Instagram hashtags have been one of the organic follower growth tactics since the introduction of the platform. Through searching for hashtags, users are able to see Instagram posts with the relevant tag. Users can also follow hashtags to see hashtagged content on their feed.

The power of Instagram hashtags have been highly regarded in digital marketing, especially with the additional reach and engagements that hashtags can bring. A post with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% higher engagement than posts without, demonstrating the importance of a hashtag strategy to nurture followers growth.

Using hashtags that are relevant to the business and targeted helps brands to be discovered by new audiences, which lead to more engagement, followers and customers. A careful selection of hashtags could bring businesses to a new audience and open a new market.

The top Instagram hashtags in 2021

Instagram hashtags work by organising and categorising photos and videos. Authors of Instagram posts and stories can add hashtags to the caption for their content to show on the hashtag page. Using hashtags help to bring additional reach and exposure to public Instagram accounts and encourage organic follower growth.

Using popular hashtags isn’t always the best strategy for getting more engagement on your posts and stories. It is important to understand the different types of hashtags and their corresponding audiences to develop an effective Instagram hashtag strategy!

Here is the list of the top 20 Instagram hashtags of 2021:

1. #beach
2. #l4l
3. #blogger
4. #instadaily
5. #lol
6. #blue
7. #instagram
8. #model
9. #nature
10. #hot
11. #followme
12. #pink
13. #bestoftheday
14. #night
15. #blackandwhite
16. #nofilter
17. #food
18. #f4f
19. #family
20. #foodporn

The top 20 Instagram hashtags of all time

1. #love
2. #instagood
3. #photooftheday
4. #fashion
5. #beautiful
6. #like4like
7. #picoftheday
8. #art
9. #happy
10. #photography
11. #instagram
12. #followme
13. #style
14. #follow
15. #instadaily
16. #travel
17. #life
18. #cute
19. #fitness
20. #nature

Tips to use hashtags in 2021

Each Instagram post can have up to 30 hashtags and each Instagram story can have up to 10 hashtags. While it’s easy to fill all 30 slots, relevant hashtags help with reaching your target audience. Exploiting the use of hashtag may lead to customers considering the brand too desperate for reach and following.

When creating a branded hashtag, numbers are allowed in hashtags but not spaces and special characters. Only hashtags added by the post author will be recognised by Instagram. Hashtags by other users will not show on Instagram’s hashtag feed.

If you are using hashtags for giveaways and contests, make sure to remind the participants to set their profile as public. Private profiles using hashtags will not appear publicly.