How Many Hashtags Should You Use on Instagram?

Introduction

Are you wondering, "How many hashtags should I use on Instagram?" We were too, which is why we analyzed 18 million Instagram posts so you don't have to. 

The hashtag debate is a hot topic. Should you only use a few super niche hashtags? Should you use 30 hashtags? Do hashtags even work anymore? There's a reason why people always seem to be talking about hashtags, and it's because the rules are always changing. 

Instagram just loves to change things up. According to a recent post from Instagram's @creators account, users should use between three to five hashtags. And yeah, that was really surprising for us to read. That's exactly what we're going to be talking about in today's video. 

Get ready for all the Instagram hashtag updates, how to find the right ones to use, how many you should be using, and how to optimize your hashtags so that your content is actually getting seen. So let's get into it.

How many hashtags should you use on Instagram?

At Later, we actually analyzed over 18 million Instagram feed posts and looked at how the number of hashtags impacts your reach. And, to our surprise, we found that using more hashtags typically has the best results.

As you can see, while posts with 20 hashtags have the highest average reach rate, posts with 30 hashtags are really close too. And something else we found: When it comes to average engagement rate, using 30 Instagram hashtags per feed post results in the most likes and comments.

Our takeaway? Using three to five hashtags is not going to get you the same reach or engagement if you were to use, say, 20 to 30 hashtags on your post. But of course, everyone's going to have different results. So make sure to analyze your own hashtags and how you use them first to figure out what is and what isn't working. I'll get more into how exactly you can see if your hashtags are working or not later on in this video.

How to find the right hashtags for your brand

So we now know the more hashtags you use, the better. But are you using the right hashtags? That is extremely important. Every hashtag you use needs to make sense for the content, your account, and who you want to reach.

If you're still trying to figure out what hashtags you should use, it's a lot easier to first break them up into different categories just like this. But if you want to save some time, like we all do, there are a few tools out there that you can use to find the right hashtags for your brand. 

One of our favorite tools is Later's Hashtag Suggestion Tool. It's a super easy way to find hashtags to use based on what you're sharing and similar hashtags in your industry. All you need to do is type a hashtag into the "Tools" search bar, hit "Suggest", and then you'll get a ton of new suggested hashtags to use.

If you want some more suggestions on tools you can use to find new hashtags, I'll leave a link above and in the description.

How to optimize your hashtag strategy on Instagram

The most important thing about a hashtag strategy is that you can have fun with this. Test out new niche hashtags, try broad industry ones, and see what works best for you. Just make sure that they're relevant. Then you should analyze the performance of your hashtags so that you know what's working and what isn't.

With Later's Analytics tools, you'll be able to measure how your hashtags are performing, including a breakdown of which are driving the most likes comments, saves, and reach on your Instagram posts. So we actually have some more Instagram hashtag secrets to share that I didn't get a chance to talk about in this video, but we do go through them in this video. So you're definitely going to want to watch this video next. See you later.