As algorithms that organize social media continue to improve and refine, traditional forms of tagging and sorting are becoming less meaningful for categorizing new content. To optimize their content, creators have to use more than hashtags to gain the algorithm’s attention and reach their target audience.
If you have #questions about the future of the hashtag, we have answers. Learn how to optimize your content with and without hashtags across the platforms that are moving away from them.
Why are Platforms Moving Away from Hashtags?
When hashtags were first introduced in 2007, they provided an easy way to categorize content. These digital labels allowed users to easily discover new content in categories that appealed to them by searching for specific hashtags. Trends such as #TBH and social movements like #MeToo established themselves through hashtagging. For years, hashtags were the best way for creators to make their content visible and navigable to the audiences that wanted to see it most.
As social media has evolved, so has hashtagging. The diminishing usefulness of hashtags comes from both the platforms and the users on them. Forbes reports that shorter attention spans and the desire for fast, short-form video content have reduced social media users’ willingness to read and engage with hashtags. Additionally, excessive hashtagging in posts may be perceived as overcluttered in the modern social media feed. In short, users aren’t seeking hashtags as part of their social media consumption, ceding control of their personal feeds to search algorithms that have turned to other methods for sorting and recommending content.
Search algorithms on social media platforms have remade the personal social media feed, suggesting content and advertisements based on a user’s previous activity. Because social media algorithms prioritize engagement, keywords, recency, and content type, among other factors, the hashtag has become less and less influential to the content you find on social media.
These effects are not contained to a single social media site or platform. Platforms that have seen a decrease in hashtagging include:
- TikTok
- X
Each of these platforms has taken steps to reduce the visibility of hashtags in content. In 2024, TikTok removed the ability to track views in specific hashtags. On X (formerly Twitter), the birthplace of the hashtag, hashtags have been banned from ad posts after platform-owner Elon Musk declared hashtags “an aesthetic nightmare.” For better or worse, hashtags have lost much of their power as drivers of visibility and discoverability on social media.
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How To Optimize Your Content With and Without Hashtags
While hashtags are changing in their function, they are not entirely dead on social media. For creators, marketers, and social media users at large, navigating the changing landscape of hashtags and post searchability is critical to finding and engaging a target audience. To optimize your content, incorporate hashtags into your broader discoverability strategy.
How to Make Your Social Media Content Discoverable Without Hashtags
What are some of the ways you can improve the visibility of your content without relying on hashtags? When it comes to optimizing your content, here are some strategies to consider:
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- Caption Keywords. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok encourage users to write captions for their content. Algorithms on platforms scan captions for keywords that indicate the content’s topic, then recommend it to users. To optimize your content, research keywords in your platform’s search bar and include the most relevant performers in your captions.
- Geotagging. Social media algorithms consider location when recommending content to users. Particularly for brands that depend on local customers, geotagging is a critical way to ensure your content reaches your audience.
- Platform Trends. Trends drive social media. When your content addresses a current trend, it makes it easier for social media algorithms to find and recommend it to users. Apply trending sounds to your TikToks or Reels, jump into a niche online community, or recreate a trending visual to optimize your content for discoverability.
- Alt Text. Alt text, short for “alternative text,” is a short phrase or sentence that describes the visual content on a website. In addition to being an important accessibility feature for visually impaired users, alt text is another source of information that social media algorithms use to evaluate content. Platforms like Instagram allow users to add alt text to their photos, making it a vital tool for optimizing social media content. Include important keywords in your alt text to attract the algorithm’s attention and increase visibility.
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How to Use Hashtags to Optimize Your Content
While not as prevalent as they used to be, hashtags can still be essential to optimizing your social media content for discoverability. Particularly on LinkedIn and X, hashtags remain a meaningful signal of interest to both the algorithm and users.
To use hashtags effectively in today’s social media landscape, users should:
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- Include top keywords. The algorithm prioritizes keywords. Just like with captions and alt text, your hashtags should include the most relevant keywords to your topic.
- Use established hashtags. Users who search with hashtags will typically use common hashtags related to their areas of interest. Rather than inventing unique hashtags for your content, use hashtags that already have an audience.
- Limit hashtagging to the most relevant tags. Don’t stuff your posts with hashtags to appeal to the algorithm. Respect your audience by using only the most topical hashtags on your posts.
Final Thoughts
It can be tough to keep up with the breakneck speed of social media. Hashtags are among the many things changing about social media use. By optimizing your content with these strategies, you will be better equipped to weather social media’s changes and find the audiences that seek it most. #GoodLuck!
This article was written by Anna Lawrence
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