Using top Instagram hashtags can help you extend your reach, engage your audience, boost your brand, and even please the Instagram algorithm. In order to get each of these distinct benefits, however, you need to have specific strategies in place.
Today, we’re sharing how to create an effective hashtag strategy for your Instagram accounts, including hashtag research, how to implement and develop hashtag strategies, and even specific hashtags you should add to your roster based on your business’ goals.
If you want to promote your brand or learn how to make money on Instagram, these tactics are for you. You can also check our guide on how to get followers on Instagram if you’re looking to build an audience.
Build your own Instagram hashtag strategy:
- How hashtags work on Instagram
- Most popular hashtags of all time
- Most popular Instagram hashtags in 2022, by category
- Top Instagram hashtag generators
- Types of Instagram hashtags
- Tips and best practices for using hashtags on Instagram
- Finding the best Instagram hashtags
- Instagram hashtags FAQ
How hashtags work on Instagram
Hashtags are attached to things you post on Instagram and become clickable phrases and topics. Any word or phrase can be turned into a working hashtag, as long as it has a # placed in front of it.
When users click on a hashtag, they’re taken to its discover feed, which shows all the public content attached to it. People will click on or search for hashtags they’re interested in as a way of finding content on Instagram.
Since hashtags are used with an intent to discover content, the right hashtags can put you in front of your target audience, even if they haven’t connected with you before. Recognizing the importance of hashtags on the platform, Instagram has expanded the functionality of hashtags. Brands can now add clickable hashtags to the profile section of Instagram bios.
Instagram Stories have a hashtag sticker, which lets you place working hashtags on your Stories. When users click, they’ll be taken to the hashtag’s feed, just like they would if they’d clicked on a hashtag on your post.
Hashtags work on Reels similarly. It helps the Instagram algorithm categorize your content so it shows in a user’s explore feed.
Users can also follow hashtags they’re interested in, ensuring that content from those hashtags appears in their feed regularly.
Top Instagram hashtags
- #love
- #fashion
- #photooftheday
- #beautiful
- #photography
- #picoftheday
- #happy
- #follow
- #nature
- #tbt
- #travel
- #like4like
- #style
- #repost
- #summer
- #instadaily
- #selfie
- #beauty
- #girl
- #friends
- #instalike
- #me
- #smile
- #family
- #photo
- #life
- #likeforlike
- #music
- #ootd
- #makeup
- #follow4follow
- #amazing
- #igers
- #nofilter
- #model
- #sunset
- #beach
- #design
- #motivation
- #instamood
- #foodporn
- #lifestyle
- #followforfollow
- #sky
- #l4l
- #f4f
- #handmade
- #likeforlikes
- #cat
Top Instagram hashtags in 2022, by category
There is a lot to consider when working with Instagram hashtags, so let’s regroup around a solid starting point.
Below, you’ll find the best Instagram hashtags, sorted by categories like industry or event, that you can use to start the process of fleshing out your hashtag strategy.
- Best hashtags for likes and follows
- Best fashion hashtags
- Best food and beverage hashtags
- Best travel hashtags
- Best pet hashtags
- Best tech and gadgets hashtags
- Best wedding hashtags
- Best fitness hashtags
- Best holiday hashtags
- Top hashtags for Instagram contests
- Instagram hashtags for photography
- Instagram hashtags for small business
- Instagram hashtags for music
- Instagram art hashtags
- Instagram nature hashtags
- Top Instagram Reels hashtags
Best hashtags for likes and follows
- #likes
- #like
- #follow
- #likeforlikes
- #love
- #instagood
- #followforfollowback
- #followme
- #photooftheday
- #bhfyp
- #instalike
- #photography
- #l
- #instadaily
- #me
- #picoftheday
- #beautiful
- #myself
- #likeforfollow
- #fashion
- #smile
- #followers
- #likeforlike
- #followback
- #f
- #followforfollow
- #comment
- #likesforlikes
- #bhfyp
Note: No promises made on the quality of the followers or likes you’ll receive, as these and other related hashtags are typically based on new Instagram users trading likes and follows.
Best fashion hashtags
- #fashion
- #love
- #style
- #styleinspo
- #ootd
- #outfitoftheday
- #whatiwore
- #shoppingaddict
- #beautydoesnthavetobepain
- #currentlywearing
- #instastyle
- #lookgoodfeelgood
- #fashionblogger
- #fashionista
- #fashionstyle
- #fashionable
- #fashiongram
- #fashionblog
- #fashionaddict
- #fashionphotography
Best food and beverage hashtags
- #food
- #foodporn
- #foodie
- #instafood
- #foodphotography
- #foodstagram
- #yummy
- #instagood
- #love
- #foodblogger
- #foodlover
- #delicious
- #homemade
- #healthyfood
- #photooftheday
- #picoftheday
- #dinner
- #foodgasm
- #foodies
- #tasty
- #cooking
- #instadaily
- #lunch
- #bhfyp
- #restaurant
- #healthy
Best travel hashtags
- #travel
- #nature
- #photography
- #travelphotography
- #photooftheday
- #instagood
- #travelgram
- #picoftheday
- #photo
- #beautiful
- #art
- #naturephotography
- #wanderlust
- #adventure
- #instatrave
- #travelblogger
- #landscape
- #summer
- #trip
- #explore
Best pet hashtags
- #pet
- #dog
- #pets
- #dogsofinstagram
- #cute
- #petsofinstagram
- #dogs
- #cat
- #love
- #puppy
- #cats
- #petstagram
- #animals
- #animal
- #instadog
- #dogstagram
- #doglover
- #of
- #catsofinstagram
- #dogoftheday
- #doglovers
- #petlovers
- #doglife
- #instapet
- #catstagram
- #instagood
- #cachorro
- #catlover
Best tech and gadgets hashtags
- #techie
- #latesttech
- #ilovemygadgets
- #gadgetsgalore
- #apple
- #android
- #applevsandroid
- #wearabletech
- #VR
- #mobile
- #makinglifeeasier
- #tech
- #technology
- #technews
- #gadgets
- #instatech
- #software
- #innovation
Best wedding hashtags
- #wedding
- #bride
- #weddingdress
- #weddingphotography
- #weddingday
- #weddinginspiration
- #makeup
- #weddingplanner
- #prewedding
- #bridal
- #bridetobe
- #weddingphotographer
- #weddings
- #groom
- #engagement
- #party
- #weddingideas
- #makeupartist
- #indianwedding
- #casamento
Best fitness hashtags
- #fitness
- #gym
- #workout
- #fitnessmotivation
- #motivation
- #fit
- #bodybuilding
- #training
- #health
- #lifestyle
- #fitfam
- #healthylifestyle
- #sport
- #healthy
- #gymlife
- #life
- #crossfit
- #personaltrainer
- #goals
- #exercise
- #muscle
Best holiday hashtags
- #stockingstuffers
- #christmasdecor
- #spookyhalloween
- #happyhalloween
- #thanksgivingtable
- #turkeyorham
- #valentineformyvalentine
- #happyfourth
- #newyearseve
- #newyearsresolution
- #holidaycrazy
- #holidayspirit
- #kwanza
- #hanukkahgift
- #underthetree
Top hashtags for Instagram contests
- #instacontest
- #instagiveaway
- #giveaway
- #sweepstakes
- #contestalert
- #contestentry
- #winit
- #freebie
- #winitwednesday
Instagram hashtags for photography
- #photography
- #photooftheday
- #photo
- #picoftheday
- #photographer
- #model
- #photoshoot
- #portrait
- #beauty
- #travelphotography
- #canon
- #selfie
- #landscape
- #sunset
- #fotografia
- #portraitphotography
- #photographylovers
- #artist
- #nikon
Instagram hashtags for small business
- #smallbusiness
- #supportsmallbusiness
- #handmade
- #shoplocal
- #shopsmall
- #smallbusinessowner
- #entrepreneur
- #supportlocal
- #business
- #localbusiness
- #businessowner
- #blackownedbusiness
- #art
- #explorepage
- #homedecor
- #covid
- #startup
- #entrepreneurship
- #womeninbusiness
- #motivation
- #success
- #girlboss
- #entrepreneurlife
- #handcrafted
- #local
- #smallbiz
- #homemade
- #custom
- #smallbusinesssupport
- #shopsmallbusiness
- #handmadewithlove
- #supportsmallbusinesses
- #supportlocalbusiness
Instagram hashtags for music
- #music
- #hiphop
- #rap
- #musician
- #singer
- #musica
- #dj
- #rock
- #dance
- #song
- #guitar
- #viral
- #producer
- #newmusic
- #musicvideo
- #instamusic
- #livemusic
- #pop
- #concert
- #trap
- #beats
Instagram art hashtags
- #art
- #artist
- #drawing
- #artwork
- #painting
- #artistsoninstagram
- #illustration
- #digitalart
- #design
- #sketch
Instagram nature hashtags
- #nature
- #naturephotography
- #sunset
- #flowers
- #wildlife
- #mountains
- #hiking
- #explore
- #outdoors
- #naturelover
- #beach
- #forest
Top Instagram Reels hashtags
- #reels
- #reelsvideo
- #reelsinstagram
- #reelsindia
- #holareels
- #reelsbrasil
- #reelsteady
- #instagramreels
- #reelsinsta
- #instareels
- #reelsofinstagram
- #k
- #music
- #bhfyp
- #disney
- #tiktokindia
- #videoftheday
- #instareel
- #foryoupage
- #fyp
Top Instagram hashtag generators
Whether you’re shooting for six hashtags or 30, it can be time-consuming to enter in that many characters, especially since autocorrect won’t fix hashtag spelling mistakes. Ask any social media manager and they’ll tell you, it’s not our favorite thing in the world.
Fortunately, there are plenty of Instagram hashtag generators and hashtag search engines that can streamline the process. Some we recommend include the following.
Best-Hashtags
Best-Hashtags is a simple browser-based hashtag research tool. Its algorithm calculates the best hashtags for your social content based on historical data. Simply type in your desired hashtag and Best-Hashtags will generate a list of hashtags across different categories like:
- Best related hashtags
- Top 10 hashtags based on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok popularity
- Low difficulty hashtags
- Exact hashtags
You can also discover new hashtags on its New Hashtags and Best Hashtags category pages.
SISTRIX
The SISTRIX Instagram Hashtag Generator is another great tool to find successful hashtags, fast. This tool keeps it simple. Once you enter a hashtag or topic, it’ll automatically show you the best 30 hashtags to use. Get more recommendations by searching other hashtag variants related to your main search.
The tool is completely free for up to 25 queries each day. If you want more searches, you’ll need to register for a SISTRIX account.
Influencer Marketing Hub
This Instagram hashtag generator is different. Rather than search for hashtags by topic, you upload a photo to the generator and it gives you hashtags to use. Notice in the following example, we placed an image from the Surreals NFT collection to see what hashtags would generate.
Avoid banned hashtags
Did you know that there are such things as banned hashtags on Instagram? They aren’t even necessarily swear words or outright obscenities—though those definitely make the list.
Instagram routinely “bans” hashtags that it detects are used frequently alongside some sort of illicit content. Some of these aren’t surprising, like #nasty, but others like #fitnessgirls and #tgif could be used for perfectly innocent reasons. Instagram won’t post new content to a banned hashtag’s feed, if the feed even stays up at all.
Hashtags can be banned permanently or temporarily, and when you use them, your posts could be shadowbanned. This means that they may not show up in your followers’ feeds, and they may not appear when users search for other hashtags attached to the post. All in all, using a single banned hashtag can unravel all the work you did on a post.
When compiling hashtags that you want to use, check out the full list of hashtags that have been banned on Instagram.
Measure your Instagram hashtag strategy
All marketing efforts should be measured whenever possible, and that goes for hashtag strategies, too.
Hashtags can be much more difficult to evaluate on your own, especially if you have groups of them on posts. This can make it difficult to know which are working and which aren’t pulling their weight. Fortunately, there are several ways to measure the impact of your strategy.
First, take a look at the overall growth of your channel. You can do this with Instagram’s analytics, though many third-party social management platforms will offer more detail. See if impressions, reach, and likes go up for your profile and posts. Significantly, how many accounts have you reached through the Discovery channel? Are there big changes since you’ve adapted the new strategy? You should see month-to-month increases. If not, it’s time to adapt.
Instagram hashtags FAQ
Which Instagram hashtags get the most likes?
- #likes
- #like
- #likeforlikes
- #instalike
- likeforlike
- #comment
- #likesforlikes
What are the best Instagram hashtags?
- #love
- #fashion
- #photooftheday
- #beautiful
- #photography
- #picoftheday
- #happy
- #follow
- #nature
- #tbt
How do I use hashtags on Instagram?
Use Instagram hashtags to put your posts, videos, or Stories in front of your target audience, even if they haven’t interacted with your profile before.
Is 30 hashtags too much?
The maximum amount of hashtags you can use in a post is 30. But you may not need to use 30 hashtags for every post. Consider using a maximum of five or six to not look spammy.