How to Use Hashtags on Instagram

Learning how to use Instagram hashtags can feel like trying to solve a puzzle where the pieces are a moving target. The advice is often conflicting, the rules seem to change every few months, and it’s tempting to give up and just slap on a few generic tags. This guide is here to cut through that noise. We're going to give you a clear, repeatable process for finding the right hashtags, building a smart strategy, and avoiding the common mistakes that hurt your reach.

Why Hashtags Still Matter on Instagram

First, let’s get this out of the way: hashtags are not dead. Not even close. While the Instagram algorithm has become smarter at understanding content through visuals and keywords in your caption, hashtags remain a powerful tool for one primary reason: discoverability.

Think of them as a filing system for the entire platform. When you add a hashtag like #londoncoffeeshops to your post, you’re essentially telling Instagram, "Hey, this post is about coffee shops in London. Please show it to people who are interested in that topic." It helps categorize your content and put it in front of users who are actively looking for it, expanding your reach well beyond your existing followers.

A good hashtag strategy directs the algorithm, adds context to your posts, and connects you with your ideal audience. It’s not about gaming the system, it’s about giving your content the best possible chance to be found.

The Anatomy of a Great Hashtag Strategy: A Mix is a Must

The biggest mistake people make is using only one type of hashtag - usually the most popular, high-volume ones. A strong strategy uses a diverse mix of tags that serve different purposes. Let's break down the categories you should be using in every post.

1. Community & Niche Hashtags

These are the heart and soul of your strategy. They connect you with a hyper-specific audience that shares a particular interest, profession, or identity. They generally have a lower post volume (from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand posts), which is a good thing! It means there’s less competition, and your content has a better chance of being seen by highly engaged people.

• Examples for a graphic designer: #graphicdesigncommunity, #designfeed, #womenofillustration
• Examples for a plant shop: #plantparenthood, #urbanjunglebloggers, #houseplantclub
• Examples for a local baker: #bakersofinstagram, #sourdoughbaking, #cakelove

2. Content-Specific Hashtags

These are straightforward tags that describe exactly what’s in your photo or video. They provide direct context to the algorithm and users. Think of them as the basic keywords for your post.

• If you post a latte art video: #latteartvideo, #baristalife, #espressotime
• If you post a photo of a new branding project: #logoinspiration, #brandingdesign, #visualidentity
• If you share a behind-the-scenes Reel: #studiotour, #creativeprocess, #workinprogress

3. Branded Hashtags

A branded hashtag is one that's unique to your business. It’s perfect for building brand recognition and encouraging user-generated content (UGC). You can create one for your overall brand, a specific campaign, or an event.

The goal is to create a hub where all content related to your brand - both from you and your customers - can be found. For instance, outdoor gear company Topo Designs uses #TopoDesigns to centralize its community’s photos and adventures.

• General Brand: #MyLocalBookshop
• Campaign-Specific: #SummerReadingChallenge22
• UGC Encouragement: #ShowYourGear

4. Location Hashtags

For any brick-and-mortar business or service-provider targeting a local area, these are essential. Using location-based hashtags helps you appear in searches from people in your city or neighborhood. Get as specific as you can.

• Broad City: #austintexas, #seattlelife
• Specific Neighborhood/Area: #brooklynvintage, #eastlondonfood
• Industry + Location: #sandiegobarber, #nycrealestate

5. Broad & Popular Hashtags (Use Sparingly!)

These are the mega-hashtags with millions upon millions of posts, like #marketing, #fitness, or #art. It might feel like a good idea to use them to reach as many people as possible, but your content will likely be buried within seconds.

Use just one or two of these per post, if any. Treat them like a lottery ticket, they probably won’t do much, but they sometimes give you a small, temporary boost. Your real growth will come from the more specific hashtag categories.

How to Find the Best Hashtags for Your Account

Knowing the types of hashtags is one thing, finding the right ones for your brand is another. This part requires some hands-on research, but once you build a system, it gets much quicker. Here are four practical methods to find high-performing tags.

Method 1: Analyze Your Peers and Competitors

Start by identifying 5-10 accounts in your niche that are successful. They can be direct competitors or just brands that target a similar audience. Look through their recent posts and analyze the hashtags they're using consistently.

Don’t just copy and paste their list! Instead, look for patterns. Are they using niche tags you hadn't considered? Do they have a particularly effective community hashtag? This is an excellent way to discover relevant tags and understand what’s already working in your industry.

Method 2: Use Instagram's Own Search Bar

This is the simplest yet most overlooked method. Go to the Instagram search bar and tap on "Tags." Start typing a core keyword related to your post. For example, if you post about watercolor painting, type in "watercolor."

Instagram will instantly show you a list of related hashtags along with their post counts. You'll see things like:

• #watercolor (50M+ posts - too broad)
• #watercolorpainting (15M+ posts - still quite broad)
• #watercolorart (10M+ posts - getting warmer)
• #watercolorillustration (1.5M posts - great niche)
• #modernwatercolor (200k posts - even better!)
• #watercolorbeginner (50k posts - perfect for a targeted post)

This tells you exactly which terms people are actually searching for and gives you a range of hashtag sizes to choose from.

Method 3: The "Related Tags" Trick

When you look up a hashtag on Instagram, just above the "Top" and "Recent" posts, you'll often see a list of "Related" tags. This is a goldmine. For example, if you search for #sourdoughbaking, Instagram might suggest #breadmaking, #naturallyleavened, or #wildyeast. These are tags used by the same people who are interested in your initial hashtag, making them highly relevant and effective.

Building Your Go-To Hashtag Strategy: A Step-by-Step System

Now, let's pull all this together into a reusable system.

Step 1: Create Curated Hashtag "Sets"

Continually researching hashtags for every single post is exhausting. The solution is to create premeditated "sets" or "groups" of hashtags based on your SMM content pillars. These are the main themes you post about regularly.

For a freelance copywriter, these sets might look like:

• Set 1: Writing Tips Post (e.g., #copywritingtips, #brandmessaging, #writingskills, #marketingwords)
• Set 2: Behind-the-Scenes Post (e.g., #freelancelife, #solopreneur, #wfhsetup, #creativeprocess)
• Set 3: Client Results Post (e.g., #casestudy, #contentmarketing, #marketingstrategy, #brandstorytelling)

Create these sets in a note-taking app or spreadsheet. Aim for about 15-20 tags in each set, giving you room to add 5-10 post-specific ones later.

Step 2: Follow the "Mix and Match" Formula for Each Post

Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post. While you don’t have to use all 30, aiming for around 15-25 is a good target. For each post, use this simple formula to ensure you have a balanced mix:

• 5-10 Niche/Content Hashtags: Describe what’s in the post and who it’s for.
• 3-5 Community Hashtags: Connect with your people.
• 1-3 Brand or Location Hashtags: Relate the post to your brand or area.
• 1-2 Broad Hashtags (Optional): Your "lottery ticket” tags.

Step 3: Caption vs. First Comment... Does It Matter?

This is one of the most persistent debates in Instagram marketing. The honest answer is: it doesn't really matter for reach. Placing hashtags in your caption or in the first comment works exactly the same way from an algorithmic perspective.

• In the Caption: This is the most reliable method. Your hashtags are posted at the exact same moment as your content. To keep things looking clean, you can push them down with a few line breaks (use dots or other symbols on each line).
• In the First Comment: This gives your caption a cleaner, more minimalist look. The only downside is that if there's a slight delay in posting your comment, you might miss a few seconds or minutes of prime visibility when your post first goes live. For most accounts, this difference is negligible.

Our recommendation? Put them at the end of your caption for guaranteed reliability. But if aesthetics are a top priority, the first comment is perfectly fine.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right hashtags comes down to understanding your audience, researching your niche, and trying to be a helpful guide for the algorithm. By using a strategic mix of different hashtag types - and avoiding the mistake of using the same generic list over and over - you give every post the best chance to be discovered by the right people.

At Postbase, we believe that a good social media strategy should feel effortless once it’s set up. That’s why we organized our scheduling and captioning tools to simplify this process. You can create your hashtag sets, plan your post's unique tag combinations in our visual calendar, and customize everything once without having to copy-paste across different platforms, so you can count on your strategy working without all the manual effort.