How To Use Hashtags on Different Social Media Platforms

Hashtags are a big part of social media marketing. They are a great tool to use on most social media platforms. That is why it’s important that you use hashtags correctly on each social media platform.

Hashtags allow new users to find your posts and profile. They also can be used for branding purposes and to help execute other digital marketing campaigns.

When used correctly, hashtags can also increase your engagement. One way to do this is by creating a branded hashtag. For example, we use #KapokMarketing. It can also be based on a marketing campaign, like Coke’s #ShareACoke.

But not all social media platforms are created the same in terms of hashtags. They all have different rules when it comes to hashtags. To get the most out of your hashtags, you want to make sure you follow each platform’s best practices.

What Social Media Platforms Use Hashtags?

Most of the big social media platforms all have hashtags. Let’s take a look at the ones that do, and how to best use hashtags on each platform.


Twitter is known as the platform that made hashtags relevant among social media users. Tweets that have one or two hashtags receive better engagement. A good rule of thumb is to use a business or branded hashtag and another one that supplements the content of the post.


Instagram allows you to put up to 30 hashtags in a post, but it is recommended to have a minimum of eleven relevant hashtags. There is no need to fill up the count to thirty with irrelevant or unnecessary hashtags.


Even though hashtags can be used on Facebook, they are not necessary at all on your posts. They will not increase your engagement and they are not used as frequently as other platforms.

Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google+

Hashtags also work on Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google+. There are actually no major restrictions on their use on these social media platforms. You can use as many as you would like, but don’t abuse them by using unnecessary or irrelevant hashtags that don’t supplement your content.

How to Use Hashtags in Your Social Media Marketing

In order to effectively use hashtags, you need to do more than just follow the best practices of each social media platform. You should consider how your hashtags fall into your larger digital marketing strategy.

What are the business goals you are trying to achieve? What marketing campaigns will help achieve those goals? How do hashtags and your social media accounts fit into those campaigns?

The answers to those questions are the start of your digital marketing plan. And having a true digital marketing plan is what separates actual marketing from many of the voodoo digital marketing gurus.

Once you have a plan, you can execute it like a true rock star of marketing. Your social media posts will cohesively fit into your larger business strategy. This, in turn, will lead to better results on all the social media platforms you use. It will also yield more predictable benefits to your business’ bottom-line.

Want to learn more about the usage of hashtags, including popular hashtags and more? Check out our free hashtag guide that is available for download.

Did we miss any important information on how to use hashtags on your favorite social media platform? We’d love to hear your tips or tricks. Just let us know in the comment section.


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