Facebook hashtags aren't as commonly used as other social media platforms like X (previously Twitter) or Instagram, but they're still an important part of making sure people see your content.

In fact, they're arguably under-utilised on Facebook posts.

Like with any hashtag strategy, it's not just a case of throwing fifteen semi-relevant tags at the end of your post and watching your content fly. To truly boost your social media strategy, you need to know how Facebook hashtags work.

Hashtags are there because they're useful. Social media sites phase out things that users don't utilize – so that's proof, if you need it, that hashtags are worth thinking about.

You can use them to categorize your content, join trending conversations, and increase your organic reach. In many cases, that content would be really hard to find if it wasn't for hashtags.

You can use hashtags all over Facebook. You'll spot them on personal timelines, business pages, and groups. They make posts about all kinds of topics easier to find, which is great on a platform that contains a lot of content.

The point of using Facebook hashtags is to improve engagement and build brand awareness. Do it right and your organic reach can find far wider audiences. When used badly, hashtags can look a bit desperate.

This guide is here to help you understand the world of Facebook hashtags and how Meta applies them to all Facebook content.

We'll look at how to find trending Facebook hashtags and use them to make your posts more visible. We'll also flag some common mistakes that people tend to make with hashtags – including the top error: overuse!

In this guide:

What are Facebook hashtags all about?

Why we should all use hashtags on Facebook

Best practices for using Facebook hashtags

How to find the best hashtags for Facebook

Common mistakes when using Facebook hashtags

How Facebook's algorithm treats hashtags in 2024

Frequently asked questions

What are Facebook hashtags all about?

Facebook hashtags work the same as hashtags on X or Instagram. They help users find and join conversations about specific topics, which is a really useful tool.

For example, if you want to see more content about cooking, you could search or follow the hashtag #cookinghacks.

Click on that hashtag and you'll find some easy recipes, a few kitchen prep shortcuts, and some ingenius ways to use cookware and equipment.

In short, hashtags make useful content about a certain topic easier to find.

You might not know this but the concept of using the "#" symbol to create topics on social media was invented by a tech guy named Chris Messina back in 2007.

Hashtags turn into clickable links when posted. That's why they're so useful. When you click one, you’ll see a list of other posts that include the same hashtag.

It's pretty simple to search for a hashtag on Facebook. All you do is type it into the search bar. If you do that with a popular hashtag, loads of posts on the same topic will appear.

How Facebook hashtags differ from other platforms

If you look at the timeline of the history of hashtags, Facebook was actually kind of late to the game.

By the time Facebook made hashtags clickable in 2013, people on X and Instagram had been using them (and clicking on them) for years.

These days, hashtags have pretty much the same functionality across all social networks. Users know what they do and what to expect when clicking on them.

Why we should all use hashtags on Facebook

Facebook hashtags are great for boosting visibility and tapping into an interested audience.

In a Facebook post, a few strategically placed hashtags can make your post more visible and allow you to join trending conversations.

Increasing visibility and reach

Making sure that people see your latest Facebook post is not as easy as it used to be.

In the old days, before the algorithm came along, Facebook posts were simply ordered by when they were posted. But those days are long gone.

These days, your posts might not even appear in the feeds of people who follow you.

To get around that, it's important to use strategies that expand your post’s overall visibility.

Using relevant hashtags is important here, as it makes your content searchable. This can lead to more eyes on your posts and potentially grow your audience.

Boosting engagement with targeted hashtags

Targeted hashtags can help you reach users who are more likely to engage with your content.

For example, a sportswear brand based in New York could use the terms #NYCactivewear and #FitnessFashion to find social media users who could become real customers.

By using specific hashtags, you're connecting with people who are actively looking for topics related to your posts.

You can also create branded hashtags to group content for campaigns or events. The trick is to make them unique!

Hashtags are also great for staying on top of trending topics.

It's also a good idea to follow some industry-specific hashtags to keep up with the latest news and conversations in your field.

You can use tools to find trending hashtags related to your business and other relevant hashtags. That should give you a few ideas for creating timely content that resonates with your target audience.

Best practices for using Facebook hashtags

Using hashtags on Facebook can help you reach a wider audience – but only if you know how to use them properly.

Here are a few key strategies to make the most of hashtags in your posts.

1. Choose relevant hashtags for your audience

Our biggest piece of advice is to use hashtags that align with your content and match your target audience's interests.

To get an idea of popular Facebook hashtags, you could start typing a basic hashtag into the search bar and look through the autocomplete options for something more specific (for example, #recipe leads to #recipeoftheday, which currently has 13 million posts and 7,000 followers).

Another option is to use a Facebook hashtag generator to find some trending Facebook hashtags.

The trick is to use a mix of broad and niche tags to maximize reach. A broad hashtag is a general term that will have lots of followers (let's say #recipeoftheday) while a niche tag can lead you to a highly targeted audience through pinpointed searches (perhaps your recipe is a #onepotsoup).

In general, it's best to focus on specific terms related to your products, services, or campaign themes. Generic terms tend to be flooded with content, making it hard to rise to the top. That's why something as general as #recipe can be a bit useless.

2. Stick to an ideal number of hashtags

The best number of hashtags tends to change based on the algorithm, but as a general rule we'd aim for 2-3 hashtags per post. You can use more than that, but just keep in mind that it can look a bit spammy and reduce engagement.

If you can get a trending hashtag in there (along with one or two that are more specific to your niche), you've got a good chance of reaching a few different audiences.

3. Create branded hashtags for your campaigns

It's always a good idea to develop unique hashtags for your marketing campaigns. These should be short, memorable, and clearly tied to your brand or promotion.

Before you put it in a post, check that your chosen hashtag isn't already in use for something else. It seems like a simple step, but it's easily forgotten!

The great thing about branded hashtags is that followers can use them, too. This creates a collection of user-generated content around your campaign, which is brilliant for raising brand awareness.

How to find the best hashtags for Facebook

Hashtags are great for expanding your Facebook reach, but only if you're using ones that people are actively clicking or following.

Here's how to find the hashtags that Facebook users are actually using and looking up.

Finding trending hashtags on Facebook is a bit trickier than X, where tending topics are listed on the search page. On Facebook, you're a bit more in the dark.

You can also use a Facebook hashtag generator to find relevant tags for your niche. These tools save time by suggesting tailored hashtags based on your post content, enhancing post visibility, and optimizing user engagement. The problem is, they don't know about every hashtag – so they tend to make quite general suggestions.

To find more recent trending hashtags, look at posts from influencers in your field. What hashtags are they using? This can give you ideas for tags that resonate with your target audience.

Don’t forget to search for industry-specific hashtags. These often have engaged communities around them.

Monitoring competitors' hashtag strategies

You can also get ideas for your own hashtag strategy by keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing.

For example, you might notice that some of their hashtags are getting more engagement than others.

Social listening tools can also track how often specific hashtags are used. This helps you gauge their popularity and effectiveness.

Obviously, the trick here is to take inspiration and do your own thing with it, rather than copying.

Using hashtag analytics to refine your strategy

If you really want to understand how Facebook hashtags work, you'll need to look to analytics.

Depending on the level of information you need, you can use either Facebook Insights or third-party analytics tools to track how the hashtags on your Facebook page are performing.

You want to look out for metrics like reach, engagement, and click-through rates on posts with different hashtags.

You'll probably find there are some hashtags that make little difference – maybe no one is searching for those or clicking on them.

Ditch those and look instead at the hashtags on posts that lead to a bit of conversation with your followers. The more comments and likes, the better.

Common mistakes when using Facebook hashtags

Learning how to incorporate hashtags on Facebook can get you more visibility, but there are some pitfalls to watch out for. Let's look at three key mistakes you'll want to avoid to make the most of your hashtag strategy.

1. Using too many hashtags in a single post

Overloading your posts with hashtags can look a bit desperate and spammy. This can turn off your audience and decrease engagement.

Stick to 1-3 relevant hashtags per post. This keeps your content focused and easy to read (especially if you're writing them in your sentences, rather than grouping them together at the end of a post).

2. Using irrelevant or banned hashtags

Sometimes it can be tempting to use hashtags that don't exactly match your content just because they're trending or popular. Don't do it!

Why? Well, first of all, it's confusing. But you also have to be careful with trending hashtags. It's important to understand their context before jumping on the bandwagon. A misused hashtag can lead to embarrassing mistakes or negative publicity.

Some hashtags have been 'banned', and you'll need to avoid those too. So-called 'banned hashtags' have basically been used so much by spambots that any other post including them is automatically ignored by the algorithm. Using lots of banned hashtags can lead to a 'shadowban'. That's when none of your posts are picked up by the algorithm. To make sure yours are ok, you can use a banned hashtag checker (via Google).

3. Not engaging with your audience through hashtags

Hashtags aren't just for visibility - they're also for interaction.

Hopefully you'll soon find that more people are engaging with your content. Make sure you respond to comments and questions.

Think of yourself as being in a conversation – it's important to listen, and hold up your side.

How Facebook's algorithm treats hashtags in 2024

The Facebook algorithm has evolved in its approach to hashtags. The platform now uses them to categorize content and connect users with relevant topics.

Do hashtags help or hurt your ranking?

Generally, hashtags are thought to help your Facebook ranking.

The idea is that when you use relevant hashtags, you tap into Facebook's algorithmic reach potential. Your posts will be seen by more people searching or clicking on a hashtag, and they'll be more likely to engage with your content.

The algorithm promotes posts with higher engagement rates, making for a nice positive feedback loop.

But don't overdo it. A single well-chosen hashtag is better than a string of random ones. The latter might hurt your ranking if Facebook suspects your posts are spam.

The impact of hashtags on Facebook ads

Hashtags work differently in Facebook ads compared to organic posts. In ads, they don't directly affect your ad's performance or targeting.

Facebook's ad algorithm focuses more on your chosen audience, bidding strategy, and ad quality.

But hashtags in ads can still be useful. They make your ad copy more scannable and highlight key themes.

This can improve your ad's relevance score, which affects its performance and cost.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some key tips and insights to help you make the most of hashtags on Facebook.

This is a bit of a tricky one, because there's no page on Facebook where trending hashtags are listed.

Instead, you'll just need to browse Reels in your niche, and manually check the captions for hashtags.

This kind of hashtag research is time consuming, but it's worth doing. It'll give you an idea of the real hashtags that people are using, whereas a Facebook hashtag generator will come up with suggestions that are more generic.

What are some tips for creating effective Facebook hashtags for your brand?

The best strategy here is to keep it short and memorable.

Make sure it's easy to spell and pronounce. Do a quick search just to check that it's not already in use for something else.

Tie it to your brand values or campaign message. You'll need to use it a lot if you want to see it take off, and don't forget to encourage your followers to use it too.

How often do the trendiest Facebook hashtags change, and how can you stay updated?

Trending Facebook hashtags change all the time!

That's why you can't really trust a Google result about the '100 most popular hashtags on Facebook'. Instead, you'll need to login to Facebook and see what people are actually posting.

Of course, plenty of trending hashtags started life on a different platform – and it's often easier to check what's trending on X or Instagram.