Can’t get engagement on Instagram even with impeccable content? Maybe you’re not using trending hashtags — or at least the relevant ones.
Hashtags are great for getting your brand noticed on Instagram. They get your content in front of a broader audience, enhance discoverability, and enable more refined targeting. Adding trending hashtags in your posts can make you a part of the popular conversations and a relevant brand in the Instagram community.
The new Instagram loves reels. However, appropriate hashtags can leverage the algorithm to improve engagement on your images and carousels. Moreover, hashtags let brands reach users with a genuine interest in their Industry, making them the perfect boon for community engagement.
But in the heap of popular hashtags, identifying the right ones is tough. To help you, we compiled a guide on how to find and use trending hashtags on Instagram for better visibility.
Table of Contents
In a crowded space like Instagram, trending hashtags are your best option to gain visibility. Campaign-specific hashtags also allow better audience targeting by reaching users according to their preferences.
But that’s not where the significance of Instagram hashtags ends. To use it properly, first, you must understand why hashtags are indispensable for a strong Instagram marketing strategy.
Here are some notable perks of using trending hashtags:
Content categorization
Hashtags make it easier to categorize your content on Instagram. When a user searches for a specific hashtag or clicks on one, Instagram shows a content feed with the same tag. You can segment your content among similar posts and enhance discoverability by using topic-relevant ones.
Visibility on the Explore page
While pushing content on Instagram, the algorithm considers the hashtags used. So, add trending hashtags to your posts to increase the chances of ranking your content on Explore pages of a diverse audience.
This way, you can reach viewers beyond your existing followers. The more engagement your content attracts on different explore feeds, the better visibility your brand gets on Instagram. Some users also follow specific hashtags.
Customer insights
You can analyze audience response to your content by tracking popular and industry-relevant hashtags. It gives you insights into evolving customer needs, pain points, and preferences. You can use them to refine your strategy and expand your Instagram reach further.
Moreover, monitoring your hashtag performance lets you see the areas of improvement and elevate your methods. You can also evaluate your competitors’ hashtags and set a realistic benchmark to stay ahead of the curve.
Community engagement
You can leverage community-driven hashtags to target users with a genuine interest in your industry. By identifying hashtags related to your target market’s preferences and challenges, you can attract engagement from the right audience.
It helps you connect with potential customers over shared interests, build meaningful relationships, and create a community of like-minded followers. Community-specific hashtags also attract high-quality leads and boost conversion.
Trend jacking
Trends dominate Instagram. They attract the audience and foster engagement. These trending challenges are often associated with hashtags, and by using the right ones, you can be more relevant on the platform.
By tracking hashtags used in popular trends, brands can create unique and engaging content and expand their follower base. It also humanizes your business by increasing authenticity and relatability.
Brand recognition
Creating and using branded hashtags can help promote your brand identity and create awareness around your business. When you use unique campaign-specific hashtags, you attract more engagement and let your audience remember you.
Branded hashtags also encourage user-generated content (UGC), improve your overall brand recognition, and build credibility on Instagram.
As we have established already, hashtags can be immensely helpful in increasing visibility. But for that, you need to identify the right ones.
Here’s how you can research relevant and trending Instagram hashtags for your content:
Using Instagram Explore
Instagram’s “Explore” page is a brilliant way to find top Instagram hashtags. Click on the search icon beside “Home” at the bottom of the screen if you’re using a phone. On the desktop version, it is on the left side of the screen.
Skim through the content here and identify the niche-relevant ones. Then note the hashtags they use. You can also enter keywords in the search bar for more targeted research.
Check the average engagement for each hashtag and compare the audience response on posts under those tags. Shortlist the popular ones to have a stream of relevant hashtags to use on your Instagram content.
Using Hashtag Research Tools
Manually browsing the Explore page is time-consuming and overwhelming. You may not even notice the best ones. Opt for a reliable social media management tool to make your hashtag research more accurate.
Consider these top options:
1. Keyhole
We may be biased but Keyhole really is the best hashtag research tool available. Besides offering other social media management capabilities, we have the industry’s best hashtag analytics feature.
Users can monitor the online impact of every hashtag with real-time insights. With Keyhole’s QuickTrends feature, you can dive into any trending conversations across Instagram and other socials in seconds and dig out the top Instagram hashtags for followers.
Moreover, the software offers predictive analytics to gauge how your chosen hashtags can generate expected visibility.
Features:
- Hashtag suggestions
- Fast trend analysis and hashtag research with QuickTrends
- Hashtag performance monitoring in real-time
- Shareable reports
- Clean and centralized dashboard for all analyzed data
Pricing: Keyhole starts at $79/month for SMBs and freelancers, $239/month for corporate, and $479/month for agencies. And you don’t even need a credit card to register.
2. Social Sprout
The next noteworthy platform with a hashtag search tool is Sprout Social.
The software’s Trends Report presents the hashtags frequently associated with your brand and its context. Users can also track the top Instagram hashtags with the most engagement and use them in their content accordingly.
Features:
- Trends Report tracks hashtags most used by your target audience and competitors
- Compares hashtags based on their relevance and performance
- Monitors hashtags used in inbound posts for better audience insights
Pricing: Sprout Social’s plans include Standard, Professional, and Advanced packages at $249, $399, and $499 monthly. Custom pricing is also available for the Enterprise subscription.
3. Brand24
Brand24 is another fan-favorite social media monitoring app with a hashtag analytics feature.
Here, users can track and analyze contests and campaigns on Instagram and other networking platforms based on hashtags. The software identifies top accounts, their hashtag usage, and engagement to find you the most popular Instagram hashtags.
Features:
- Monitors and examines hashtag usage in popular Instagram trends, challenges, and campaigns
- Finds top Instagram profiles and measures their Instagram reach
- Counts the number of posts for a specific hashtag and analyzes their engagement
- Generates shareable PDF reports on hashtag performance
Pricing: Brand24’s subscriptions include four packages: Individual at $99, Team at $179, Pro at $249, and Enterprise at $499.
4. Later
Social media management platform Later also offers an Instagram hashtag tool.
It suggests trending Instagram hashtags with the most engagement. They let users create and save new hashtag lists. You can also organize your hashtags in several categories and add them to your posts with one click.
Features:
- Hashtag suggestions
- Dives into detailed performance metrics and compares hashtags side-by-side
- Creates different hashtag categories according to relevance
Price: Later’s charges $25/month for the Starter plan, $45/month for the Growth plan, and $80/month for the Advanced plan.
Branded Instagram hashtags can set you apart from the competition and enhance recognition on the platform. They can place your brand as the trendsetter and increase your popularity among a diverse audience.
However, branded hashtags need to be campaign-specific and audience-oriented. That’s why you must start by understanding the audience you want to reach with every Instagram campaign. Curate posts around specific challenges and brainstorm hashtags that best represent those aspects. Tailor them according to your USPs and brand message.
Lengthy and complex hashtags don’t bring sufficient attention. So, keep them short, unique, catchy, and easy to spell. Try to include your brand name in the hashtag whenever possible. However, try to fit it naturally into the context.
With branded hashtags, very few rival Coca-Cola’s Instagram presence. They frequently optimize their Instagram hashtags with their brand name. For example, Coca-Cola promoted its new product range Ultimate with a very on-brand #CocaColaUltimate.
Finally, don’t add overused hashtags to your Instagram posts. Evaluate your and the competitors’ existing hashtags before finalizing the branded ones to avoid unrelated or redundant labels.
UGC on Instagram acts as word-of-mouth. It enhances a brand’s credibility and relatability. You can gain more visibility on Instagram and spread brand awareness by leveraging UGC-specific hashtags.
To generate more UGC, start campaign-specific trends and challenges and encourage followers to participate. Encourage them to use your branded hashtag while posting content for the challenge. It will simplify UGC tracking and get more engagement to your hashtag-driven campaigns.
Look at the #ShareYourEars campaign. Disney collaborated with the Make-A-Wish foundation and invited the audience to share their pictures with Mickey Mouse ears on. For every post, Disney donated $5 to the foundation. The hashtag campaign was immensely successful, generating almost 500K posts on Instagram.
Showcase UGC across all your social media profiles. It encourages more participation and can make your campaigns go viral.
Tracking and Analyzing Hashtag Performance
Trending hashtags can gain you more followers and boost visibility and awareness on Instagram. But to reap these benefits in the long run, you should be on top of your hashtag performance.
Tracking and analyzing the impact of your used hashtags fosters consistent strategic improvements. It lets you sustain your relevance in a constantly evolving platform like Instagram.
Here’s how you can examine your hashtag performance:
Instagram Insights
Instagram offers built-in analytics for business and creator accounts. It lets users track their content performance on the platform itself. Follow these steps to do it:
- Go to your profile.
- Click the Insights action button. You can also use the ≡ in the upper right corner and tap Insights.
- Go to the Overview section and click on the metrics under it. You can also select any specific content you’ve shared for a more detailed performance breakdown.
Keyhole’s Instagram Analytics & Hashtag Tracking Tool
Choose hashtag analytics tools like Keyhole for detailed hashtag-specific insights and a hassle-free process. Here’s how easy it is to analyze your Instagram performance with our end-to-end solution:
- Log in to your Keyhole account
- Go to the Profile Analytics tab. It will direct you to the above page.
- Click on the orange “Add New Profile” button.
- From the dropdown menu, select the “Analyze New Profile” option.
- On the new page, you will get several social media options. Select the Instagram icon.
- Enter your profile handle and click the “Analyze Profile” button.
- Keyhole will generate a detailed overview of your Instagram performance.
Conclusion
To get your content in front of your target audience and ride the trending waves, start using relevant but popular Instagram hashtags. It gets you noticed, attracts quality leads, and increases marketing ROI. Hashtags also keep you relevant to the younger crowd and increase your follower base.
However, besides creative content, you need the right tools to use hashtags properly. And Keyhole can help you do that. It is an intuitive and feature-rich software that ensures you only use the best hashtags and improve your performance consistently. To find and use top Instagram hashtags and let your content reach its best potential, register for your free trial today!