If you’ve ever written a post on Instagram and sat there, brainstorming and trying to come up with 30 clever hashtags, this one’s for you.
Because honestly, hashtags used to be one of the biggest ways to grow your reach on Instagram. The meant something.

But in 2025? Things have changed. A lot. Instagram is always keeping us on our toes… 🙄

Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane, see how hashtags went from “magic growth button” to “still useful, but chill,” and what you should actually be doing with them today.

Back in the day: Hashtags were EVERYTHING

Remember when Instagram was still mostly photos of lattes, sunsets, and people’s dogs? I definitely posted all three! Here’s my 5th ever post…my dogs. And the one under that…yuuup, my latte! 😂

Those were the golden years of hashtags.

Back then, hashtags were the discovery tool. If you wanted new people to find you, you loaded your caption (or first comment) with tags like:
#instagood #creativebusiness #hustleharder #goodvibesonly

And it worked!
Hashtags acted like little labels that told Instagram, “Hey, this post belongs in this category.” People could even follow hashtags they liked, which meant your post could show up in front of total strangers who were interested in your topic.

The more hashtags = the more chances someone could stumble upon your content.

That’s why you used to see people using the max (30 tags) and sometimes copy-pasting the same set across posts. (We’ve all been there.)

And honestly? It wasn’t a bad strategy. For small accounts, posts with hashtags could get up to 30–80% more engagement than posts without them.
The system rewarded you for using them, so we all did.

Then the algorithm grew up

Somewhere along the way, Instagram realized people were gaming the system. They also started caring more about what users actually liked, watched, or saved, not just which hashtags they searched.

So the algorithm got smarter.
Instead of relying only on hashtags, Instagram started paying attention to:

What your content looked like (AI can literally “see” what’s in your photo or video now 👀)
The words in your caption
How people interacted with your post (likes, saves, shares, comments)
And who your audience was connecting with

Suddenly, hashtags weren’t the MVP anymore. They were more like a helpful supporting character.

Instagram even removed some of the features that made hashtags powerful, like the “Recent” tab on hashtag pages and the ability to “follow” hashtags.

In other words: the glory days of #growthhacks were over.

So… do hashtags even matter now?

Short answer: Yes. But not in the way you think.

Hashtags today are less about going viral and more about helping Instagram understand your content. They act like context clues for the algorithm, telling it, “Hey, this post is about travel photography” or “this one’s for small business owners.”

Here’s how to think about hashtags in 2025:

Hashtags are still great for:

Niche visibility. Using tags that your specific audience might search (like #femaleentrepreneurs or #lafoodie) can still bring in the right kind of followers.
Community building. Branded or community hashtags (like #GrowWithGuidance or #SproutCreativeLA) help your people find each other.
Categorizing content. Think of them as filing cabinets for your posts, they make it easier for the platform (and users) to understand what you’re about.

Hashtags are not great for:

Broad, oversaturated tags like #love, #fun, or #reel, those have millions of posts and zero discoverability. They also kinda haven’t been good for awhile, to be honest. Too easy to get lost in the mix.
Spammy overload. Using 25-30 hashtags on every post doesn’t impress the algorithm anymore; it just looks messy.
Lazy copy-paste hashtag lists. Instagram can tell when you use the same tags repeatedly, and it can hurt your reach.

The new best practice

Most experts (and Instagram itself) recommend using 3–10 hashtags per post, max.
Go for relevance over quantity.

The rise of Instagram SEO

Here’s where things get interesting.

Instagram is slowly turning into a mini search engine. Users can now type full phrases into the search bar, like “best social media tips” or “how to start a podcast,” and get content results based on keywords in your captions, not just hashtags.

That means the words you use in your post (especially early in the caption) now carry more weight than ever.

So instead of relying on hashtags like #smallbiztips, you might get just as much traction by literally writing,

“Here are my favorite small business marketing tips to grow your audience this year…”

Because the algorithm is now smart enough to connect your caption to search intent.

That’s huge.

So what does that mean for hashtags? They’re kind of being replaced (or at least joined) by natural language SEO, captions, and keywords that sound like how people actually talk and search.

Where hashtags are headed next

If I had to make an educated guess, here’s where I think hashtags are going:

1. Smaller, more meaningful communities.

Big, broad hashtags are noisy. The real gold is in micro-communities, like #blackwomenintech or #vanlifeusa, where engagement is real and people actually connect.

2. Branded hashtags will rise.

Creating your own hashtag (for your business, campaign, or event) builds identity and trackable UGC. Think #SproutCreativeLA, or #ReadySetMarketing.

3. Better tools & AI will help us choose smarter tags.

AI tools are already being developed to suggest hashtags that match your caption, audience, and performance history. That makes hashtagging a lot less guesswork and a lot more strategy.

4. They’ll stick around but evolve.

Hashtags aren’t going anywhere completely. They’ll just keep shifting toward being organizational tools and community connectors, not discovery hacks.

In other words: the hashtag glow-up is here.

How to use hashtags (the smart way) in 2025

If you want your posts to perform and look polished try this strategy:

1. Pick 3–5 super-relevant hashtags.

Make sure they’re specific to your audience or content. Example: instead of #marketing, use #socialmediamarketingtips or #smallbizgrowth.

2. Mix it up.

Use a blend of:

Niche hashtags (#podcastersofinstagram)
Branded hashtags (#GrowWithGuidance)
Community hashtags (#WomenWhoCreate)
Location hashtags (#LosAngelesEntrepreneurs)

3. Don’t bury your hashtags in your caption.

You can absolutely add them at the bottom or in a comment but keep it neat and intentional.

4. Watch your Insights.

See which hashtags actually drive impressions and saves, and drop the ones that don’t perform.

5. Focus more on your content.

Even the best hashtags can’t save a post that isn’t connecting.
High-quality visuals, great hooks, valuable insights — that’s what Instagram rewards now.

gs + keyword captions

Hashtags aren’t dead — they’ve just matured.
And honestly, that’s a good thing. It means we get to focus more on what really matters: connection, conversation, and creativity.

So go ahead and use them just don’t obsess over them.

Because the truth is, it’s not your hashtags that grow your business…
It’s your voice.

Your turn

Next time you’re writing a post, think less about “How many hashtags should I use?” and more about:

“What’s the conversation I want to start?”
“Who am I talking to?”
“What words would they actually search?”

That’s the mindset that builds lasting visibility, hashtags or not.

Are Hashtags Still Important on Instagram? (Spoiler: Kinda… But Not Like They Used To Be)