Instagram is a bustling social media platform with more than 800 million monthly active users worldwide. Savvy businesses are taking advantage of this huge audience by developing image-based content marketing strategies. But even the best images in the world are no good if nobody sees them, which is where hashtags come in. This list of top Instagram hashtags for 2018 is a great place to start planning how to make the most out of every image on Instagram.
Understanding Instagram Hashtags
With users uploading millions of photographs every day, Instagram needs a way to ensure the right people are seeing the right content. It does this through the use of hashtags, which act as the site’s indexing system. By adding relevant hashtags, you increase the chances of more people discovering your content. Of course, the best hashtags to use are the ones that are trending, and those which users are most likely to search for. So using the top Instagram hashtags for 2018 helps you to keep your content relevant.
50 Top Instagram Hashtags
#love
Spread a little love with the most popular hashtag on Instagram.
#photooftheday
The @photooftheday account has a massive following. Tag a photo every day for a chance to win a space in this prestigious gallery.
#picoftheday
Another tag for the images that make you proud.
#bestoftheday
Why use one tag to show off your best work when you can use three?
#instagood
Tag your very best photos to see if the @instagood account shares your work.
#instamood
Tag the photos that express how you feel.
#instastyle
Make a style statement.
#instadaily
Regularity is important when building a brand. This tag lets your audience know you’re a keen content creator.
#igers
The abbreviation for “Instagramers” is always trending, as it’s the calling card for regular users.
#instagramers
Another tag used to indicate professional users and regulars.
#followback
Building an audience is tricky. This hashtag indicates you’ll follow any account that follows you.
#followforfollow
A variation of #followback.
#followme
Another tag for building an audience.
#likeback
Exchanging likes is another way of boosting visibility, and the #likeback tag indicates you’re happy to get involved.
#likeforlike
As with tags for generating followers, there are many versions of #likeback.
#like4like
For any hashtag with “for” in it, there’s probably a similar tag substituting the number for the word.
#l4l
Watch out for abbreviations of common tags, such as this tag for like exchanging.
#20likes
Honestly, it’s amazing how many tags are requests for likes and follows.
#100likes
We could do this all day.
#me
Instagram is a great way to express yourself, hence the popularity of tags that emphasize personality and emotions.
#selfie
The selfie is an indelible part of modern social media, and pictures with faces get 38 percent more likes on Instagram.
#smile
Faces launch brands, and everybody likes to see happy, smiling faces.
#style
On a visual social media platform, it’s not surprising that tags relating to style and looks are always trending.
#looks
Another tag for fashion-forward Instagramers.
#cat
Social media has the potential to make pets into personalities, and many users post cat photographs.
#dog
And dog photographs.
#cute
The #cute tag is another good one for all those cat pictures everybody loves.
#tbt
The throwback Thursday tag is for use with older photographs (shared on a Thursday, obviously). It’s one of the most used tags of all time.
#fbf
Flashback Friday is a variation of the throwback Thursday concept. For when one day of nostalgia each week just isn’t enough.
#jj
Josh Johnson is the brains behind one of Instagram’s first communities.
#nofilter
Instagram has a range of filters to give any photo a more professional look. If you’re trying to get recognition for your photography skills, uploading unedited content with the #nofilter tag helps you stand out.
#friends
Social media is all about building a community and making friends, and pictures promoting camaraderie have a real feel-good vibe.
#family
Of course, if people are photographing their friends, they’re probably photographing their family too.
#travel
A visual platform is tailor-made for luxury travel influencers who share their adventures with fans.
#beach
Beautiful beaches are a regular feature on many travel and extreme sports accounts.
#fun
Let’s face it — Instagram is about having fun. This tag is a perennial favorite.
#colorful
Not surprisingly, a bit of color goes a long way on Instagram. Bright and colorful images draw the eye and promote engagement.
#fashion
Photography and fashion go hand in hand. Plenty of fashion influencers use Instagram.
#model
Of course, Instagram is a natural home for models.
#beauty
The platform is a perfect way for beauty influencers to make their mark.
#makeup
A tag for sharing a new look.
#hair
One last tag for those in the beauty profession, or anyone who is having a great hair day.
#food
The demand for food-related content has made food content marketing big business, as evidenced by “how to cook that” being a top-10 search phrase on YouTube in 2017.
#foodporn
The popularity of food content means it isn’t surprising to find lots of food-flavored tags in the list of top Instagram hashtags for 2018.
#yummy
This one is self-explanatory.
#repost
Sharing content is part of what makes social media work. The #repost tag identifies content you’re sharing from another user.
#fitness
Lots of fitness influencers use Instagram as a motivational and educational platform.
#gym
This tag works well in tandem with other fitness-related tags.
#motivation
Instagram is home for thousands of motivational images, from shots of people exercising to the humorous posters that adorn office cubicles all around the world. The #motivation tag is a great way to let someone know they should “hang in there.”
#sunset
Give someone a camera and a sunset and magic can happen. A glowing horizon is a common sight on Instagram, but it never gets old.
Final Thought: There’s Always a Crowd
Using the top Instagram hashtags for 2018 increases the likelihood of someone seeing your work, but you still need great content in the first place. These hashtags are the most popular, and therefore millions of people are using them every day, so your images are going to be vying for attention with millions of other images. There’s no substitute for creating amazing images that leap off the page, so focus on content first, and then carefully choose the right hashtags to maximize exposure.
