How to Find Popular Hashtags on LinkedIn

Finding the right hashtags on LinkedIn can feel like a shot in the dark, but it’s a powerful way to get your content seen by people who aren't in your immediate network. Getting your hashtag strategy right can be the difference between a post that gets a handful of likes and one that starts a real conversation. This guide gives you a straightforward playbook for discovering popular and niche hashtags that will boost your content's reach and connect you with the right audience.

Why Bother with LinkedIn Hashtags?

Unlike other platforms where hashtags can feel like an afterthought, they serve a distinct purpose on LinkedIn. Think of them as sorting labels for your content. When a user follows a hashtag like #projectmanagement or #digitalmarketing, your post has a chance to show up in their feed even if you aren't connected. This transforms your content from a broadcast to your followers into a contribution to a wider professional conversation.

A smart hashtag strategy helps you:

• Increase Visibility: Your posts reach a broader, more relevant audience beyond your first-degree connections.
• Join Industry Conversations: You can add your voice to trending topics and establish your expertise.
• Categorize Your Content: It helps the LinkedIn algorithm understand who your content is for and show it to the right people.
• Build a Community: You can create and promote a unique, branded hashtag to track content around your company, a campaign, or an event.

Simply put, leaving hashtags out of your LinkedIn posts means you're leaving free reach and engagement on the table.

Your Playbook for Finding the Best LinkedIn Hashtags

Finding great hashtags isn't about guessing or just copying a popular post. It involves a bit of research, observation, and strategy. Here are four practical methods you can start using today.

Method 1: Use LinkedIn’s Built-in Features

LinkedIn gives you all the basic tools you need right within its platform. Your first stop should always be the search bar and the post composer itself.

How to Use the Search Bar for Hashtag Discovery

The search bar is your most direct tool for finding hashtags and gauging their popularity. The follower count tells you how many people are actively interested in a topic.

1. Start with a Keyword: Go to the search bar at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Type in a '#' followed by a broad keyword related to your industry or post topic. For example, try #founder, #startup, or #contentcreation.
2. Check the Suggestions: As you type, LinkedIn will auto-suggest hashtags along with their follower numbers. This is a goldmine of information. A tag with millions of followers (like #marketing) has huge reach but also intense competition. A tag with 20,000 followers might be more niche and easier to stand out in.
3. Explore the Hashtag Page: Click on a hashtag to visit its dedicated page. Here, you'll see a running feed of the latest and top-performing posts that use it. Ask yourself a few questions as you scroll:
   • Is this content relevant to what I post?
   • Are these the people I want to reach?
   • Who are the top contributors for this hashtag?
4. Follow Relevant Hashtags: On a hashtag page, you'll see a “Follow” button. Clicking this does two things. First, it signals to LinkedIn that you're interested in that topic. Second, it starts integrating posts with that hashtag into your main home feed, offering you a continuous stream of inspiration and examples of what performs well.

Method 2: Learn from Industry Leaders (and Competitors)

You don't have to reinvent the wheel. The top voices in your niche have already done a lot of the trial-and-error for you. By studying their successful posts, you can uncover hashtag strategies that are already proven to work with your target audience.

How to Ethically Spy on Their Strategy

1. Build a List: Identify 5-10 key people or companies in your space. This list could include industry influencers, top executives at relevant companies, or your direct competitors.
2. Analyze Their High-Performing Posts: Scroll through their recent posts and look for the ones with the most engagement (likes, comments, and reposts). Pay close attention to the hashtags they used on these specific posts.
3. Look for Patterns: Don’t just copy their tags. Instead, look for a repeatable strategy.
   • Do they use mostly broad hashtags, niche ones, or a mix?
   • Are they using location-based tags (e.g., #bostonsmallbusiness)?
   • Are they participating in trending conversations with timely hashtags?
4. Find Your Own Version: Use what you learn as inspiration. If a competitor is having success with #B2Bmarketing, perhaps you could find a related, but less competitive, niche like #B2Bdemandgen or #B2Bleadgeneration.

Examining others’ strategies is a great way to reverse-engineer success and find tags you might have missed on your own.

Method 3: Let LinkedIn Guide You with Its Recommendations

LinkedIn is constantly working to help users discover relevant content, and you can leverage those efforts to find hashtags.

Discovering Hashtags in the Post Composer

When you start writing a new post, LinkedIn’s algorithm analyzes your text and suggests relevant hashtags to add. After you type your content, click the "# Add hashtag" button, and a box of suggestions will pop up. While not always perfect, it's a quick way to find some obvious choices and jog your memory.

Leverage the "What people are talking about now" Feed

On the right-hand side of your LinkedIn homepage, you'll often see a section called "What people are talking about," "LinkedIn News," or similar trending topics. These are curated by LinkedIn's editorial team and represent major professional conversations happening in real-time. Clicking on these stories will show you the key players and the main hashtags being used. Joining these conversations early can give your content a significant timely boost.

Building a Smart and Sustainable LinkedIn Hashtag Strategy

Finding hashtags is only half the battle. Using them effectively is what generates results. A strong strategy isn't about using the most popular tags, it’s about using the right tags in the right combination.

The "Mix-and-Match" Approach

For every post, you shouldn't use only enormously popular tags or only tiny niche ones. A balanced mix helps you maximize both reach and relevance. Think of it in three tiers.

• 1. Broad/Popular Hashtags (1-2 per post): These are the heavy hitters with hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers (e.g., #leadership, #technology, #marketing). They give your post broad exposure but come with high competition. Use them to get your content into a huge pool of conversations.
• 2. Niche Hashtags (2-3 per post): These are much more specific to your industry or content pillar (e.g., #fintechinnovation, #saas, #supplychainmanagement). They have fewer followers but are far more targeted. People following these tags are deeply interested in the topic, making them a high-quality audience.
• 3. Branded/Custom Hashtags (1 per post, when relevant): This is a hashtag unique to your company or campaign (e.g., #ExampleCoLife, #AnnualExampleConf). It's great for tracking user-generated content, building community, and promoting a specific initiative.

An Example in Action

Let's say a B2B SaaS company is posting an article about improving team productivity with their new software. Their hashtag mix could look like this:

• Broad: #productivity
• Niche: #teamcollaboration, #saas, #projectmanagementtools
• Branded: #ProjectAppPro

This combination targets a wide audience interested in productivity, a specific audience looking for team tools, and promotes their unique brand identity all at once.

How Many Hashtags Should You Use and Where?

While some platforms reward using dozens of hashtags, LinkedIn is different. The consensus, supported by LinkedIn's own recommendations, is that 3 to 5 highly relevant hashtags are optimal. Any more can make your post look unprofessional and spammy, which can hurt its performance in the feed.

You have two primary options for placement:

1. In-line with your text: Weaving hashtags directly into your sentences can feel natural and save space. For example: "Our new guide on #contentstrategy shows how to build a stronger connection with your audience."
2. At the end of your post: Grouping all your hashtags at the bottom of the post creates a cleaner, more readable look. Most users are accustomed to this format, so it doesn't interrupt the flow of your message.

Both methods are perfectly fine. Choose the one that best fits your personal style or brand voice.

Final Thoughts

Mastering hashtags on LinkedIn isn’t an overnight process. It’s about building a repeatable workflow of researching relevant topics, observing what works for others, and strategically mixing broad, niche, and branded tags to get your content seen. Once you find a system that works, your posts will start connecting you with prospects, partners, and peers who truly want to hear what you have to say.

Of course, a great hashtag strategy is only as good as your ability to post consistently. At Postbase, we simplified the process of planning and scheduling your social media so you never miss an opportunity to connect. In our visual calendar, you can map out all of your content and fine-tune your hashtag choices weeks ahead across all platforms. Instead of chasing last-minute ideas, you can build a thoughtful content strategy in a single clean dashboard, knowing your perfectly researched posts will go live right when they're supposed to. We designed Postbase to feel less like a chore and more like the reliable tool you need to build your brand.