Instagram hashtags: How to find the best ones

Despite all the changes on the platform, using good Instagram hashtags is still a great way to get your feed posts seen by as many people as possible.

If you are trying to grow your Instagram account, hashtags can help you gain more followers, increase engagement and help build a sense of community around your page.

But are you unsure how to pick the best hashtags for Instagram? Wondering which ones to use, how many and where? Then this post is just perfect for you! I’m going to run through my top tips and strategies to find hashtags that improve your account’s reach and engagement. (You can also check out my Instagram feed @ZenasSuitcase to see what I’ve done to grow my audience to more than 30k.)

Why use hashtags on Instagram

If you aren’t already using hashtags on Instagram, you really need to! They can make a huge difference to your engagement and visibility on the platform.

Your potential followers use hashtags specifically to discover new content and accounts they are interested in. With users being able to follow hashtags too, they open up even more opportunities for your account to be seen.

How to find the best hashtags for your posts

The best place to find the right hashtags for your posts is on Instagram! I never use third party apps to discover new hashtags because it’s not about using the most popular hashtag, infact niche is always better!

You’ve chosen a great image and you’ve crafted a winning caption and now you want as many people to see your post as possible. The key is to find relevant hashtags for your post.

When you look at your image do any relevant hashtags come to mind? Ask yourself what hashtags your target audience might associate with your image. If your picture is of a beautiful baby, brainstorm some initial hashtags.

Hashtags like #beautifulbaby and #cutebaby might come to mind, but there are loads more. I’d definitely recommend thinking out of the box! When you have a few ideas it’s time to go and check them out on Instagram.

When you do your hashtag research these are the questions you need to have in mind:

How many posts have been shared to that hashtag?
Does my post ‘fit’ the content already being shared for that hashtag?
Are users engaging with the content?
What other hashtags are similar accounts using?

How to pick good hashtags for your post

Your list of potential hashtags is starting to grow, but how do you choose the best ones? The first thing to think about is how many posts are being shared with that hashtag. For example #cutebaby has 13.5m posts and #beautifulbaby has 1.9m.

These general hashtags are being used a lot, so my advice is don’t use them! So many posts are being shared to these general hashtags that yours will get lost very quickly and no one will see them. Even if you make the ‘Top’ page for the hashtag, unless your posts drive very high levels of engagement naturally they will get pushed down the page very quickly.

Instead look for hashtags that have traction, but are more niche. I find that if a hashtag has between 10,000 and 500,000 shared posts they are a great place to start. For example #beautifulbabygirl has 385K posts and good levels of engagement so this could be perfect if it’s relevant to your post!

Always pick relevant hashtags

I know this sounds obvious, but picking relevant hashtags is super important to getting your post in front of the right audience.

If your hashtags are not relevant to your image, your caption or your audience then they will not improve the engagement or reach of your post. As well as the image and the caption, the lifestyle of your target audience is super important.

Instagram is a lifestyle focused and aspirational platform so bear this in mind when picking the right hashtags. In our example of the beautiful baby image, check out #newmums or #newmumlife to see if your post might appeal to that audience too.

How many hashtags to use

Instagram lets you use 30 hashtags on a feed post. If you find 30 relevant hashtags to use on your post, then use them. That is 30 opportunities to get your post in front of new people who might enjoy your content.

If you find 20 hashtags relevant to your post, then go with that. Don’t add irrelevant hashtags to make up the numbers as it will not help your engagement.

Where to put Instagram hashtags?

This is such a common Instagram question and there are a lot of theories out there! When you are thinking about where to put your hashtags the key is not to look spammy. One tactic is to push them down the caption with emojis for example.

Personally, I find this annoying when I’m reading captions on Instagram and I suspect I’m not the only one. I prefer to add relevant hashtags in the first comment, where they still work. The other option I like is to add the most relevant hashtags to the caption, and then the rest the first comment.

Repeating hashtags

Another discussion I see a lot on social media is ‘can repeating hashtags harm your account?’. I think the honest answer is yes and no! If the hashtags are relevant to your post and niche, you can repeat them.

Using a mix of old hashtags and fresh ones to help you reach new audiences is the most effective approach. If you have a batch of hashtags you add to every post regardless of whether they are relevant or not, then that is going to be a problem!

When it comes to finding the right hashtags, spending time researching the best ones to use can really help boost your engagement and followers. It can also help you research the type of content your target audience likes to see. If you are not already spending time checking out the best hashtags to use for your posts, I’d definitely recommend it’s time to start!

— By Zena Goldman, Zena’s Suitcase, Instagram: @ZenasSuitcase

More Instagram & social media advice for influencers

About Zena Goldman

Zena Goldman is a UK based travel, family & lifestyle blogger who left her 9-5 job behind in the not-for-profit sector to follow her creative dreams and enjoy a more flexible family life. She began writing Zena’s Suitcase in 2011 and shares the holidays and adventures she goes on with (and without) her 2 young daughters. She wishes her son would join them more often but he’s carving out his own dreams now and enjoying university life. Since beginning Zena’s Suitcase she has worked with a number of brands and also has a regular monthly feature in the ASDA Good Living Magazine feature, ‘Ask The Expert’ where she shares helpful parenting tips. In 2018 she was also a finalist in the prestigious BIBs Awards for Social Media and is also a proud member of the BritMums team.