Hashtag stuffing isn’t as tasty a dish as it once was.
This month, Instagram ended its following hashtags feature. Users can no longer follow hashtags and have that content show up in their feeds or Reels. However, they can still search for a hashtag.
The move is a definite problem for hashtag stuffers — those spammers who include any and every popular and trending hashtag regardless of relevance to get their content in front of more people.
But is the end of Instagram’s follow feature a harbinger for marketers about the future of hashtags?
Yes, according to a handful of marketing experts who responded to CMI’s query on the Qwoted platform.
Forget mass attraction
Robin Dimond, CEO and founder of marketing and innovation firm Fifth & Cor, says the role of hashtags is evolving. “There’s now a tool to enhance relevance rather than to drive mass visibility,” she says.
To optimize their use, she recommends using five to 10 broad and niche hashtags to gain a wider reach and connect with more relevant groups.
Also, lean into other Instagram best practices, such as writing SEO-friendly captions and using trending audio. Collaborate with creators or other brands to boost discoverability.
“While hashtags can support your strategy, they are no longer the centerpiece — authenticity and algorithm-friendly engagement are,” Robin says.
Hashtags count in a different way
Saleha Malik, founder of S-Squared, agrees that hashtags still matter, but not the way they used to. She says marketers would do well to adopt a holistic strategy that focuses on engagement metrics, relevancy, and quality content that sparks interaction.
“Once, hashtags were like open-door invitations to broader communities. Using #Travel or #OOTD (opinion of the day) could catapult a post into the feeds of thousands following those topics,” Saleha says.
Now, Instagram prioritizes delivering content tailored to the user’s interests, so its algorithm is more interested in interactions and conference preferences.
She points to sustainable fashion brand Reformation’s Instagram channel. It minimized hashtag usage in its posts — many don’t include any hashtags. This post even uses OOTD in the text in the visual post with three clothing options for being the life of the party — without ever using the hashtag sign.
Instead, Reformation now focuses on encouraging user interaction through questions and polls in Stories to boost its rankings in personalized feeds.
Take a TikTok-like approach
Instagram’s move reflects the shift to a more TikTok-like, algorithm-driven approach, says Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president at RiseOpp, a fractional CMO services company.
“On TikTok, while hashtags help categorize content, the platform’s algorithm prioritizes user interactions — such as likes, shares, comments, and watch time — to determine what appears on users’ for-you pages,” he says.
Liam Taylor, a content marketer for performers and singers, also notes that on TikTok, the best strategy to attract many users is not to use any hashtags.
But that still isn’t the best strategy for Instagram. “The more tags you use, the more it allows you to niche down and reach a specific user,” he says. Still, Liam recommends using no more than three hashtags to attract a target niche.
Kaveh says the most important thing for marketers to do is producing compelling content that resonates with their target audience and fosters engagement, as this is more likely to be favored by the algorithms on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Back to a Google-like strategy
Kate Smoothly, founder and director at Webhive Digital, says today’s social media users adopt a Google approach to social media, using these platforms as search tools. So, marketers should follow suit and use keywords to get their content surfaced.
Liam agrees. “You’re better off writing detailed captions, which are engaging and encourage users to interact,” he says.
In the end, how many hashtags to use or not to use is not the question marketers should be answering.
“The most important thing is to find space to experiment. What works today might not work tomorrow. What works for me might not work for you,” Liam says. “Whenever you try a new approach, be sure to measure the results and use that to inform your strategy going forward.”
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute