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How to Find Trending Hashtags for Instagram: 5 Pro Tips
Hashtags on Instagram have evolved far beyond simple categorization tools. Initially used to make content discoverable, they now serve as powerful marketing assets that drive visibility and engagement.
For enterprises looking to scale on Instagram, knowing how to find trending hashtags is no longer just a tactical decision—it’s a core component of your social media strategy.
In fact, Instagram’s algorithm rewards posts with relevant, trending hashtags, increasing their chances of reaching a broader, more targeted audience. Studies show that posts with at least one hashtag generate 12.6% more engagement than those without, making it clear that the right hashtags can be a game-changer for your brand.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through proven strategies for discovering trending hashtags, leveraging advanced tools, and integrating them into a cohesive hashtag strategy that aligns with your brand’s objectives. Whether you're a global enterprise or a growing business, these actionable insights will help elevate your Instagram presence, boost your reach, and engage with the right audiences more effectively.
- What are trending hashtags for Instagram?
- Five Tips to find trending hashtags for Instagram
- 1. Check the Instagram Explore page
- 2. Use third-party hashtag managers
- 3. Use the Instagram search function
- 4. Follow relevant influencers
- 5. Follow relevant hashtags
- How to find hashtags for Instagram that are relevant to your brand
- Find your trending hashtags quickly using Sprinklr
What are trending hashtags for Instagram?
A trending hashtag is a popular keyword on Instagram that has gained significantly high traction over a short period. Instagram algorithms detect this heightened activity and promote any content that uses these hashtags, further amplifying its reach.
Trending hashtags usually reflect current events, viral social media challenges or the latest topics that capture the attention of Instagram users. For example, during a popular sports event like the Olympics 2024, hashtags like #Olympics or #Paris2024 might trend as millions of users share event related content.
Parameters to choose trending hashtags
Imagine you're running a skincare brand. How do you find trending hashtags for Instagram that will make a difference? Don’t worry, we’ve simplified the process for you. All you need to do is focus on a few key parameters:
- Relevance: Make sure that the hashtag aligns with your content. Use a mix of niche (like #oilyskin or #acne) and broad (like #skincare and #beauty) hashtags. This will increase the chances of your content reaching your target audience.
- Volume: Check the number of posts made using the hashtags. The higher the number, the greater the popularity. For instance, #skincare is extremely popular, with 125 million posts. However, such hashtags are also used widely and are highly competitive.
- Engagement: Dig deeper and check the engagement rates of posts by leveraging the hashtag. Higher engagement suggests an active, interested audience. This post by Clinique, for instance, has 55k+ likes, indicating high engagement.
These parameters will help you strategically select hashtags to boost your brand’s reach and engagement on Instagram.
Read More: 15 Unique Instagram Post Ideas for Organic Growth
Five Tips to find trending hashtags for Instagram
Finding popular hashtags for Instagram is easier than it seems. Here are five effective methods to discover trending tags:
1. Check the Instagram Explore page
The Explore page is a goldmine for trending content and hashtags. If niche content shows up in your feed, it means the algorithm is targeting it to a specific audience.
This approach offers real-time insights into trending topics and is personalized to your interests. For instance, your Explore page will mostly have fashion-related posts if you are a fashion brand. It would help if you diversified your engagement to discover a broader range of Instagram trends. So, keep interacting with content not directly related to your niche, such as beauty or fitness, to find trending hashtags.
You can also create a dummy account where you engage only with the type of niche content you want to see to discover hashtags and trending content in your niche.
2. Use third-party hashtag managers
Third-party hashtag managers help you analyze and track trending hashtags related to your niche. Many have a hashtag search option to find public Instagram posts and reels tagged with specific hashtags. They also help you measure your campaign’s effectiveness, identify influencers, and monitor trends.
Further read: Social Media Monitoring: The Ultimate Guide to Get Started
3. Use the Instagram search function
Instagram's built-in search is the most simple and underrated way to find trending hashtags for Instagram. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to find hashtags for Instagram using the platform’s search function:
- Step 1: Tap the search bar and enter the relevant keyword.
- Step 2: Switch to the "Tags" tab.
- Step 3: The related hashtags and their post count here. Click on any of them to see the posts which use these hashtags.
This approach does not provide engagement data or trend information. However, it can help you discover popular hashtags and gain content inspiration.
4. Follow relevant influencers
Follow relevant influencers to stay on top of all trends. Closely monitor the hashtags these influencers are using with their content. This can be beneficial when you want to target a specific audience.
Instagram influencers can be divided into the following categories based on the number of followers:
- Mega influencers: Minimum 50 million followers
- Macro influencers: 100,000 to 15 million followers
- Micro influencers: 10,000 to 100,000 followers
- Nano influencers: 1,000 to 10,000 followers
Compile a list of hashtags from influencer posts that have performed well. This will help you identify hashtags you can use with your content. Look at this Instagram post by fitness influencer Kayla Itsines. She uses a mix of trending (#Travel), niche (#VacationWorkout and #HotelRoomWorkout) and branded (#SweatApp and #SweatWithKayla) hashtags.
Pro Tip 💡: You can follow nano influencers for niche topics. Despite their low follower count, these influencers may receive high engagement. Nano influencers generally cater to niche audiences, so they are ideal if you want to target a particular demographic. They can connect with audiences more deeply as they often post authentic content. To learn more, check out our dedicated guide on finding right influencers.
5. Follow relevant hashtags
Following relevant hashtags is another great tip to remember if you’re a social media marketer. All you need to do is look for a hashtag and press the follow button to monitor all the trending content.
Identify the other hashtags used with the primary hashtag. For example, if you are a travel agency, follow the primary hashtag #travel and related ones like #vacation, #holiday or #travelgram.
Do not follow too many hashtags. This might lead to information overload and a cluttered feed with irrelevant posts. Adding unrelated hashtags to your posts can drown your content in the large volume of existing content. For instance, if a fitness influencer uses a hashtag like #fashion, it may be harder to find trending hashtags related to health and wellness.
Pro Tip 💡: Create and promote a unique branded hashtag for your campaign. Encourage your followers to use it when sharing content related to your products or services. This increases brand awareness and helps you easily track user-generated content and engage with your community. Look at MVMT, for instance. The watchmaker promotes its branded hashtag #jointhemvmt on its Instagram account.
How to find hashtags for Instagram that are relevant to your brand
Finding the right hashtags can significantly boost your Instagram presence but choosing ones that genuinely resonate with your brand and audience is crucial. One effective tool for discovering trending and relevant hashtags is Sprinklr Social Advanced. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to use it:
Step 1: Log in to Sprinklr Social using your email or an SSO.
Step 2: Once you’re in, navigate to the “Insights” module in the left navigation bar and choose “Topics.” Then, click “Add New Topic” to create a new topic.
Step 3: Name your topic and pick the sources you want to listen to. You can choose from different sources, such as Facebook and Instagram pages, Twitter, Reddit, Quora and news sites.
Step 4: Set up your query by entering keywords and using the “OR” or “AND” operators. Enter multiple keywords in the same box (to connect them with “OR”) or in separate boxes (to connect them with “AND”). You can also use keywords suggested by Sprinklr’s powerful AI model. If you want to omit specific keywords from your search, add them in the “EXCLUDE” box.
OR and AND are Boolean operators used to connect search terms. To read more about them, click here.
Step 5: After entering all the keywords, you will find a real-time preview of all the queries satisfying the search criteria on the right-hand side, displaying the count of mentions, keywords and top conversations.
Step 6: The next step is to gather insights. Click on “Add Topic and View Report”.
Step 7: After that, open the "Conversations" tab, a feature that allows you to actively listen to discussions centered on your keywords.
You can also use the following widgets to identify the top trending hashtags and keywords. Filter for a specific platform, say Instagram, to narrow down your insights:
- Top trending hashtags: Identify influential and trending hashtags within conversations about your topic.
- Most popular keywords: Highlight pivotal keywords consistently surfacing in discussions about your topic.
Pro Tip 💡: Keep an eye on your competitors' hashtags. This can give you valuable insights into what's working in your niche. Don't just replicate them. Do your own research. Find similar or related hashtags that align with your brand’s niche. You can use Instagram Hashtag Manager to monitor your competitors’ social media campaigns and build your own strategy.
Find your trending hashtags quickly using Sprinklr
Remember, it's essential to balance trending tags with those specific to your content and audience. This approach ensures maximum visibility while maintaining relevance.
Consider streamlining this process using a comprehensive social media management tool like Sprinklr Social.
Why?
Here’s how you can benefit from this tool:
- Real-time hashtag tracking: Stay on top of emergingtrends as they happen with the real-time hashtag tracking feature.
- Performance analytics: Understand which hashtags drive the most engagement for your brand.
- AI-powered trend insights: Leverage AI to get access to trend insights, which will help you make a better content plan.
Combining these tools with the above-mentioned features can help you create a great hashtag strategy. By using trending hashtags on Instagram, you can reach your target audience and, in turn, convert them to paying customers.
Keen to level up your Instagram hashtag strategy with Sprinklr Social? Book a demo to get started.
