The hashtag strategy on Instagram is evolving, transforming the way marketers can reach and interact with their audience. With Instagram’s recent decision to remove the hashtag following feature, the traditional approach of “hashtag stuffing” is losing its effectiveness. It is now essential for marketers to adopt a more nuanced strategy focused on relevance and authenticity rather than mass visibility. This new dynamic necessitates rethinking the use of hashtags, concentrating on engagement and content quality to ensure their impact.
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Instagram has recently removed the feature that allowed users to follow hashtags, which calls into question their traditional role as mass visibility generators. For marketers, this evolution indicates a strategic shift: instead of concentrating on attracting crowds with popular hashtags, they must now prioritize relevance and interaction with their target audience. Using five to ten relevant hashtags, creating SEO-friendly captions, and collaborating with creators are recommended practices. The goal is now to promote authentic content and engagement-focused strategies that align better with Instagram’s current algorithms.
The New Hashtag Approach of Instagram
Recently, Instagram decided to remove its hashtag following feature, a change that has significant implications for marketers. Once essential for reaching a wide audience, this feature allowed users to directly follow specific hashtags and see related content appear in their feed or Reels. This removal changes the game for those who relied on hashtag stuffing, a technique that involves including as many popular hashtags as possible in the hope of increasing visibility, often with little real relevance to the content. Now, hashtag research becomes a tool purely focused on relevant engagement rather than mass attraction. As they continue to adapt, marketing professionals must rethink the use of hashtags not as an end in itself, but as a means to broaden their relationships with pertinent communities.
Reinventing the Use of Hashtags for a Targeted Audience
Robin Dimond, CEO of Fifth & Cor, stated that hashtags are now just one tool among others in the visibility arsenal on Instagram. The era of excessive hashtag stuffing is over; it is recommended to focus on five to ten relevant and niche hashtags. This allows for reaching a more targeted audience and optimizing connections with relevant groups. Beyond hashtags, it is crucial to integrate other optimized practices for Instagram, such as writing SEO-friendly captions or using trending music. Collaborating with influential creators and other brands can also enhance discoverability. Ultimately, it is authenticity and engagement in line with the algorithm that now take center stage.
Adopting a TikTok-Inspired Approach
The evolution of Instagram demonstrates a trend toward an algorithm-based approach, similar to TikTok where content visibility is primarily determined by interactions such as likes, shares, and comments, rather than by the use of hashtags. This approach means that to be visible, content must decisively aim for engaging interaction and relevance to the target audience. To be effective, marketers must prioritize creating compelling and meaningful content while ensuring that it genuinely resonates with the target audience. In short, although hashtags continue to hold a place in marketing strategy, producing content that elicits engagement and resonates with the audience is now the key vector for success on Instagram.
