In the highly competitive world of social media, hashtags remain a powerful weapon for increasing reach and attracting followers. Instagram is one of the most popular platforms, with more than 1 billion monthly active users actively scrolling and engaging. Reaching the right audience and getting maximum engagement is challenging due to high competition and a saturated market. In such a situation, hashtags are one of the most powerful and useful tools to categorize your content and make it reach the right audience.
Understanding the right hashtags is crucial to enhance your content discoverability and increase engagement and followers. In 2024 and beyond, leveraging a strategic mix of trending, niche-specific, and branded hashtags can help you gain a competitive edge. Whether you are a seasoned influencer, a small business owner, or a creator, mastering the art of hashtags is important for building a large following. In this blog, we will shed light on some of the best hashtags to use for more followers in 2024 and beyond.
Why are Instagram Hashtags Important?
Before delving into the best hashtags, let’s first understand why they are important and how they help you enhance your online presence. Hashtags are specific keywords starting with the symbol “#,” like #travel, #food, #marketing #engagement, etc. They categorize your content into a specific category and make it visible to the audience searching for that hashtag. Have a look at some of its important benefits:
Increased Visibility: Hashtags can help your content gain maximum exposure and make it discoverable to a broader audience. When users search for a specific hashtag, your posts can appear in the results, therefore increasing reach.
Targeted Audience Engagement: With specific hashtags, you can attract a more relevant and targeted audience who is actually interested in your content, products, and services. This leads to a higher engagement rate from interested followers.
Boost Followers: When your content becomes visible to your target audience, there is a high chance that some new people may follow you. If your content is interesting and attractive, they may end up becoming your loyal Instagram followers.
Brand Awareness: Creating brand-specific hashtags and running campaigns and challenges on them helps build brand awareness. Users can see your brand name in the hashtag, which ultimately boosts brand recognition and awareness.
Encouraging User-Generated Content: Brand-specific hashtags can be used to encourage your followers to generate content under your hashtags. User-generated content creates a sense of involvement and promotes the brand significantly.
Types of Instagram Hashtags
There are different types of Instagram hashtags that you can use to promote your content, products, or services. Different hashtags serve different purposes, which we will discuss below;
Niche-Specific Hashtags: They are specific hashtags relevant to your content niche. They allow you to categorize your content and interact with people who are interested in similar topics.
Location-Based Hashtags: For local businesses, location-based hashtags are the best option for reaching the specific audiences of that place. They target the audience of your location, therefore increasing offline store sales.
Trending Hashtags: They are general hashtags that are not directly related to your content but have a high potential to go viral. Using such hashtags in content can increase its visibility and reach to the next level.
Branded Hashtags: They are specific hashtags with the name of your brand to promote the campaigns and boost brand awareness. These hashtags can also be used by your followers, building a community around your brand.
Right Hashtags to Use for More Followers
Now that you understand what hashtags are and how they work, it’s time to learn about the best hashtags to utilize in your content.
Have a look at the best hashtags for different types:
Popular General/Trending Hashtags
- #love (2.1B posts)
- #instagood (1.8B posts)
- #instagram (1.4B posts)
- #photography (1.1B posts)
- #photooftheday (1B posts)
- #art (1B posts)
- #reels (863M posts)
- #viral (774M posts)
- #picoftheday (735M posts)
- #happy (722M posts)
- #instadaily (718M posts)
- #explore (701M posts)
- #tbt (588M posts)
- #instalike (561M posts)
- #followme (557M posts)
- #music (480M posts)
- #like4like (478M posts)
- #life (465M posts)
- #me (459M posts)
- #selfie (450M posts)
- #smile (445M posts)
- #motivation (406M posts)
- #likesforlikes (396M posts)
- #design (386M posts)
- #model (380M posts)
- #handmade (375M posts)
- #lifestyle (371M posts)
- #artist (345M posts)
- #likeforlike (325M posts)
- #viral reels(216M)
Niche-Specific Hashtags
- Travel: #Travel #Nature, #Traveling, #TravelGram, #Wanderlust, #TravelDiaries, #TravelGoals, #Vacation, #TravelBlogger
- Food: #Food, #Foodie, #InstaFood, #HealthyEating, #DiningOut, #FoodLovers, #FoodPhotography, #DeliciouSeats
- Fitness: #Fitness #FitFam, #FitnessGoals, #HealthyLifestyle, #WorkoutMotivation, #GymLife, #FitnessJourney, #WorkoutTime,
- Beauty: #Beauty #MakeupAddict, #BeautyTips, #SkincareRoutine, #BeautyCommunity, #GlowUp
- Fashion: #FashionInspo, #Fashion #InstaFashion, #Style #Ootd, #StreetStyle, #FashionAddict, #FashionLover, #FashionDiaries
- Home Decor: #InteriorDesign, #HomeInspo, #DecorGoals, #DIYHomeDecor, #CozyHome
- Technology: #TechSavvy, #GadgetGeek, #TechNews, #TechStuff, #Innovation, #DigitalTrends, #GadgetLove, #TechLovers
- Health & Wellness: #Mindfulness, #SelfCare, #WellnessJourney, #MentalHealthMatters, #HolisticHealth
- Day of the Week: #MondayMotivation, #ThrowbackThursday (#TBT), #SelfCareSunday, #WednesdayWanderlust, #FridayFeeling, #SaturdaySmiles, #SundayFunday
- B2B posts: #B2BMarketing, #LeadGeneration, #CustomerEngagement #MarketingStrategy, #BusinessGrowth, #DigitalMarketing, #BrandAwareness
- E-commerce: #Ecommerce, #OnlineStore, #OnlineBusiness, #OnlineShopping, #ShopOnline, #EcommerceStore, #EcommerceBusiness.
Location-Based Hashtags
City-Specific Hashtags:
- CityName: #NewYork, #LosAngeles, Canada, #USA
- LocalBusiness: #MiamiEats, #SeattleCoffee, #HealthyLivingAtlanta
- Attractions: #VisitLasVegas, #ExploreMiami, #DiscoverLosAngeles
State or Region Hashtags: #California, #Texas, #Florida, #PacificNorthwest, #SoutheastUSA.
Local Events and Festivals: #NYCFoodFest, #SeattleArtWalk, #ArtsFestivalAustin, #StreetFairPortland or #AustinCityLimits.
Brand Specific Hashtags
Branded Hashtags: #Nike, #Glossier, #Airbnb, #Zara, #Sony #Apple
Campaign-Specific Hashtags: #JustDoIt by Nike, #ShareACoke by Coca-Cola, #ZaraStyle by Zara, #LiveInLevis by Levi
Product-Specific Hashtags: #AirMax, #FitTea, #ShotOniPhone, #BMWi8, #AdidasOriginals
Event Hashtags: #Coachella, #SamsungUnpacked, #CES2024, #NYFW2024, #Dreamforce
Tips for Using Hashtags
- Limit the Number: Although the number of hashtags you can use is 30, aim for 7 -15 relevant hashtags per post for the best performance.
- Combine popular, niche, and branded hashtags: Use a combination of all 3 categories and location-based hashtags if possible. Collectively, they help you reach a wider and more focused target audience.
- Engage with Hashtag Communities: Interact with other posts under the hashtags you use to increase your content’s discoverability and visibility.
- Optimize Hashtag Placement: Rather than filling in hashtags separately at the end, try to place them either in the caption or as the first comment. This keeps your captions organized and improves readability.
Conclusion
Hashtags are an important part of your social media strategy to boost reach and visibility and increase engagement and followers. They categorize your content and make it reach the right audience, especially when they actively search for that content niche. We have discussed different types of hashtags and why they are important. From trending hashtags and niche-specific to location-based and brand-specific, we have provided trending hashtags for all types. Make sure to use a combination of all 4 categories to maximize reach and conversions. So, research properly, understand your niche, and infuse the right hashtags to get more followers and skyrocket your Instagram engagement.
