The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Hashtags: Strategy, Usage & Best Practices

What are Social Media Hashtags?

A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the # symbol. It helps categorize content and makes it searchable across platforms. When used properly, hashtags allow your content to appear in feeds of users who don’t follow you directly—making it a powerful tool for visibility and growth.

Hashtags started gaining traction in 2007 during conversations about the San Diego wildfires.

But it was former Google employee Chris Messina who officially popularized the use of hashtags on Twitter.

By 2009, Twitter began hyperlinking them, allowing users to follow hashtag streams. Today, hashtags are deeply embedded in how we interact and discover content online.

Why Are Hashtags Important in Social Media?

Social media moves fast. Every second, thousands of posts go live—and it’s easy to get lost in the noise. Hashtags help your content rise above the clutter by signaling what your post is about and who it’s for.

Used strategically, hashtags can:

• Increase post visibility beyond your follower base
• Attract targeted followers
• Boost engagement (likes, comments, shares)
• Build community and encourage user-generated content
• Connect your content to trending conversations

However, effective hashtagging isn’t just about adding #everything to every post. It requires research, strategy, and consistency.

How to Use Hashtags Effectively (By Platform)

Instagram Hashtags

Instagram remains one of the most hashtag-friendly platforms. Hashtags can appear in captions, comments, stories, bios, and Reels.

Types of Instagram Hashtags:

• Branded: Unique to your business (e.g., #NikeRunClub)
• Community: Broader topics that unite like-minded users (e.g., #FoodieLife)
• Industry: Specific to your field (e.g., #DigitalMarketing)
• Location-Based: Tied to a place (e.g., #NYCRestaurants)
• Descriptive: Explain your post (e.g., #MondayMotivation)

Best Practices:

• Use 5–10 relevant hashtags per post
• Avoid generic hashtags with millions of posts
• Switch up your hashtags to avoid spammy patterns
• Research hashtags your audience and competitors use
• Track performance over time with tools

Pro Tip: Instagram allows users to follow hashtags, so your content can show up in their feed even if they don’t follow you.

X (Twitter) Hashtags

X is where hashtags were born. They’re used to join conversations, follow news, and track events in real time.

Best Practices:

• Use 1–2 hashtags per tweet
• Choose trending or niche-relevant hashtags
• Avoid hashtag overload—more than two can reduce engagement

Pro Tip: Keep an eye on the "Trending" sidebar to tap into current topics.

LinkedIn Hashtags

On LinkedIn, a business page can feature three hashtags in the "Featured" section. These hashtags help surface your content to professionals searching for industry-specific topics. While there's no limit to how many hashtags you can use in your posts, it's generally recommended to use 3-5 per post for optimal visibility and to avoid spamming

Best Practices:

• Add 3–5 hashtags per post
• Use professional, relevant terms (e.g., #LeadershipTips)
• Feature 3 key hashtags in your Business Page's "Featured" section

Special Note: You can also add up to 20 specialties (now called "Specialisms") on your company profile to improve visibility in LinkedIn search.

Facebook Hashtags

Facebook supports hashtags, but they function a bit differently due to privacy settings.

Best Practices:

• Use 1–2 hashtags max
• Prioritize branded or event-specific tags
• Track trending topics for moment-based content (#NationalSelfieDay)

Pro Tip: Even with hashtags, Facebook still honors post privacy settings.

Many brands use hashtags on Facebook as a way to keep an eye on trends. Businesses want to know what trends their followers are talking about, and tracking hashtags is a method of social listening. A few types of hashtags a brand may use on Facebook include branded hashtags, popular/community hashtags, and topical content.

Topical content is timely and relevant content that relates to something current. For example, #NationalSelfieDay occurs on June 21, and will most likely only be highly searched that day. These types of posts can receive high engagement in the moment, but most likely won’t be relevant the next day.

Facebook also has different privacy guidelines than other platforms. While using hashtags make your content visible to everyone on other networks, Facebook still upholds your privacy settings even when you use a hashtag. If your posts are set to Private (Friends Only), then even your posts with hashtags can still only be seen by users on your Friends list.

The ideal character limit for a Facebook post is between 40-80 characters, which doesn’t leave much room for many hashtags. Unlike X and Instagram, it’s best to take a less-is-more approach. According to Sprout Social, maximum engagement occurs when only one hashtag is present.

Pinterest Hashtags

While hashtags are always hyperlinked on other platforms, you can only click and search hashtags that are in a Pin’s description. Hashtags in account descriptions, board titles or board descriptions are not clickable.

Hashtag search results are shown chronologically on Pinterest. Searches can also return non-tagged results. The Pinterest Algorithm will match content based on keywords, and not whether the content has a hashtag or not.

Pinterest’s mission is to help people discover and try new things. You should keep this in mind when adding hashtags to your content.

Best Practices:

• Use a mix of broad (e.g., #DIYProjects) and specific hashtags (e.g., #DIYPlantStand)
• Limit to 3–5 per Pin
• Make sure hashtags match search intent

YouTube Hashtags

YouTube is currently the largest video platform and one of the highest-earning websites. The platform recently released a feature that allows users to search for videos using hashtags. To add hashtags to a YouTube video, you just need to add them to the video’s description. You can add up to 60 hashtags to a video. However, only the top three hashtags will appear above the video after uploading and it is recommended to aim for 3-5 hashtags for most effective results.

Best Practices:

• Add up to 60 hashtags in your video description
• Only the first 3 appear above the title
• Use 3–5 highly relevant hashtags

Pro Tip: Avoid using misleading or unrelated hashtags, as this can trigger penalties from YouTube.

How Do I Use Hashtags?

Follow The Crowd

Find out what hashtags your competitors are using to determine what provides the most engagement. You can also research which hashtags influencers in your industry are using.

Here are a few resources you can use to discover what hashtags are trending:

Keyword Tool helps find trending hashtags using the platforms autocomplete feature.

RiteTag gives you hashtag suggestions based on real-time engagement. This tool offers suggestions for text and images, groups hashtags for comparison, and allows scheduling on different media platforms.

Hashtag Expert uses algorithms to find trending hashtags.

Everything In Moderation

Social media hashtags aren’t just a trend—they’re a key to organic growth, community engagement, and brand visibility. When used thoughtfully, they bridge the gap between you and the audience you want to reach.

Whether you’re building a brand, launching a product, or joining a movement, the right hashtag strategy helps you get there faster.

Start experimenting, stay consistent, and remember: it’s not about using more hashtags—it’s about using the right ones.