Hashtags are a powerful way to increase visibility and engagement on social media. They help organize content, improve searchability, and extend reach beyond followers. They’re a great tool for building communities around specific interests or events. However, it’s important to implement the right strategies to make the most out of them. Read below for some helpful tips!

Hashtag Basics

• Hashtags start with # and won’t work if they include spaces (#giving back), punctuation (#fundraiser’sinspo), or special characters (#dogood!). Fun fact: the pound symbol was first used for hashtags in 2007 by Chris Messina of Twitter.
• Ensure your profile is public so your hashtagged content is visible to a wider audience.
• Avoid lengthy hashtags (#agoodhashtagisashorthashtag); shorter ones are more memorable and effective (#KeepItShort).
• Choose hashtags that are relevant and specific. Overly obscure ones may go unnoticed.
• Use a moderate number of hashtags, as excessive use can make posts appear spammy.

Why Use Hashtags?

Increase engagement with your followers. Hashtags 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. However, make sure your brand hashtags aren’t already being used by other organizations or trends, otherwise your content will be lost in a sea of unrelated content.

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

Help your target audience find you. Using a few popular hashtags can be another way to help new users find your brand.

Disclose sponsored partnerships. FTC rules state that sponsored posts must be clearly labeled — hashtags are an easy way to do so!

Capitalize on a trend. Hopping on trending content can help boost your account in the algorithm. But make sure to do so in a way that relates back to your brand.

Types of Hashtags

• Branded Hashtags: Unique to your brand, they can encourage user-generated content and build brand awareness.
• Trending Hashtags: Popular at a given moment, these boost reach but may be short-lived. Trending hashtags tend to have a large, active audience which may help increase your reach.
• Community Hashtags: Broader than branded, they connect users with shared interests.
• Location Hashtags: Connect with region-specific audiences by using location hashtags for your organization and event locations.
• Event Hashtags: Grow engagement around an event with an event hashtag. Encourage attendees to share their photos and takeaway with the event hashtag.
• Campaign Hashtags: Create awareness around a specific promotion or digital campaign with a campaign-specific hashtag.

Finding the Right Hashtags

Research is key. Use platforms like Instagram analytics and X analytics to see which hashtags align with your brand or target audience. Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social or Google Trends can also reveal relevant, trending tags. Here are some of our favorite tools for hashtag research and inspiration:

• RiteTag: Allows you to search for related tags, see exposure rates and recent use. This tool also gives suggestions broken out by platform, trending, and which tags you shouldn’t use.
• Hashtagify.me: Helps you evaluate a specific tag’s popularity and related hashtags. This also helps you find popular hashtags this week.
• aJuxt’s Blog: We’re biased but it’s a good blog if you are still a little lost.
• Days of the Week: If you need some post inspiration this is a good list to try.

How many hashtags should I use and where should I use them?

• Instagram: 3-5
  • Include your hashtags after writing a great Instagram caption. Some brands like to use spacers (a . per line works well), so the hashtags show up after the caption’s truncation.
  • You can also include hashtags in the comments section.
• Facebook: 0
  • We recommend skipping hashtags on Facebook unless it is being used for fun or campaign purposes.
• LinkedIn: 4-5
  • Incorporate hashtags anywhere into your LinkedIn posts.
• Twitter: 1-2
  • You can use hashtags anywhere in your posts. 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 X bio.
• TikTok: 3-5
  • You can use hashtags in your video descriptions or comments.
• YouTube: 3-5
  • You can add hashtags to your video title or in the video description.
• Pinterest: 2-5
  • When using Pinterest for business, include Pinterest hashtags when writing a Pin description or in a written description when Repinning.

Tips for Effective Hashtag Use

• Don’t overdo it. Stick to a few relevant hashtags rather than spamming.
• Mix up hashtag types. Combine branded, trending, and niche hashtags for a well-rounded approach.
• Stay relevant. Only use hashtags that relate to your content.

Evaluating Hashtag Success

Track performance metrics—like engagement, reach, and followers gained—to assess which hashtags resonate most with your audience.
Harness hashtags strategically to grow your online presence and connect meaningfully with your audience.

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