We’re about to #spillthetea on all things hashtags including hashtag limits and best practices for the most commonly used social media platforms.
Here’s the deal, staying up-to-date on social media policies and procedures can sometimes feel like a full-time job… Ain’t nobody got time or patience for that!
You’re busy building your dream after all, which is why we’re staying on top of all the up-to-date platform best practices in this article so you don’t have to!
Alright, let’s dive in!
Let’s get one basic question out of the way first… Are hashtags really still necessary?
YES. Hashtags are a necessary component to helping your ideal client discover your business. Think of them as the flashing neon lights that help your business stand out on an overcrowded street, and attract your ideal client.
Posts with at least 11 hashtags get 61.5% more engagement than posts with none, according to the Ultimate Guide to Hashtags.
If you didn't already know, hashtags allow your content to become searchable, not only by you and your followers but by anyone. Odds are, your ideal customer is searching for relevant hashtags in your industry right now!
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the basics of how to use hashtags on the most common social media platforms.
Are there limits to how many hashtags you can use?
There are no limits to your AWESOMENESS... There are, however, limits to how many hashtags you can use on certain platforms.
These are the current hashtag limits for the following platforms:
Instagram = 30 hashtags
Facebook = No limit
TikTok = 100 character limit
Twitter = 280 character limit
LinkedIn = No limit
YouTube = No limit
Pinterest = 20 hashtags
Keep in mind: Hashtag limits are important to know, but it’s less about how many you use, and really more about how you use them.
Ready to discover best hashtag practices for each platform? Let’s get into it...
(Pro Tip: Since you don’t have time to waste, feel free to scroll to the platform(s) that are most relevant to you, your business, and your ideal client.)
Hashtag Limit: 30
Best Practices:
Always include hashtags in the caption (NOT the comment).
Just because you can use 30 hashtags, doesn’t mean you should use that many (less is more when it comes to using hashtags effectively).
Do your best to use hashtags that don’t have more than 1 million posts attached to them already (the higher the post count, the less discoverable your content will be).
Use hashtags your IDEAL CLIENT is using, not just what your business would use (e.g. If they’re looking for cheap vacations, and you’re a travel agency… #travelingforcheap will be more effective than #travelagent.
Dottie can help generate hashtags for you and even save specific hashtag sets for you!
(For help on discovering who your ideal client is and how to speak to them on social media, check out this game-changing resource.)
Hashtag Limit: No limit.
Best Practices:
We’ll keep this one short and sweet: hashtags have not proven effective on Facebook.
If you think 1-3 hashtags will add value to your post… Go for it! Just remember to use them sparingly so the hashtags don’t distract from your content.
DON’T worry, friend… While it may feel like a bummer that hashtags aren’t effective on Facebook, staying consistent and creating impactful content for your ideal client is still VERY effective. So, keep up the good work!
TikTok
Hashtag Limit: 100 character limit
Best Practices:
Hashtags aren’t clickable but they do work the same as Instagram when it comes to discoverability.
Keep your caption short. Since you only have 100 characters available, save room for more #’s. This strategy will help you stand out and attract your ideal client.
Hashtag Limit: 280 character limit
Best Practices:
Tweets were meant to be short… so keep your message concise.
Twitter suggests using no more than 1-2 hashtags in your tweets.
Hashtag Limit: No limit.
Best Practices:
Similar to Facebook, there’s no limit to how many hashtags you can use, however, industry experts recommend using no more than 1-2 hashtags.
Using too many will make you look unprofessional, spammy, and too sales(y).
YouTube
Hashtag Limit: No limit.
Best Practices:
Add hashtags in your video’s title and description when you upload a video or record a Short on YouTube.
Include hashtags in your title and description because they link to a results page featuring other videos sharing the same hashtag.
DO NOT over tag: If your video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube will ignore all hashtags on your video.
Over-tagging may result in the removal of your video from your uploads or from search.
Do not use misleading or irrelevant hashtags, doing so may lead to your video being removed.
Only use up to 15 to keep your content from looking too spammy.
Hashtag Limit: 20
Best Practices:
Pinterest no longer recommends hashtags and they have officially stated that hashtags are d-e-a-d. And it's all because spammers ruin everything! This means the Pinterest algorithm may be suppressing pins that contain hashtags in the descriptions so make sure you stay away from them.
Let’s recap the hashtag best practices that apply no matter what platform you’re on:
Know who your ideal client is, before choosing hashtags.
Choose quality over quantity (Just ‘cause you haven’t reached the limit yet, doesn’t mean you should).
Dottie is a real game-changer when it comes to finding the right hashtags and you can save your hashtag sets for quick reusability!
Use hashtags your IDEAL CLIENT uses, not just what your business would use (e.g. if they’re looking for vegan meal ideas, and you’re a health & wellness coach… #vegancooking will be more effective than #healthcoach).
There you have it. Your most up-to-date hashtag limits and best practices for the most commonly used social media platforms.
Now, let's talk about the different types of Hashtags! Below are the 4 types of hashtags that will help you get discovered on Instagram. Let’s dive in!
SEARCHABLE TERMS
This will comprise the majority of the hashtags you use. In order to understand what your searchable terms are (they are different for everyone), you must put yourself in your ideal client/dream customer’s shoes.
LOCATION SEARCHES
This is for people searching for things/people/photos specific to a certain location. These are especially powerful to get discovered in your local area.
GEOGRAPHIC SEARCHES
This search term is for people looking for businesses based on city or state. This can get a bit tricky because people search for local options in a myriad of ways, so use a mix of geographic references to cover all of your bases.
INDUSTRY SEARCHES
These search terms are specifically related to your industry, used by peers and counterparts. These search terms tend to be searched by other professionals within your industry. Hashtagging within your industry is a great way to get noticed, featured, or create sponsorships/ alliances/referrals.
REMEMBER… Hashtags help you get discovered, but your content is what keeps
your ideal client engaged
Your consistency and quality of content are what increase engagement and drive the results you’re looking for. Can we get an #AMEN?!
👉 Wanna Dig Deeper?
Cracking the Hashtag Code will give you the support and resources you need to help get your business discovered on Instagram using hashtags. Spoiler: the accompanying workbook will help you come up with over 100 hashtags for your content!