Have you ever tried to wrap your head around how many hashtags you should be using on your Instagram posts to get more engagement? If so, you’ll know that it’s difficult because there’s just so much conflicting (and outdated) advice out there.

So what do you do?

Many bloggers, ‘experts’ and influencers will shout about the success they’ve found using 8 on a Friday morning and 3 on a Monday evening provided it’s a full moon, or only ever one, or none! But there are a few things you should know before you implement their strategies on your account.

This post will tell you what you need to know to make sure you are 100% clear on how many hashtags to use.

To understand this, we first need to know what hashtags are used for.

How do hashtags on Instagram work?

Hashtags are used to group and categorise photo and video content on Instagram. You can think of it like a directory – if you add a hashtag to a post that post will then be visible on the corresponding hashtag page. For example, if you add the hashtag #love to a post, that post will show up on the corresponding #love search results page along with all the other posts containing that hashtag.

In essence, if you tag you post with #love, you have a chance to be seen by anyone who searches ‘love’ on Instagram. Great, right?

But wait! It gets better!

Users can follow hashtags on Instagram. This means that if someone follows the hashtag #love on Instagram you also have the chance to be seen on their feed even if they don’t perform a search or follow your account.

Once we understand this, we realise the true power of hashtags!

Everything you post on Instagram has the ability to not only show up in the feeds of people who follow you but also in the search results and feeds of people who don’t.

How many hashtags to use on Instagram posts

How many hashtags you should use on Instagram

Instagram allows you to use 30 hashtags on a post.

They’ve given you that space for a reason, so use it for relevant hashtags about:

  • The image/video in your post
  • Your business
  • The services you offer
  • Your ideal client’s interests and pain points

Research shows that posts with 11 or more hashtags receive a massive 442% more engagement (that’s things like ‘likes’ and comments) than those with none, and twice as much engagement as those with only 1-10.

Use this many hashtags on Instagram

So there you have it – use 30 hashtags on Instagram to increase your reach and visibility and generate more engagement.