Do Hashtags on Instagram Work?

Hashtags on Instagram

Does putting 30 hashtags on Instagram improve the reach of your post? Well, not necessarily! A new report suggests.

Instagram hashtags aren’t designed to maximise distribution, necessarily, with the real focus being on categorising content to better connect users with what they’re looking for.

The team at Socialinsider recently analyzed over 75 million Instagram posts published between March 2021 and March 2022, to see what the data says about the relationship between Instagram hashtags and post views.

The research shows that the number of hashtags an Instagram post has does not influence post distribution.

Have a look at the screenshot below –

Hashtags on Instagram

The highest average engagement rate by impressions (3.41%) is generated by posts with 3-4 hashtags. This comes as no surprise – Instagram itself has previously noted that keeping between 3-5 hashtags is the best strategy to adopt when dealing with post distribution. 

Hashtags on Instagram

In the case of big accounts (50K and 1M followers), the impression rates decrease as they use more Instagram hashtags. According to the data, the best practice for big accounts is to use 3-4 hashtags to maximise their chances of reaching the average engagement rate by impressions of (3.42%).

In case of accounts with upto 10k followers, 5-6 hashtags work the best.

Hmmm, and Instagram users globally were actually under the impression that correct hashtags will skyrocket Instagram post reach.

Well, guess, good content is only that matters.

The complete report regarding hashtags on Instagram can be read here.

Hashtags on Instagram Hashtags on Instagram Hashtags on Instagram Hashtags on Instagram


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