How to Find Relevant Hashtags for Instagram

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header image - pens forming a hashtag on purple background

You know finding hashtags are important, but with millions of posts on social media at your fingertips – how do you find relevant hashtags for Instagram posts?

Hashtags are one of the most effective ways to get more likes on Instagram.

After all, specific hashtags help your posts get seen by those who aren’t already following you.

That expands your reach faster over time!

Bottom line: If you’re not using hashtags, then you’re not getting as much engagement on your posts as you could be!

According to our data, 9% of Instagram users use no hashtags, and 27% use less than 3 hashtags per post.

Let’s pump that engagement rate up with a few easy steps to find the best hashtags for your Instagram posts.

1. Do Your Research on Instagram Hashtags

There’s a hashtag for everything. Yet, not every hashtag attracts your targeted audience.

Start with hashtag research to increase engagement and get more eyes on your posts. Find hashtags for Instagram by doing 2 things.

  • Look at competitor feeds. Check out which hashtags your competition uses on top-performing posts. 
  • Click on the Explore page and observe the trending pages. Take note of the popular hashtags people use on top posts and Instagram Stories.

2. Find Your Niche Hashtags

Now, you have a list of trending hashtags that’ll boost your visibility on Instagram to start you off.

Next, find relevant hashtags specific to your audience and niche. Doing so maximizes your chances of engagement with your core group of followers! 

Niche hashtags attract fans with an interest in your brand, services, and products.

First, think about your industry, then do a few hashtag searches for keywords.

Look for hashtags with less than 500,000 posts as well. These are low volume hashtags that help your brand stand out against less competition. 

And Don’t forget to save your hashtags in hashtag lists to make posting on Instagram easy!

3. Check Out Local Hashtags

Providing local services or products? You might want to target a specific area. Just enter a few location-based keywords terms into the search bar for hashtags in your area. Here’s how to find local hashtags on Instagram:

  • Look at Instagram’s suggested tags. Type in your state, then note hashtags for your industry. 
  • Check out local businesses, like radio stations. Find hashtags similar to your brand and location.
  • Search hashtags for micro-locations like your city or nicknames for your area.

4. Try Branded Hashtags

Always include one or more branded hashtags on your Instagram posts!

Doing so helps you track brand recognition and reach. Plus, it’s a great way to get your fans involved.

Followers who use your branded hashtag while sharing user-generated content on Instagram keep your branded hashtag page thriving and give you plenty of materials! 

Make sure to call out your branded hashtag in your Instagram bio so your existing followers and new ones can join the fun!

But, if you don’t have a big following, then branded hashtags won’t give you a lot of traction at first. That’s why it’s essential to find hashtags for Instagram in many different ways! 

5. Use Tools to Find Hashtags

If you’re stuck on how to find hashtags, then consider using Instagram hashtag tools. Free or low-cost apps help you find high and low volume keywords. 

After all trending hashtags frequently change, so you’ll need to stay on top of your hashtag game with regular hashtag research. This can get time-consuming, though.

That’s why it’s advisable to use a tool to find hashtags perfect for your latest campaigns. 

Tailwind’s Instagram Hashtag Finder Makes It Easy!

Are you ready to find relevant Instagram hashtags? Hashtag Finder suggests Instagram tags as you craft your post in Tailwind.

GIF demonstrating Tailwinds hashtag finder for searching relevant hashtags on instagram

Type the caption of a draft post, and Tailwind Hashtag Finder suggests related hashtags for you to choose from.

Add any of the suggestions to your caption with one click.

The Instagram Hashtag Finder will immediately update your suggested hashtags accordingly, like magic! Try it out for yourself with a [sc name= ‘free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] – no credit card required!

Here are three ways you can use Hashtag Finder to find relevant Instagram hashtags quickly.

1. Choose Your Hashtags Wisely

Find the right hashtags for Instagram with our smart color-coding system. It uses colors to help you make quick and informed choices between different hashtags.

The colors guide you towards using the “Good” and “Best” hashtags where your post is most likely to be competitive.

But, the color-coding system also alerts you to “Niche” hashtags that don’t get much usage along with “Competitive” tags where your post may get buried. 

If you want to see how often a hashtag is used on Instagram, simply hover over a given hashtag, and you’ll see the number of posts attached to that hashtag!

In this extensive post on Instagram hashtag research, we recommend that you use a variety of hashtags: 

  • One or two “Competitive” ones
  • Some highly-targeted “Niche” ones (if they exist), 
  • A fair number of “Good” and “Best” ones. 

Just make sure all the hashtags you use are relevant to your post.

Our handy hashtag counter even counts up how many hashtags are on your post. Instagram limits the number of hashtags to 30 per post, so you want to stay under that!

If you’re curious about how many hashtags to use per post and how to brainstorm and deploy them, this Instagram hashtag strategy works for anyone. Our Hashtag Finder helps you find the right hashtags for Instagram quickly and easily!

See just how intuitive Tailwind’s Instagram Hashtag Finder is in this short demo video.

2. Shuffle Hashtags for Even Fresher Tags

If you don’t like the hashtags you find, our “Hashtag Shuffle” feature gives you access to every hashtag suggestion we have and updates those suggestions as you add more hashtags or more text to your caption.

If you’re looking for the easiest way to find hashtags for Instagram, Hashtag Finder does the job for you and more. 

Hashtag Finder is also available on the Tailwind mobile app (make sure you have updated to the latest version to access it)!

According to a study by Track Maven, Instagram accounts that use 9 hashtags per post get more than 2.5x as much engagement per post as accounts that only use only one, so get tagging!

3. Save Even More Time With Hashtag Lists

The fun doesn’t stop there either. After you find relevant hashtags, then our Hashtag Lists feature is the perfect complement to Hashtag Finder.

Come up with the right blend of tags and copy them into a hashtag list. Next, save it with a unique name. Now you’re ready to add your favorite hashtags to any future post with just a few clicks!

Hashtag lists in Tailwind App

Tailwind Hashtag Lists are already saving marketers hours. Now, you can refresh stale hashtag lists with new tags in minutes with up to 30 hashtags.

Just add an existing hashtag list to your caption and explore the recommendations automatically generated by Hashtag Finder!

And did we mention, you can even tuck your hashtags in the first comment with a click of a button? No more messy captions.

With more features being added all the time, Tailwind for Instagram is an indispensable tool for marketers who want to grow their Instagram presence and find relevant hashtags for their business.

Since we’re an official Instagram Partner, we focus on building a product that helps you build long-term success on the platform!

Don’t worry – we comply with Instagram’s Terms of Service to keep your account (and your personal information) safe. ☺️

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Struggling to find Instagram hashtags that are niche and relevant to your posts? Here are tips on how to strategically find hashtags! #howtofindhashtags #instagramhashtags

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