HASHTAG

What is a hashtag?

Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by a hash symbol (#) that are used on social media to help categorize and identify posts by topic. Think of them as a way to tell platforms and users what your post is about, and easily find posts about the same topic. Hashtags are both searchable and clickable – meaning that by tapping or searching for a specific hashtag, users can find related content using the same hashtag.

For example, following the hashtag “#bookreview” means that in your feed, you will see more posts that include that hashtag or those keywords in the post, even if you aren’t following the account that posted it.

Why use hashtags?

A common misconception is that hashtags help your content reach more people. Though this can be true, it’s more accurate to say that hashtags help your content reach the right people. By including relevant hashtags, you can help your content be categorized properly by the social platforms and shown to people who don’t follow you (yet), but still might be interested in your content. 

While searching for hashtags isn’t quite as clear-cut as it used to be, users can tap hashtags in order to see related content that uses the same hashtags. Using hashtags helps connect related content to each other and makes it easier for users to find.

How to Use Hashtags

Hashtags are simple to use. In order to add it to your post or caption, simply add a hash symbol (#) before the word or phrase that you are wanting to tag. It’s recommended to keep hashtags at the very end of your post caption so they don’t get in the way.

Remember to keep your hashtag all one word, even if it’s a phrase (like #MortgageTips) –as adding a space will break up the hashtag.

There are two types of hashtags that you may want to use. The first is a topical hashtag. This is a hashtag that connects your content to a larger topic. Example: #CAMcamortgage shows that your content is about mortgages in California. #DdallasRrealEestate shows that your content is about real estate in Dallas.

The other way to use hashtags is to tie posts together under a theme, series, or event. Using a hashtag that is specific to you and your business allows for you and others to use that hashtag to see related content.

For example, many large brands or companies will use hashtags to make it easy to identify content from their brands, even if they are being shared from different branches or accounts. At SocialCoach, we use #VideoCatalyst to find videos that our users post so we can hype them up in the comments!

Most hashtags I see are lowercase, should I use all lowercase letters in my hashtags?

Honestly, this is totally up to you – it doesn’t affect how hashtags work in any way.

Most people tend to use lowercase because it’s easier to type, especially for short hashtags like #mortgage.

But for hashtags with multiple words, capital letters can make them easier to read and actually makes your hashtags more accessible for users with visual impairments who are using screen readers. (For example, #HomeBuyingTips is more clear than #homebuyingtips.)

So really, it’s up to you, but rest assured that it doesn’t affect your post performance either way.

Tips for using hashtags

Hashtags should be short and simple. The longer a hashtag is, the less likely it is to be used or searched by users.

Hashtags should also be highly relevant to your post. Using hashtags that don’t connect to what you are posting about can hurt your content’s performance and make it difficult to properly categorize your content.


Most social media platforms recommend using 3-5 hashtags in your posts. Too many hashtags can make your post look like spam, and the more hashtags you use, the harder it will be for the algorithm to accurately categorize your content.

If you want to find what hashtags work well for your niche, look at top performing creators and see which hashtags they use most commonly. You can also try searching keywords yourself to see what types of videos show up – sometimes, more niche hashtags can be good to target. Why? Because if there are less than 100 posts for the hashtag #ArizonaLoanOfficer and someone searches it, it’s much more likely they’ll see your content then if you’re only 10 of the 10 million posts under #RealEstate.

Good example of hashtag use:

If you are posting a video talking about how to improve credit to prepare to buy a home, you can use hashtags to target the types of audiences you want to reach. 

The best part about algorithms now is that they already use all the keywords from your video transcript and your written caption to help determine what the topic of your content is, so you can use hashtags to give the algorithm new information instead of repeating the same keywords. 

So this is where you can use a mix of hashtags, such as: #CreditTips #FirstTimeHomeBuyers #MortgageAdvice #ArizonaLoanOfficer

Bad example of hashtag use:

You post a video talking about home prices in San Francisco, but are wearing a Giants hat and decide to use the hashtag “#GoGiants”. 

Now the algorithm is confused – is this post about home prices or baseball? Odds are, it will show your content to both audiences, where you’ll likely get minimal engagement from the baseball fans. If half of the audience who sees your post doesn’t engage with it, the algorithm will decide that your post is low quality and will stop pushing it to more people.

How do I know which hashtags to use?

Hashtags can be a mixed bag, which is why it’s good to experiment with which hashtag combinations work best for you. Here is how we would advise starting out:

Find 2-3 accounts whose content you see all the time. Look at their top posts, and write down the hashtags they use. If there is one or two hashtags they use every time, try using that one for your content when it’s relevant.

Next, make sure you’re using a mix of broad and niche hashtags. Like we said earlier, if you’re always using #RealEstate, you’re constantly battling it out with millions of other posts. Now if the topic you’re posting about is super timely and relevant, like a trend or breaking news like a #FedRateCut, go ahead and get in on the action!

But in general, try to use a mix of hashtags: 1 broader category to help reach new people (like #RealEstate or #Mortgage), 1-2 keywords that are hyper-relevant to your content topic (such as #DownPaymentAssistance or #VALoans, and 1 smaller or more niche hashtag that can help build your brand or reach a niche target audiences find your content (like #BayAreaMortgageExpert)

Are hashtags still worth using?

Yes. Just because hashtags don’t do all of the things that they used to doesn’t mean they don’t have value.

Because they can help connect your content to other content topically related to yours, hashtags can be very valuable.

Used properly, they can also help your content get categorized and in front of the right audience faster, which can help your video perform better.