While it may be tempting to plaster a dozen or more hashtags onto a post in hopes of reaching a larger audience, using too many can make your message seem spammy and inauthentic. Social media algorithms also often prioritize posts with fewer, more relevant hashtags.
Overloading your posts with hashtags can make them look spammy — both to the ranking algorithms and to your followers. All that hashtag clutter can distract people from the point of your message, whether it's to follow your brand or check back later for a special promo code.
Go big or go home when it comes to your hashtag strategy. While using a few hashtags is good, using 20-30 relevant (and targeted) hashtags is even better for your overall reach and engagement rates.
Instagram lets you include up to 30 hashtags in their post captions. However, the Instagram Creators account has advised users to stick to a 3-5 hashtag limit in captions.
We found that using more hashtags typically yields the best results — with 20 hashtags receiving the highest average reach rate. So, how many hashtags should you use on Instagram? For now, using more hashtags is still the best strategy for increasing your reach on feed posts.
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.
It may come as a surprise, but Instagram suggests using between 3 and 5 hashtags. The reason behind this low number is to use more relevant and better-quality hashtags to avoid spam. In other words: less is more.
You can use up to 30 tags on a post. If you include more than 30 tags on a single photo/video, your comment won't post.
In addition, the study found that the number of hashtags in a post doesn't have a measurable impact on views. No matter how many hashtags a post has, the average engagement rate by impressions falls within the same range. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you should stop using hashtags altogether.
Using too many hashtags is a big red flag for Instagram. If you are using irrelevant hashtags just to gain more visibility, you risk getting shadowbanned. Or if you are using the same hashtags in all of your posts, you come across as spammy. That can put you on Instagram's shadowban radar.
Shadowban happens when users use the social network the wrong way – buying followers or likes via automated services, posting too often, using too many hashtags, using the same hashtags all the time or going on a “like” spree every now and then, liking hundreds of posts in short time.
“It's been proven, a post that includes hashtags gets over 12% more interaction, so it's no secret that a specific hashtag -or even an industry hashtags- can be an easy way to boost your engagement. ” – Christina Nicholson, Huffington Post . It all makes sense. Popular Instagram hashtags make your posts easier to find.
Yes, hashtags still work. It's important to remember that hashtags aren't going anywhere in 2023. In fact, they're back in full force. With a strategic and creative approach, they can be an extremely powerful tool for reaching your target audience and promoting your content.
Social media algorithms also often prioritize posts with fewer, more relevant hashtags. If we look at the recent recommendation for Instagram, the corporate-backed Creators account stated that using 3 to 5 hashtags per post works best. Here, a point to note is that you can add up to 30 hashtags per post.
Not only is this kind of behavior considered spammy, but posting multiple times in a row can cause you to get penalized by the Instagram algorithm, meaning your posts will be shown to fewer people!
The point of using hashtags on social media is that you are indicating to a follower/user and algorithm that your content relates to a specific topic or category. Ultimately, it helps users to find relevant content easily across platforms so your content is discoverable to a wider (or niche) audience.
DON'T waste hashtags
For example, if you're struggling to fit in the number of hashtags in your caption, instead of using #SydneyAustralia in your caption, try tagging the post itself as Sydney. That way, you have room to use a tag that's less generic and more relevant or on-brand.
Con: You Can Turn Away Followers by Using Too Many Hashtags
Hashtags are great for boosting your Instagram engagement, but too many hashtags can sometimes turn away users. Your followers want to read a caption that is thoughtful and entertaining, not a jumble of hashtags.
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.
While Instagram allows users up to 30 hashtags for feed posts and ten hashtags for Instagram Stories, some social media experts take the less is more approach. For instance, Instagram's @Creators account suggests using between 3-5 hashtags per post, which is unusually low.
Yes, unfortunately, there is a hashtag limit on Instagram. It is not possible to publish more than 30 hashtags per post on Instagram. The Instagram hashtag limit can guide your choices for the Instagram hashtag you use when posting content on your social media accounts.
Even though you can always put any number of viral TikTok hashtags in your post's caption, it is not the best way to increase your views. Using up to five of the trending hashtags relevant to your product is the way to go.
Adding hashtags and keywords to your posts is an effective way to reach more people on Instagram, which means more “views” for the Instagram algorithm to take into account. In a recent Later study, we discovered that feed posts with 30 hashtags get the highest level of engagement on average.
The same goes for hashtags. While they can technically be any length up to 140 characters, remember that people will want to accompany the hashtag with other copy. Short hashtags are always better.
Do change your tags every few weeks to month. If you find your set of hashtags is no longer giving you good engagement, or you've hit a plateau, consider switching up your set. Start by changing 10 to see if that makes a difference.