Hashtags are powerful tools for increasing visibility and engagement on social media, but many users undermine their effectiveness with simple mistakes. Whether you're a social media manager, small business owner, or influencer, avoiding these common pitfalls can significantly improve your results.
The Mistake: Stuffing posts with 20-30 hashtags thinking "more is better." This often appears spammy and can actually reduce engagement.
The Solution: Research shows optimal hashtag counts vary by platform:
Pro Tip: Use our Hashtag Generator Tool to find the perfect number of high-quality hashtags for each platform.
The Mistake: Using only massive hashtags like #love (2B+ posts) or #instagood (1B+ posts). Your content gets lost in the flood.
The Solution: Implement the 80/20 rule for hashtags:
Example: For a food post, instead of just #food (500M+ posts), try #foodphotography (50M) and #homemadeeats (200k).
The Mistake: Using trending hashtags that have nothing to do with your content just to ride the wave.
The Solution: Only use hashtags that directly relate to your content. Ask:
The Mistake: Accidentally using hashtags that Instagram or other platforms have banned or limited due to misuse.
Common examples include #likeforlike, #followme, or #tagsforlikes.
The Solution: Before using any hashtag:
The Mistake: Only using generic hashtags without building your own branded community.
The Solution: Develop 1-2 branded hashtags that:
Promote these consistently across all marketing channels.
The Mistake: Copy-pasting the same set of hashtags for every post, which can trigger spam filters.
The Solution: Create 3-5 different hashtag sets for different content types and rotate them. For example:
The Mistake: Placing all hashtags awkwardly in the main caption when they could be hidden.
The Solution: For cleaner aesthetics:
While these mistakes are common, they're easily avoidable with the right knowledge and tools. The key is to be strategic rather than random with your hashtag use. Quality always beats quantity when it comes to effective hashtagging.
For optimal results, combine these best practices with our Hashtag Generator Tool that helps you find, organize, and track high-performing hashtags tailored to your specific content and goals.