Hashtags are a powerful tool when it comes to discoverability, finding your audience, and increasing your reach on Instagram. And knowing which hashtags to use (and when) can make a big difference in your success on the platform. So consider this your hashtag-packed guide.
Keep reading for a rundown on how to use hashtags, 275 popular Instagram hashtags, plus, hashtagging help from both AI and a human—namely, Drew McWhirter, the Creative Marketing Lead at Anh and Chi, a Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver.
“In a digital world full of content, hashtags are our way of narrowing it down and reaching the right people,” McWhirter explains. Let’s dig in.
Key Takeaways
- Boost your reach: Hashtags are essential for getting your content seen. Using them helps categorize your posts and makes it easier for your target audience to find you.
- Keep it simple: Using 3 to 5 hashtags is often the sweet spot. Experiment to find what works best for your brand and keep your captions looking clean. #LessIsMore
- Use tools for inspiration: Don’t stress about finding the right hashtags! Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator can make the process easier and more efficient.
An Instagram hashtag is a clickable word, phrase, numbers, and/or emoji preceded by the # symbol. For example, #TGIF would qualify.
Instagram hashtags are used to categorize or label content and make it more discoverable.
Hashtags are used to make your content easier to find. On Instagram, all hashtags are clickable, so when you use “#,” the phrase becomes like a button: it can be tapped on, searched, and analyzed by SEO tools and Instagram’s algorithm.
Source: @anhandchi
Use hashtags for every post to help your content find its target audience, show up on the Explore page, and get more followers and reach.
Adding hashtags is simple—just type “#” followed by whatever text you want to use.
You can do this in your caption, or you can add hashtags as a comment on your post (if you’re into the more minimalist caption look).
Once you type the “#” sign, Instagram search results will start suggesting popular and trending hashtags (as seen above). Select any that apply to your Instagram post to help give your content an extra boost.
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.
The best number of hashtags to use on Instagram is 3 to 5.
That’s a general rule, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution: make sure you experiment with your Instagram hashtag strategy to find the number that best suits the needs of your brand.
Free Instagram hashtag generator
We’ll be real with you: trying to find trending hashtags and coming up with hashtags is, shockingly, not the most exhilarating part of being a social media manager. So, using tools that will do the work for you, like Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator, will make your job a whole lot easier.
To use the hashtag generator, just fill in the text fields, add an optional photo, and hit “Generate Hashtags.”
Here’s an example:
And here are the hashtags included in the results:
Is anyone else hungry for cake… or a hamburger?
These are the most popular hashtags globally—they have been used hundreds of millions (or billions) of times. However, while top hashtags are good to know, they’re usually not very specific (#cool).
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.
Consider using a combination of popular and niche hashtags to reach different audiences, from broad to specific. Here are 30 hashtags to get you started:
- #love (2.1B)
- #instagood (1.8B)
- #fashion (1.1B)
- #photooftheday (1B)
- #photography (1B)
- #art (1B)
- #beautiful (848M)
- #nature (826M)
- #travel (752M)
- #follow (735M)
- #picoftheday (734M)
- #happy (721M)
- #instadaily (712M)
- #cute (682M)
- #style (674M)
- #trending (652M)
- #tbt (588M)
- #summer (569M)
- #followme (557M)
- #beauty (556M)
- #instalike (556M)
- #fitness (550M)
- #food (531M)
- #photo (515M)
- #like4like (479M)
- #music (477M)
- life (463M)
- #me (459M)
- #family (455M)
- #friends (453M)
Psstt: If you’re looking for popular hashtags on Instagram Reels, here’s 158 of them.
If you’re operating a brand account on Instagram, keep these business-related hashtags in mind.
- #smallbusiness (144M)
- #business (124M)
- #entrepreneur (109M)
- #socialmedia (41M)
- #digitalmarketing (40M)
- #startup (28M)
- #sales (22M)
- #tech (22M)
- #leadership (21M)
- #innovation (18M)
- #networking (15M)
- #SEO (11.9M)
- #contentmarketing (9.8M)
- #marketingstrategy (8.8M)
- #businesstips (7.7M)
- #productivity (4.9M)
- #strategy (4.4M)
- #b2b (3.6M)
- #consulting (3.4M)
- #workplace (2.6M)
- #professionaldevelopment (2M)
- #leadgeneration (1.4M)
- #b2bmarketing (685K)
- #saas (725K)
- #thoughtleadership (265K)
Keeping up with trends is an important part of staying relevant on Instagram. Here are a list of hashtags that are trending in 2024.
- #pets (100M)
- #diy (92.6M)
- #gaming (70.5M)
- cooking (66.1M)
- #petsofinstagram (61.6M)
- #blog (56.5M)
- #influencer (49.8M)
- #giveaway (49.1M)
- #fitnessjourney (44.1M)
- #craft (34.5M)
- #lifestyleblogger (24.9M)
- #ai (23.2M)
- #parenting (22M)
- #crypto (19.7M)
- #recipe (19.1M)
- #finance (18.6M)
- #beautytips (13.4M)
- #homeworkout (10.8M)
- #collab (7.5M)
Lots of the most popular hashtags on Instagram are like-related—and we love to like.
- #instalike (556M)
- #like4like (479M)
- #like (407M)
- #daily (168M)
- #instalove (145M)
- #likesforlike (140M)
- #like4likes (142M)
- #likesforlikes (78.4M)
- #like4follow (71.5M)
- #liketime (53.7M)
- #liker (44.3M)
- #likeme (42.1M)
- #likers (16.9M)
- #likeit (15.8M)
- #liked (11.5M)
- #like4followers (4.3M)
- #likelikelike (3.6M)
- #likethis (5.3M)
- #likefollow (2M)
- #likeplease (2.2M)
Virality is rooted in time—the same hashtags that everyone’s using this week will change by the time next week comes around.
These are some examples of hashtags that have gone viral this year.
- #reels (825M)
- #trending (652M)
- #style (647M)
- #ootd (445M)
- #makeup (414M)
- #model (378M)
- #foodie (259M)
- #nails (240M)
- #outfit (159M)
- #nailart (145M)
- #kids (137M)
- #healthylifestyle (133M)
- #skincare (126M)
- #reelsvideo (125M)
- #business (124M)
- #fashionstyle (124M)
- #healthyfood (123M)
- #realestate (116M)
- #creative (109M)
Here are some of the hashtags you’ll see more regularly on the platform.
- #selfie (450M)
- #fun (449M)
- #smile (445M)
- #girl (431M)
- #motivation (401M)
- #dog (385M)
- #model (378M)
- #lifestyle (369M)
- #sunset (337M)
- #instamood (294M)
- #amazing (288M)
- #nofilter (285M)
- #sun (273M)
- #inspiration (255M)
- #followforfollow (208M)
- #instapic (207M)
- #bestoftheday (198M)
- #cool (165M)
- #night (147M)
- #swag (142M)
- #happybirthday (133M)
So you can hashtag your Havanese or get more likes for your labrador.
- #dog (385M)
- #dogsofinstagram (325M)
- #dogs (175M)
- #instadog (119M)
- #doglover (105M)
- #dogoftheday (90M)
- #doglovers (63.8M)
- #ilovemydog (51.6M)
- #frenchbulldog (40M)
- #goldenretriever (38M)
- #rescuedog (28.2M)
- #doglove (25.6M)
- #dogphotography (21.5M)
- #dogmom (19.6M)
- #labradorretriever (15.1M)
- #dogmodel (11.5M)
- #dogsitting (10.4M)
- #dogofinstagram (10.5M)
- #dogtraining (10M)
- #doglife (68M)
- #doggrooming (7.5M)
- #doginstagram (4.8M)
- #dogstyle (3.8M)
- #doginfluencer (2.3M)
- #dogboarding (2.1M)
- #dogsmile (1.8M)
- #dogselfie (1.8M)
- #dogpics (1.1M)
- #doggram (1.6M)
- #dogadventures (1.6M)
The most popular hashtags for pretty kitties and the people who work for them.
- #cat (298M)
- #catsofinstagram (208M)
- #cats (161M)
- #catstagram (107M)
- #catlover (79.5M)
- #instacat (67.4M)
- #catlife (48.5M)
- #catlovers (47.1M)
- #catoftheday (41.8M)
- #ilovemycat (21.7M)
- #cutecat (21.1M)
- #catlove (20.2M)
- #blackcat (19.9M)
- #kittycat (16.5M)
- #caturday (13.6M)
- #catphoto (10.2M)
- #catmom (5.9M)
- #catphotography (5.4M)
- #catscatscats (5.1M)
- #catselfie (2.4M)
Not all who wander are lost… especially people with internet access.
- #travel (752M)
- #travelphotography (246M)
- #travelgram (184M)
- #vacation (160M)
- #adventure (153M)
- #instatravel (131M)
- #traveling (96.3M)
- #travelblogger (91.1M)
- #travelling (89.4M)
- #traveler (55.5M)
- #traveller (45M)
- #travelblog (29.5M)
- #journey (28.8M)
- #traveldiaries (19.1M)
- #adventuretime (18.8M)
- #travelphoto (18.1M)
- ##lifeofadventure (16.6M)
- #travelholic (13.2M)
- #worldtraveler (9.2M)
- #adventureawaits (5M)
Popular hashtags fit for your workout-related content.
- #fitness (550M)
- #gym (285M)
- #workout (231M)
- #healthy (192M)
- #health (174M)
- #fitnessmotivation (156M)
- #bodybuilding (145M)
- #yoga (126M)
- #running (95.8M)
- #gymmotivation (76.4M)
- #exercise (71.7M)
- #body (65.5M)
- #fitnessmodel (64.5M)
- #run (64.2M)
- #cardio (52.3M)
- #fitnessjourney (44.1M)
- #getfit (36.1M)
- #gymrat (29.4M)
- #workoutmotivation (28.8M)
- #fitnesslifestyle (18.5M)
- #yogainspiration (18.2M)
- #sweat (16.3M)
- #strengthtraining (14.7M)
This platform is built on envy-worthy photos, and the top hashtags prove that photography is still going strong on Instagram.
- #photography (1B)
- #photooftheday (1B)
- #photo (515M)
- #photographer (267M)
- #naturephotography (252M)
- #travelphotography (246M)
- #photoshoot (209M)
- #instaphoto (129M)
- #streetphotography (128M)
- #foodphotography (117M)
- #portraitphotography (82.5M)
- #landscapephotography (75.9M)
- #photos (66.6M)
- #weddingphotography (65.3M)
- #photoshop (60.4M)
- #photographylovers (46.2M)
- #filmphotography (43.1M)
- #photograph (39.9M)
- #photogram (24M)
- #photographers (19M)
- #photoart (15.9M)
- #photographeveryday (15.2M)
- #photographyislife (14.5M)
Give your creative work an extra boost with these popular hashtags.
- #art (1B)
- #photography (1B)
- #artist (343M)
- #drawing (300M)
- #artwork (208M)
- #digitalart (154M)
- #artistsoninstagram (121M)
- #draw (109M)
- #instaart (96.3M)
- #artoftheday (84.2M)
- #contemporaryart (73.7M)
- #paint (57.9)
- #abstractart (52.5M)
- #artgallery (52.5M)
- #tattooart (34.7M)
- #modernart (31.3M)
- #artistic (29.9M)
- #artofinstagram (25.2M)
- #picsart (22M)
- #artists (21M)
- #artcollector (20.3M)
- #urbanart (19.8M)
- #artlover (11.1M)
- #artdaily (7.5M)
- #artjournal (5.6M)
Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator
This generator is totally free and a snap to use.
Just pick a language, describe your content, throw in some keywords, and you’ll be delivered 10 AI-generated hashtags to use in your post (and inspire some brain-powered ideas, too).
Hootsuite’s AI hashtag suggestion tool
Besides the free generator, there’s also Hootsuite’s AI hashtag suggestion tool that’s incorporated right into the Composer.
You can only use this if you schedule your posts with Hootsuite (which, by the way, is free for 30 days). Just select the hashtag button on the bottom right of the text field and the Composer will suggest relevant hashtags.
Competitive analysis
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Take a look at accounts that you look up to—you know, brands with a strong Instagram game.
Keep track of competitors in your industry and see which hashtags they are using: odds are, those same hashtags can help you get more reach and find the right audience.
Use Explore page suggestions
You really only need one good keyword to find lots of hashtags.
By using the Explore page, you can search for a word, hit “Tags” and see a ton of suggested hashtags that are related to your keyword.
For example, check out what populates when searching the keyword “raccoon.”
Psstt: No matter what strategy you use, make sure you’re using hashtags that are actually related to your content.
It might be tempting to throw #raccooncafe onto your post, but if you can’t deliver the sort of media that’s expected under that label, any user you attract won’t stay long.
For some delicious advice on using hashtags for business, we asked Drew McWhirter, Creative Marketing Lead of Vancouver’s Anh and Chi Vietnamese restaurant. Here’s how she uses hashtags to reach local foodies.
1. Be specific… but not too specific
“The method to my hashtag madness lies in the range of specificity,” says McWhirter. She explains that it’s important your hashtags aren’t too vague (#GoodVibes, while cute, isn’t going to be helpful in terms of social strategy).
For example, Anh and Chi’s Instagram hashtags usually include #vietnameserestaurant or #vietnamesefood instead of just #restaurant or #food.
Source: Anh and Chi
“Instagram shows you how many posts a hashtag has been used on,” she continues.
“This is incredibly helpful because it lets me see which hashtags are more popular and which have little to no use—I steer clear from hashtags that have very few posts because they are incredibly niche and won’t help to expose our content to larger audiences.”
2. Location matters
Especially when your brand is a brick-and-mortar business (or your product or service is only available in a certain city or region), it’s always a good idea to include your location in your hashtags.
That way, your content will reach more people who are located in your area, and there’s a higher chance of converting your Instagram success to real money and growth for your business.
Source: Anh and Chi
Anh and Chi use hashtags like #vancityeats and #vancouverfoodie to show Instagram users (and the algorithm) that the restaurant is in Vancouver. “Location-related hashtags help us reach our local audiences,” says McWhirter.
3. Tag amplifiers
Hashtags can be used to attract the attention of influential Instagram accounts—for example, media.
“I tag media-related accounts because it’s one more avenue of exposure for potential reach,” says McWhirter.
Anh and Chi’s Instagram hashtags often include the names of local newspapers, magazines and blogs, which can result in valuable reach, including sharing on social or media coverage.
Often, local media will have their own hashtags listed in their bio. For example, Dished Vancouver has a branded hashtag “#dishedvan” to encourage foodies to share their photos, and boost user generated content, too.
4. Think like an Instagram user
While the purpose of hashtags is partially for things like algorithms and SEO, the end goal is always to best serve humans on the platform—so don’t get too caught up in the tech of it all.
“I like to put myself in the shoes of a user,” says McWhirter. Think about what kinds of content people are searching for, and how your brand can be useful to them. “I ask myself questions like, ‘Do I find this content interesting?’ and ‘What am I getting out of this?’” she adds.
Source: Anh and Chi
Hashtags like #grilledsquid and #seafoodlover will help squid fans find this post.
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