacy than a more generic hashtag. Customers feel more connected to other members of the same community and this tends to deliver quality user-generated content. The goal is to create a feeling of belonging, and that is why some brands are more direct in their community hashtag by addressing their members with the opportunity of creating a family.
Type #3: Special events and holidays hashtags
The challenge of this category is choosing the appropriate hashtag so people use it. Most events and holidays have their relevant hashtags so all communication processes will lead to the event or holiday. In other words, the hash sign turns a word of a phrase into a searchable link and this enables you to generate content and track conversation topics based on those relevant hashtags.
By using the right hashtags for your posts you can join the conversation regarding trending topics and events and stay informed throughout the year. By doing so, you increase the engagement of your posts and extend your organic reach levels. Capturing the attention of people outside of your current follower’s community is important for your brand’s growth. Hashtags help by categorising the content of your posts so that they are easily searchable. Another element that helps you identify opportunities to boost engagement.
Type #4: Location-specific hashtags
Location hashtags are considered one of the best ways to expand your reach and have an advantage over others when approaching more people online.
The benefits of these hashtags are numerous and while the amount of reach is considerable, you may be wondering how you can specify who your target is. The more specific you are when creating new hashtags, the greater the effect will be on your Instagram performance. Adding location-specific hashtags it’s likely to increase your online presence by putting yourself on the spot, even if you’re not there. People adore supporting local businesses, and is there a better way than using location hashtags? By doing so, your community can explore events and places close to them.
Another great thing about using location-specific hashtags is that they are a great way of building local awareness by bringing you close to your community. Wherever you are, people can search for your location and that is where geotagging hashtags appear. They are an excellent way of being discovered on Instagram, as they are extremely searchable and targetable. Top Instagram hashtags are all about being strategic and the more you are, the more you will strategically adopt specificity.
Type #5: Acronym hashtags
Acronym hashtags abridge long-tail keywords. As a consequence, a hashtag occupies less space and becomes more captivating.
Acronym hashtags are super popular. They are phrases that become summarised to discharge character space and that’s why they are great for Instagram and Twitter, where you have limited space. Some examples are #GRWM (Get Ready With Me), #WFW (Work From Home), #B2C (Business To Consumer). Companies can use this kind of hashtags to successfully promote their Instagram marketing campaign by saving up space and creating something unique that makes them stand out from their competitors.
Most Popular Instagram Hashtags
It’s helpful to be on the lookout for what’s trending in the app, as hashtags help you enrich your content, boost your following, and increase your reach and engagement. So, here’s a current list of the top Instagram hashtags to consider when creating your marketing campaign. Let’s check out the 60 most popular hashtags.
Photography Hashtags
Photography is one of the most popular activities and along with that Instagram is an app that is based on photographs. So, this combination created hashtags related to the field of photography, to depict the art, its creations, and creators. Let’s check below this list of hashtags.
Fashion Hashtags
Fashion is another aspect of life that attracts a lot of people and as a result, it occupies space on social media. Here are the most popular fashion hashtags on Instagram.
Business Hashtags
Using business hashtags allows you to grow your Instagram account and promote your products/services. Hashtags connect your business with a specific concept and enable you to come closer with your target audience by providing them with the appropriate content. Business hashtags also assist influencers on their personal branding journey.
Marketing Hashtags
It is crucial to expose your target audience to the right messages with keywords related to your industry, mainly because they are looking for something specific and you are the one providing it to them. Additionally, by using the right marketing hashtags you expand your network and business by being in touch with other organisations related to your industry.
Food Hashtags
Food photographs are some of the most popular content on social media. Blogs and social media accounts centred around food have a plethora of followers. So, what’s the next step after taking a food picture? Adding the necessary food hashtags that will help your post increase its reach. Let’s explore some of the best Instagram hashtags in this category.
Travel Hashtags
Traveling is quite an experience. So, when planning a travel campaign your hashtags should include everything; the planning, the stress of unexpected issues, the uncertainty and the spontaneity of the unknown, and the memories. Here are the most popular hashtags for travel brands, photographers, marketers, bloggers, and travel influencers.
Art Hashtags
Art hashtags are super important when promoting your work. The right hashtags will help you connect with your existing and potential audience, communicate your art products/services and provide content to people who are deeply touched by artistic expression. The best Instagram hashtags for this section are;
Music Hashtags
Hashtags used for music marketing are an essential part of a campaign, as they encourage participation and help artists expose their music to a wider audience. Creating the right hashtag enables you to start paying attention to how your audience reacts and keep posting content related to your music that captivates their attention. Niche hashtags like these can help you find and join communities.
Wedding Hashtags
Creating a wedding hashtag has become a vital part of any wedding process. Hashtags enable you to see your wedding photos in real-time and at the same time, you can create a virtual wedding album, which will be available for everyone.
Fitness hashtags
With so many people being active, exercising, and sharing inspiration every day, it is crucial specifically for fitness influencers to take advantage of social media like Instagram and Twitter to share their fitness journey. So, adding fitness hashtags to your posts will help you specify your content, expand your audience, and find sources of inspiration. Some of the trending instagram hashtags in this category are;
Mental Health Hashtags
Mental health is as important as physical health and people should be aware of that. By adding hashtags related to mental health you support the community, spread awareness about crucial topics, share your journey and inspire others, especially during the global pandemic. Instagram users add the following hashtags the most.
Motivation Hashtags
Motivation is the process of giving someone a reason for doing something. It is the set of psychological forces that compel someone to take action. So, sharing posts with motivational hashtags will give you the opportunity of getting discovered by a potential audience. Some noticeable motivation hashtags according to Instagram’s algorithm are;
Self Love Hashtags
Self-love equals appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Accordingly, your posts should empower your audience so you can keep them engaged and connect with them on a deeper level.
Dance Hashtags
Dancing is another form of art that helps people express and coordinate their bodies. The right dance hashtags can provide useful information, and as a result, you can identify what’s trending in your industry, which is the related hashtags, and consequently stay up-to-date with your competitors’ actions.
Beauty Hashtags
Hashtags help find information, products, and services easier for social media users. So, a hashtag that stands out makes your message attract the attention of your audience and by doing so it could result in higher conversions. If your business is related to the beauty industry you should take advantage of the following hashtags.
Pet Hashtags
If you have a pet, or you own a pet salon and you want to connect with other pet lovers or to promote your services, including hashtags in your posts is the best way to do so.
How to Add Hashtags to your Instagram Posts and Stories
Adding hashtags is a user-friendly process that allows you to get in front of a wider audience, especially if your story gets added to the hashtag story. Hashtags give you more exposure by enabling your content to be discovered more easily, as they make your posts discoverable and searchable to people who haven’t interacted yet with your Instagram account.
Step #1: Hashtags In Posts
Adding hashtags while uploading an Instagram post simply requires to type, at the caption section, the #symbol and the keyword you may want to use. Additionally, when you start typing, Instagram will show potential hashtags you could use. Recently Instagram advised that the appropriate number of hashtags is between 3-5 on each post, even though the limit is up to 30 per post.
Step #2: Edit Posts
In case you already uploaded your post, you can choose to edit it at any time and then add the hashtags you didn’t consider adding before.
Step #3: The Hashtag Sticker
To add a hashtag to your Instagram story, you press to add a sticker and then select the hashtag sticker. As you start typing, Instagram will show you hashtag suggestions towards the bottom of your screen.
Step #4: The # symbol
You can also use the # symbol to type the hashtag you want to insert, the same way you would on a video or post.
How to Follow Hashtags On Instagram
Finding hashtags is an easy process you can follow anytime. Of course that requires hashtag search, so you can discover the right hashtags that will help your marketing strategy and see your posts gain more attention. But, let’s check how to follow hashtags on Instagram.
Step #1: Select Tags
The first thing you should do is select Tags on your explore page. By choosing this category you specify your search only to hashtags and not posts, accounts, or places.
Step #2: Type A Potential Hashtag
To search for a hashtag on the search box of the explore page you can either start by typing the # symbol or directly type the keyword. Instagram will show a hashtag list, starting with the most popular ones and other hashtags using similar words.
Step #3: Press Follow
After having the hashtags list in front of you, you can select a hashtag you like, then press Follow, and you’ll see how many posts use that hashtag. By following a hashtag you get to see a few top posts each week.
Now Over to You
Hashtags are a way of getting more exposure and discovering relevant content based on your interests. They serve all kinds of preferences and you can use them respectively. In other words, hashtags are a powerful tool that allows you to reach new audiences and grow your brand awareness.
Don’t forget to have a look at Mentionlytics and discover the social media monitoring options that will best benefit your brand; our free trial will help you enhance your social media presence and learn more about how hashtags work.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What are the top 10 hashtags on Instagram?
The top Instagram hashtags are used by Instagram creators throughout the time to encourage interaction with their audience and to further engage with their content and accounts. So, now that we are on it, here are the top 10 Instagram hashtags:
Q2. What hashtags are trending right now?
Trends come and go every day. So, it is not easy to define which hashtags will stay ahead of the curve and which ones won’t. The best practice you can follow is constant research. Additionally, try several hashtags, including those that best represent your brand’s work. Test your hashtag strategy until there is a balance between what is important for your business and what is popular in the market. In fact, the following are some of the currently trending hashtags:
Q3. How many hashtags can you use on Instagram?
Every business has its social media philosophy. Therefore, your ideal hashtag number should be based on the type of content you’d like to share on your profiles. Test your hashtag strategy based on your target audience and decide if you want to follow a more commercial approach. Try including hashtags that speak to your niche audience as well. However, based on today’s social media picture it is recommended to use 3-5 hashtags, but adding up to 30 hashtags would be acceptable for a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a story.
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