Hashtags work by categorizing

When it comes to promoting your brand on social media, hashtags have been a great way to increase engagement and drive brand awareness.

Hashtags were first widely used on X (now known as X), but became commonplace on other social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, while the newer platform Threads took a different approach to hashtag use introducing a one tag limit per update.

The point of the hashtag is to help users find information and ask questions based on keywords or phrases. But, are hashtags as effective as they once were?

Used sparingly and strategically, you can still use well-placed hashtags to complement your content and expand its reach. The trick is to use hashtags to enhance your content rather than relying on them as your only content amplification tool.

Used correctly, hashtags can give context to your social posts, help people interested in your topic find your brand, and help engage communities.

1. What is a hashtag?
2. What do you do with hashtags?
3. Why has hashtag use declined?
4. Tips for using hashtags on social media
5. How to find effective hashtags: Start with influencers
6. Other research tools for finding hashtags
7. How to use hashtags on X
8. How to use hashtags on Facebook
9. How to use hashtags on Instagram
10. How to use hashtags on Pinterest
11. How to use hashtags on TikTok
12. How to use hashtags on LinkedIn
13. How to use hashtags on Threads
14. How to use hashtags on Bluesky
15. What are the most popular hashtags in digital marketing?
16. How to design a hashtag strategy

What does hashtag mean, exactly? A hashtag is a word or keyword phrase preceded by the hash symbol (#). It’s  accurate mobile phone number list used within a post on social media to help those who may be interested in your topic to be able to find it when they search for a keyword or particular hashtag. It helps to draw attention to your posts and encourage interaction.

Hashtags work by categorizing relevant pieces of content and boosting their visibility. For instance, if you’ve written a post about your latest (and most delicious ever) deli sandwich special, you weave #sandwich into your content.

When a food lover then searches for the hashtag #sandwich or they look at their social media feed, your content is more likely to appear.

When using a phrase as a hashtag, you spell it out without spaces, such as #UsingHashtags. It can include numbers but not symbols or punctuation.

The hashtag activecampaign has four plans available can be placed at the beginning, middle or end of your social media post or comment, and it allows what you have written to be indexed by the social media network. With this strategy, people who are not your fans or followers can still find your content.

If you need some guidance on how to research keywords to feed into your hashtags, check out our infographic for five easy steps.

Hashtags were created to allow people on social platforms to find relevant content. But in recent years hashtags have been used by spammers to get content discovered which have cluttered people’s feeds resulting in a negative user experience.

Plus the advancement of social media algorithms means that content is no longer prioritized based on hashtags but instead on user engagement.

For example, Instagram announced at the end of 2024 that it was removing the option to follow hashtags from the sms to data app. Plus, any topics that people already follow will no longer display posts and Reels in the main feed. And over on X, Elon Musk shared a post asking people not to use hashtags on the platform as they made it ‘ugly’.

On LinkedIn, there has been a shift toward using fewer, more targeted hashtags that align with industry-specific topics, rather than a haphazard approach.

All signs point to hashtags being less useful but many experts believe there’s still a place for them in your social media strategy. It’s about being more targeted and using branded hashtags.