How hashtags help your reach

Hashtags categorise your content and make it discoverable to users following or searching those tags. Relevant, specific hashtags outperform generic ones - #RunningShoes will reach a more targeted audience than just #shoes.

Instagram hashtag strategy

Use a mix of large (1M+ posts), medium (100K–1M), and small (<100K) hashtags.
Stick to tags directly relevant to the post content.
Avoid banned or overused generic tags that offer no real discovery value.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post.

CamelCase accessibility

Using CamelCase in multi-word hashtags (e.g. #DigitalMarketing) improves readability for all users and is essential for screen readers, which interpret lowercase strings as single words.

Platform hashtag limits

Platform	Hashtag limit per post	Character limit
Instagram	30 hashtags	2,200 chars (caption)
Twitter / X	No hard limit (2–3 recommended)	280 chars total
LinkedIn	No hard limit (3–5 recommended)	3,000 chars
TikTok	No hard limit	2,200 chars
Facebook	No hard limit (1–2 recommended)	63,206 chars

Hashtag research tips

Mix tag sizes: pair 1–2 high-volume tags (>1M posts) with niche tags (<500K) where your content is more likely to surface in top posts.
Search the hashtag before using it - review the top posts to confirm the tag is used in the context you intend.
Refresh your hashtag sets periodically; tag performance changes as trends evolve.

Banned hashtag warning

Some hashtags are banned or restricted on Instagram (and occasionally other platforms) due to abuse or policy violations. Using a banned hashtag can cause your post to be shadow-banned - hidden from search results and hashtag feeds without any notification. Before building a strategy around a hashtag, search it on Instagram to confirm it shows active results.