Hashtags categorise content and help it reach an audience actively interested in that specific topic, but choosing them well means understanding what genuinely makes a hashtag effective for your specific business, not simply using whichever ones appear most popular.
These are the factors that genuinely determine whether a hashtag works.
Match specificity to your actual audience size
Extremely broad, high-volume hashtags put content in front of a huge audience but also huge competition, while more specific, niche hashtags reach a smaller but genuinely more relevant audience actively interested in that exact topic.
A small business generally benefits more from a mix weighted toward these more specific, relevant hashtags than from chasing broad ones with little chance of actual visibility.
Research what your genuine target audience actually uses
Looking at hashtags used by accounts your actual target customers already follow, and by close competitors with genuine engagement, reveals what’s actually working in your specific space rather than guessing.
This research-based approach beats simply using generic industry hashtags that every competitor is already using identically.
Track what genuinely drives engagement, not just reach
Reviewing which hashtags are associated with posts that actually drove engagement or conversions, not just views, over time reveals which ones are genuinely working for your specific business.
Our guide to low-cost marketing ideas that genuinely work covers this kind of engagement-focused approach to social media more broadly.
Avoid genuinely counterproductive hashtag practices
Using irrelevant popular hashtags purely to inflate reach, or overloading a post with excessive hashtags, tends to look spammy and can genuinely reduce engagement rather than increase it on most platforms.
The Department of Small Business Development publishes digital-readiness guidance that touches on using social platforms effectively, hashtags included.
Frequently asked questions
Do more popular hashtags always work better?
Not necessarily; they bring huge competition, while specific niche hashtags reach a smaller but more genuinely relevant audience.
How should hashtag research be done?
By looking at what accounts your actual target customers follow and what genuinely engaged competitors already use.
What should be tracked to know if hashtags are working?
Engagement or conversions associated with specific hashtags over time, not just view counts.
Does using more hashtags always help?
No, overloading a post with excessive or irrelevant hashtags can look spammy and reduce engagement.
What do hashtags actually do?
They categorise content and help it reach an audience actively interested in that specific topic.
Further reading
Originally published in 2024. Updated September 2026 into a clearer, more practical guide to choosing hashtags that genuinely work for a specific business.
