In today’s ever-evolving and competitive world of Instagram, only posting your content and hoping that it will make it to the Explore Page isn’t going to give you the desired reach and engagement. No matter which social media platform you work on, you should always aim to use it to its full potential. With so many notions around, hashtags are still relevant in Instagram and learning how to find trending hashtags on Instagram is essential.
No matter how great your content is, if it is not reaching your target audience, it is of no use. Effective use of hashtags can create a huge difference and achieve higher engagement. In this guide, we will learn how to find trending hashtags on Instagram and various tips and strategies to effectively use them to bridge the gap between your brand and target audience.
How To Find Trending Hashtags On Instagram: Key Takeaways
In-depth Research: Use the Explore page and Instagram’s autocomplete feature to discover trending and relevant hashtags.
Mix Hashtag Types: Combine trending, niche, branded and other types of relevant hashtags for optimal reach and engagement.
Monitor & Adjust: Track hashtag performance regularly and tweak your strategy based on engagement insights.
What are Hashtags?
Before getting into how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, it’s important to know what a hashtag is and how it can benefit you. Hashtags are simple words or phrases preceded by the symbol # in captions and comments. A hashtag is an effective way to categorize your content, making it easily found by the relevant users on the Explore Page.
How Do Hashtags Work On Instagram?
As mentioned above, hashtags give labels to the posts and reels that you upload, it essentially lets the algorithm know what your content is all about so it can present it to the users who might be interested in your content. Hashtags play a critical role in ranking what content will be shown on the Explore page for users.
Are hashtags still relevant? The most common question! Well, yes, hashtags are still making a big difference to any Instagram strategy. It is recommended to use around 3 to 5 hashtags, even though the platform allows 30 hashtags. Adding targeted and relevant hashtags is one of the best ways to get discovered in the crowded digital space of Instagram.
It’s crucial to have a well-crafted hashtag strategy for your brand, otherwise, you may end up losing on optimizing your content and the opportunity to build your customer base.
How To Find Trending Hashtags on Instagram?
When it comes to finding the trending hashtags on Instagram, the best way to do so is to look at the platform itself. It will give you a great idea of what’s trending and what’s not!
Check the Explore Page on Instagram
Explore Page is a space that is a collection of reels and posts and it is ranked by your interests, followers, and profiles you are following. It’s a space designed as per your reactions and interests. It is a great place to find trending hashtags on Instagram, but you need to do it manually, so it can be a little time-consuming.
Getting your content in the Explore Page is a great boost to your reach and engagement. You can achieve it by having an in-depth understanding of the algorithm and getting the fundamentals right. Many factors come into play while getting content in the Explore Page and using relevant and trending hashtags are among the important ones.
Hashtag Autocomplete Feature
Essentially Instagram is a search engine-based tool. It allows you to search for accounts, places, audio and hashtags of course. You can use it to search for relevant hashtags.
While typing, the platform also provides similar and popular hashtags. Keep in mind that this feature suggests highly popular hashtags, i.e. millions of posts. Adding those hashtags to your strategy may not be a good idea because those hashtags are already competitive and you may end up getting lost in the crowd.
Different Types Of Hashtags
When it comes to understanding how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, it’s also vital to know different types of hashtags and their different benefits and applications.
Branded Hashtags
The first type of hashtag is a branded hashtag that is essentially made for the brand or to support your campaign. These kinds of hashtags can include your product’s name, brand name or any particular tagline. Branded hashtags are the best way to build a loyal community and promote user-generated content (UGC).
For instance, you may see a branded hashtag mentioned on the brand’s Instagram bio.
Campaign Hashtags
Campaign hashtags are another type of hashtag that is made and used for a particular campaign. If you are planning to run a promotional campaign, launch a product or simply a contest, these campaign-based hashtags can help you track the engagement.
Product/Service Hashtags
Product/service hashtags are meant to describe what your business offers, for instance, #ProductName, #NewArrival, etc. They are simple and descriptive, making your content easily searchable for relevant audiences. While understanding how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, you need to first list out your objectives and then begin searching for the hashtags that
Niche Hashtags
Another type is Niche hashtags that are used to cater to a particular audience. For example, #veganfood is a niche hashtag that targets an audience that will be interested in vegan cooking and recipes. Right niche hashtags can help you connect with relevant users.
Trending Hashtags
This type of hashtag is among the most difficult to work with as it needs you to stay ahead of the latest trends and strategically align them to your brand. When it comes to how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, you need to be deeply immersed in the world of social media, as these trends are short-lived and you need to reap their benefits at earlier stages before they fade away. Keep in mind that these trending hashtags on Instagram may increase your visibility but the chances of you getting lost in the flood of posts are also equal because these trending hashtags are highly competitive.
How To Use Hashtags On Instagram?
It is not just about knowing how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, it’s crucial to use them correctly to truly benefit from them. Hashtags are not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy, you need to strategically use them to grow your brand on Instagram. Here are four tips you need to consider:
Research Relevant Hashtags
Begin by identifying and selecting the hashtags that are highly relevant to your brand and cater to your needs. You must be tempted to know how to find trending hashtags on Instagram, but, this is not something you should aim for. A trending hashtag might put your brand to a large audience, but if that audience is not interested in the products or services you offer, it is simply of no use. If you come across an extremely popular hashtag, you need to figure out how you can strategically use that hashtag in your content, and if you can’t, go onto other relevant ones.
Keep in mind that a mix of brands, locations and niche hashtags is the key to success. Popular hashtags can give you a strong boost and specific ones may not serve you well. For instance, if you are a New Jersey-based Chinese restaurant, you can pair the tags like #NewJerseyrestaurants, #NewJerseyChinesefood, etc.
Use Hashtags in the Caption or First Comment
When it comes to using hashtags on Instagram, you can either use them in the first comment or in the caption of the post or reel you are publishing. Although there is not much difference in terms of engagement, some brands prefer to keep their captions concise by using relevant hashtags in the first comment.
Use The Right Set of Hashtags
It is not just about using the right hashtags, you also have to ensure that you are using a suitable amount as well. The platform allows you to use up to 30 hashtags but, it doesn’t mean that you need to use all of them. In fact, too many of them can lower our engagement. Aim for 3-5 hashtags with a mix of specific and general ones for comprehensive coverage.
Track the Performance To Refine Your Strategy
If you have found the trending hashtags on Instagram and started implementing the strategy while hoping for the magic to happen, it may not give you the expected results. You need to continuously track its performance by keeping an eye on insights and analytics, monitor which hashtags are giving you more reach and engagement and where you need to modify the strategy a bit. Using a professional Instagram growth tool can help you accurately monitor your Instagram marketing strategies.
Getting Started With The Hashtags!
By now, you must have understood how to find trending hashtags on Instagram and how to strategically use them in your Instagram marketing strategy. Finding trending hashtags on Instagram requires a mix of research, strategic hashtag selection, and continuous monitoring. By effectively leveraging the Explore page, using a balanced mix of hashtags, and refining your approach based on performance, you can enhance visibility and engagement, helping your content reach the right audience.
