Instagram Hashtags: Everything You Should Know in 2024

Instagram hashtags remain a powerful tool for increasing engagement and visibility on your photos.

But, how many hashtags should you use? What are the many sorts of hashtags? Which are now trending? Should they be in your caption or the comments?

How Do Instagram Hashtags Work?

In a nutshell, Instagram hashtags are a technique of labeling and categorizing your material. They then assist Instagram in serving your content to the most relevant users.

In their most basic form, hashtags you employ fuel the search results on the Instagram Explore page.

Hashtags are also used as a reference for Instagram's algorithm, which categorizes your material and recommends it to users who are likely to be interested.

Do Instagram Hashtags Still Work in 2024?

Hashtags have long been a source of contention, particularly since Instagram's proposal to limit hashtag usage to 3-5 (more on that later).

However, using relevant, targeted hashtags (and phrases) on posts and Reels remains one of the most effective strategies to reach new Instagram audiences.

That is why it is critical to have a clear and well-crafted hashtag strategy; without one, you risk missing out on opportunities to optimize your content, increase interaction, and gain followers.

As previously stated, Instagram urged authors to use between 3-5 hashtags in their photos, but allowing up to 30.

As the platform's discoverability and SEO tools grow, they must be able to appropriately categorize material for the Explore Page and Instagram Reels tab (while also reducing spammy or irrelevant hashtag use).