rewrite this title in spanish 13 top social listening tools, plus tips for better insights
rewrite Social listening tools help marketers track real-time conversations about their brand, audience, and competitors. What once took focus groups and surveys can now be done with a few clicks, revealing the insights that matter most about your brand reputation, audience, and competitors. In this post, we review 13 of the best social media listening tools to help you choose the right one for your needs. Bonus!!! Discover the best way to gather insights and intel from your audience, competitors, industry, and favorite aspirational brands in our complete guide to advanced social listening. What are social listening tools? Social listening tools are platforms that track conversations about your brand, competitors, or industry across social media, blogs, forums, and the web. They help marketers analyze sentiment, identify trends, and uncover insights to improve content, campaigns, and customer experience. These tools search across multiple social platforms and compile all relevant social data in one location so you can get the full picture of what people are saying in just one screen. The main reasons for using social listening tools are to monitor brand health and campaign performance, conduct competitive analysis, and gain valuable audience insights. Also, these tools play an important role in crisis management and prevention. Paige Schmidt Social Engagement Coordinator at Hootsuite What is social listening? Social listening is the practice of using social tools to monitor what people are saying about your brand online. It’s also an important form of competitor research. Social listening works by tracking mentions of your brand (both tagged and untagged) and your competitors online, along with relevant keywords and hashtags. You can then access all of this information in one place to get actionable insights into the social media conversations around your industry and brand. One of the greatest benefits is understanding what people are saying and thinking in real-time. Social media listening tools collect that data so you always have it handy. Psst: Want to dive deeper into this subject? We’ve got a whole blog post on what social listening is and why it matters so much for brands. The top social listening tools, side by side We’ve compared the top 13 tools — from free options to enterprise platforms — so you can quickly evaluate features like sentiment analysis, real-time alerts, and historical data access. ToolPlatforms CoveredSentiment AnalysisReal-Time AlertsHistorical DataPricing HootsuiteAll major platforms + Bluesky✅ Enhanced, with Quick Search✅✅ 7-day Quick Search + Brandwatch integrationFrom $99/month Talkwalker30+ social + 150M sites✅ AI-powered, multilingual✅✅ Up to 2 yearsContact for quote Brandwatch100M+ sites, 1.7T conversations✅ NLP + visual & geo analysis✅✅ From 2010Contact for quote Sprout SocialMajor platforms✅ Word clouds + AI Assist✅✅ Up to 7 days (X); varies by platformFrom $199/user/month MeltwaterSocial, news, forums, TV, podcasts✅ Visual + emotion recognition✅✅ 15-month archiveContact for quote Sprinklr30+ social + 1B websites✅ GenAI-powered sentiment✅ Smart Alerts✅ Extensive archiveContact for quote Brand24Major social + blogs/news/forums✅ Real-time + emotion tracking✅❌ ~1-year storageFrom $119/month BuzzSumoMedia + web (limited social)❌ (No advanced sentiment)✅ (via alerts)✅ 5-year content archiveFrom $159/month KeyholeSocial + hashtags, mentions, influencers✅ Sentiment over time✅✅ X back to 2015 (on request); others more limitedContact for demo/pricing LaterInstagram only✅ For IG only✅ IG alerts❌ Platform-limitedEnterprise add-on only Google AlertsWeb only❌✅ Email alerts❌ No historical archiveFree Social MentionBlogs, news, limited social✅ Basic sentiment❌❌Free AnswerThePublicGoogle/TikTok/YT queries❌❌❌Free (3 searches/day) How to choose the best social listening tool Choosing the best social listening tool depends on your goals. If you’re looking for an affordable, easy-to-use option that also integrates with publishing and analytics, Hootsuite is a smart choice. Enterprise users needing advanced sentiment models or massive historical data may lean toward Brandwatch or Talkwalker. 1. Your business size and goals Are you a solo marketer looking to track mentions, or a large brand managing multiple campaigns and regions? Tools like Hootsuite are ideal for growing teams that want flexibility, while platforms like Sprinklr or Brandwatch may be better suited for global enterprise needs. 2. The platforms you need to monitor Some tools (like Later) specialize in one channel, while others offer broad coverage across social, forums, blogs, and news. Make sure your tool supports the networks where your audience actually engages. 3. Real-time vs. historical insights If you’re focused on trend tracking and crisis prevention, look for real-time alerts and recent sentiment data. For deep research or long-term reporting, tools with access to years of historical data (like Brandwatch or Talkwalker) may be a better fit. 4. Ease of use and technical skill Some tools require Boolean logic or complex dashboard setup. Others — like Hootsuite — are built for marketers who want fast, actionable insights without a steep learning curve. 5. Your budget Free tools can be a great way to start, but they usually come with limitations in scope, sentiment tracking, or data volume. Platforms like Hootsuite or Brand24 offer a good balance of features and affordability, while high-end platforms provide deeper customization and data access at a higher cost. TL;DR: If you want fast insights, easy setup, and room to grow, Hootsuite gives you a solid foundation and integrates with advanced tools like Brandwatch and Talkwalker if you need to scale later. Best all-in-one social listening tools 1. Hootsuite Hootsuite actually offers a couple of different social listening features depending on the size of your brand and how much social data you need to analyze. That’s on top of comprehensive social media management tools, including scheduling to all major social networks, easy social media analytics, and audience engagement tools. Listening Every Hootsuite plan includes everything you need to get started with social listening. Use Quick Search to discover trending hashtags, brands, and events anywhere in the world, or dive deeper for personalized insights on your brand. You can track mentions of your brand, your top competitors, your products — up to two keywords tracking anything at all over the last seven days. Plus, you can use Quick Search to analyze things like: Key metrics: Are more people talking about you this week? What’s the vibe of their posts? Hootsuite Listening doesn’t just track what people are saying — it uses enhanced sentiment analysis to tell you how they really feel. Top themes: How are people talking about you? What are the most popular positive and negative posts about? Which other conversations are you showing up in? Results: Ready to get into specifics? The results tab will show you a selection of popular posts related to your search terms — you can filter by sentiment, channel, and more. PS: Hootsuite Listening now integrates with Bluesky! This means that you can easily analyze insights from the hottest emerging platform straight from your Hootsuite dashboard. Pricing: Starting at $99/month. Best for: Hootsuite is ideal for teams that want integrated social media management and listening in one intuitive dashboard. It offers user-friendly tools and upgrade paths to advanced insights tools like Talkwalker. #1 Easy Social Listening Brand mentions, trending topics, and sentiment at your fingertips. Enhance your social strategy with the insights that matter. Start free 30-day trial Hootsuite Advanced Analytics Hootsuite Advanced Analytics is primarily a tool for tracking the ROI of your social marketing strategy and the business impact of your social media posts. However, it also contains a competitive analysis component, which earns it a spot on our list of social media listening tools. Hootsuite Advanced Analytics lets you analyze your competitors’ audience and content strategy on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Key social data sources include audience stats, engagement, and hashtag use. Pricing: Advanced Analytics is available as an add-on to Hootsuite Enterprise plans. Pricing is available on request. 2. Talkwalker by Hootsuite Talkwalker’s social listening data library covers over 30 social media platforms (including emerging platforms like Bluesky) and over 150 million websites across 239 countries and regions. With more than 50 advanced filters, you can segment your social media channels and identify the right audience to monitor. This powerful social listening tool allows you to understand the full impact of your online conversations by measuring engagement volume, reach, sentiment, and more. It incorporates Blue Silk GPT for AI analysis. Pricing: Pricing is available upon request. Best for: Talkwalker is best suited for global brands that need multilingual sentiment analysis, trend tracking, and visual content recognition across massive data sets. Popular social listening tools 3. Brandwatch Brandwatch uses a library of 1.7 trillion historical conversations from 2010 to help brands track industry trends online. More than 501 million new conversations are added every day. Brandwatch provides access to conversations from more than 100 million sites and can integrate your own customer data. You can track key social listening metrics like brand awareness, social sentiment, and social share of voice. For even easier tracking of your social listening queries, you can integrate Brandwatch into your Hootsuite dashboard. Pricing: Pricing for this enterprise-level social listening tool is available upon request. Best for: Brandwatch is a top-tier choice for enterprise teams focused on deep research and historical analysis, but with a steeper learning curve and heavier lift for setup and query building. 4. Brand24 Brand24 is an AI-powered social listening tool that covers the major social platforms as well as blogs, news sites, and other online sources. It lets you track trends in reach and brand awareness, and set up alerts for critical notifications. You can also gain valuable insights into social sentiment. Plus, the influence score lets you identify top influencers and creators in your niche. Create reports you can easily share across your team and with company leaders. Pricing: Starting at $119/month after a 14-day free trial. Best for: Brand24 is great for small businesses seeking fast, affordable social listening, offering strong basics but limited historical depth and scalability. 5. Sprout Social Sprout Social helps you track conversations about your brand, understand your audience demographics, and identify influencers in your niche. Hashtag and mention monitoring, along with sentiment analysis, are baked into the solution. However, unlocking more detailed social listening is only available via an add-on. Sprout Social’s Listening Topics automatically retrieve historical data (up to 7 days on X), with coverage varying by platform. See how Sprout Social compares to Hootsuite. Pricing: Starting at $199/user/month after a 30-day free trial. Best for: Sprout Social is a solid fit for mid-sized teams that prioritize user experience and lightweight listening, though it may lack the depth needed for advanced use cases. 6. Buzzsumo Buzzsumo is a tool that helps brands monitor major media mentions. They can set up alerts for mentions of their own brand or industry trends to stay aware of upcoming trending topics and changes. Buzzsumo has an archive of over 8 billion articles from the past five years to analyze and search for your queries. You can monitor brand mentions and track alerts about your competing brands, too. Pricing: Starting at $159/month. Best for: Buzzsumo is useful for monitoring media mentions and content trends, though it lacks true social listening capabilities like sentiment or influencer tracking. 7. Keyhole Keyhole offers a social listening tool that tracks keywords, mentions, and hashtags across multiple platforms. It graphs trends over time along with social share of voice. Keyhole even tracks the sentiment in every mention and changes over time. Additionally, the tool helps identify key influencers in your niche and compares the performance of the various influencers you identify. Keyhole offers historical data for X dating back to 2015 (available on request), while other platforms have more limited data. Pricing: Pricing is available after booking a demo. Best for: Keyhole is a helpful tool for tracking campaigns, hashtags, and influencers. It’s best for short-term or channel-specific insights rather than ongoing strategy. 8. Later Later is another social media management tool that offers a number of features — social listening included. Later’s social listening and monitoring tools showcase data like mentions, top posts, sentiment, and more, but they’re only available for Instagram. If you rely heavily on Instagram, this could be a good tool for you, but you might want to look elsewhere if you need data from additional platforms. Pricing: Social listening is available as an add-on to Enterprise accounts. Pricing is available upon request. Best for: Later offers a simple add-on for Instagram listening. It’s effective for single-platform use, but not a full listening solution. 9. Meltwater Meltwater allows unlimited searches over a rolling 15-month archive so you can identify trends and yearly cycles. Beyond social and web sources, Meltwater data includes TV, radio, podcasts, and other media sources. Within Meltwater, you can build custom dashboards, analyze sentiment, and use image recognition tools. Pricing: Pricing is available on request. Best for: Meltwater is well-suited for PR and comms teams managing both news and social media, though its breadth may overwhelm smaller teams or single-channel users. 10. Sprinklr Sprinklr offers a few different types of tools, from social media management to analytics and insights. Its social listening capabilities are a part of its “Insights” suite and give users access to data from more than 30 social and digital channels. Monitor billions of customer conversations, detect reputation crises, create reports, and compare your performance to your competitors. Pricing: Pricing is available upon request. Best for: Sprinklr is built for enterprises that need massive scale, real-time crisis detection, and AI insights. Still, its complexity and price point may be overkill for most marketers. Free social listening tools If you’re not ready to invest in a paid solution, there are free social listening tools that offer basic features like brand monitoring and keyword alerts. These tools are ideal for startups or solopreneurs getting started with brand monitoring online. The best free social listening tools include: Google Alerts – monitors web mentions and sends email summaries. Social Mention – tracks basic sentiment and brand mentions across blogs and forums. AnswerThePublic – surfaces trending search queries to inform your content strategy. 11. Google Alerts Google Alerts is a free and easy-to-use tool for setting email alerts for certain keywords. If Google scans a news article or social media post and sees your keyword, you’ll receive an email notification with a link. This is a great way to keep an eye on brand and industry updates, ensuring you’re alerted immediately. Best for: A lightweight, no-cost way to monitor mentions on the web, but far too limited for serious brand or competitor analysis. 12. Social Mention Social Mention, a tool from Brand Mentions, is a free social media monitoring tool that allows you to keep an eye on brand and competitor mentions online. Discover conversations around your brand and your product or service so you can gauge sentiment, find customer pain points, and more. Brand Mentions has a premium service starting at $79/month with a free trial, but Social Mention itself is a free tool. Best for: A free tool that’s easy to try, but minimal in depth, coverage, or reliability compared to modern platforms. 13. AnswerThePublic AnswerThePublic is a free tool from digital marketing expert Neil Patel that lets users search for different queries across platforms like Google, YouTube, TikTok, and more. This tool is perfect for creating content ideas that perfectly answer your target audience’s questions. While you can sign up for a premium account for more search queries starting at $11/month, users also get three search queries a day, completely free. Interested users can also pay a one-time lifetime fee of $119 to get permanent access to the tool without a subscription. Best for: This tool is great for surfacing content and search ideas, but not a listening tool in the traditional sense. Why social listening matters (with real results) Social listening isn’t just about tracking mentions: it’s about turning social data into real business outcomes. Whether you’re managing brand reputation, creating content, or empowering employees, the right listening tools help you make faster, smarter decisions. Here’s how three Hootsuite customers are putting social listening into action: Crisis prevention and reputation management During a major rebrand following a merger, Corewell Health used Hootsuite Listening and Advanced Analytics to monitor how people were responding across 21 hospitals and hundreds of accounts. The team identified spikes in negative sentiment and quickly adjusted their messaging and media outreach. Results: 50% reduction in negative sentiment 2.5x the industry average engagement rate 3M+ impressions through employee advocacy using Hootsuite Amplify Audience insights One NBA team used Hootsuite with Talkwalker to analyze fan sentiment and engagement patterns during the off-season. They discovered that fans preferred authentic, behind-the-scenes content over promotional posts and reshaped their strategy accordingly. Results: 352% increase in social video views 46% increase in impressions A new full-time content role approved to expand the strategy Share of voice and employer brand growth Colliers combined Hootsuite’s publishing and listening tools with Amplify to expand their reach and measure the impact of employee advocacy. By tracking sentiment, engagement, and share of voice, they improved both brand visibility and internal engagement. Results: 229% increase in social media impressions 9.5M people reached in Canada through organic social Recognized as Canada’s #1 commercial real estate website, with social traffic playing a key role 6 tips for using social listening tools Want to know how you can make the most of these social listening tools? These six tips can help you gather great consumer insights for your brand. 1. Get in early on trends When you monitor specific keywords in your industry, you’ll be one of the first to know about emerging trends. For example, let’s say you run a small business selling candles and monitor keywords about “scents.” You’ll be able to quickly identify patterns among scents mentioned online, discover popular new ideas for upcoming products or figure out scents that people don’t like that you’d want to avoid. 2. Keep an eye on competitors Tracking mentions of your competitors gives you valuable insights into their social media presence, industry trends, and customer sentiment. And monitoring your competitors’ brand names gives you insights into information like: Competitor media mentions Competitor announcements Competitor online performance Sentiment around your competitors New product/service/feature launches By keeping an eye on your competition, you can easily keep up with what they’re doing and even improve on it. 3. Find opportunities for engagement Monitoring your brand mentions helps you find authentic opportunities for social media engagement. Make sure you respond to everyone who mentions your brand, whether you thank them or offer a useful suggestion. You can also keep an eye on the conversation to understand the social communities where people talk about your brand. 4. Measure brand sentiment Keeping an eye on customer feedback and sentiment helps you understand how people feel about your brand, your product/service, and your industry without speaking to them directly. But more than just measuring sentiment, you want to do something about the insights you’re getting. If the conversation about your brand turns towards negative sentiment, you can take action before things reach crisis level and put your crisis management plan into effect. If something is going unusually well, you can throw some budget into a dedicated marketing campaign to keep riding that wave. 5. Identify pain points See what customers are complaining about online about your industry or product/service. Can you release a new product or feature to resolve some of those pain points? Keeping your finger on the pulse of customer conversations can help you find even more opportunities for your business, increasing interest, sales, and a positive customer experience. 6. Get familiar with the lingo Social listening platforms often use technical terms that aren’t always intuitive, especially when it comes to setting up queries or interpreting results. Here’s a quick glossary to help you navigate the most common features and metrics. Sentiment analysis
The process of determining whether social media mentions are positive, negative, or neutral, helping brands understand public perception in real time. Share of Voice (SOV)
A metric that shows how often your brand is mentioned online compared to your competitors, typically expressed as a percentage of total mentions. Trend detection
A feature that spots emerging topics, hashtags, or phrases based on changes in volume over time — useful for jumping on viral moments or identifying early patterns. Boolean search
A way to create complex listening queries using operators like AND, OR, and NOT. Allows you to refine searches to include or exclude specific words or phrases. Listening topic
A group of related keywords, hashtags, or brand mentions that a tool monitors — often customizable so you can focus on campaigns, competitors, or products. Real-time alerts
Notifications triggered by sudden spikes in brand mentions, negative sentiment, or keyword activity — useful for identifying crises or high-impact conversations as they happen. The more familiar you are with these terms, the easier it’ll be to customize your social listening strategy (no steep learning curve required). Frequently asked questions about social listening tools What are the best social listening tools?
The best social listening tools include Hootsuite, Talkwalker, Brandwatch, Sprout Social, and Meltwater. Each offers unique strengths, from real-time alerts to advanced sentiment analysis. The right choice depends on your goals, team size, and budget. Is there a free tool for social listening?
Yes. Free tools like Google Alerts, Social Mention, and AnswerThePublic offer basic social listening features. They’re useful for simple brand monitoring or content research, but lack the advanced insights and automation available in paid platforms. How do social listening tools work?
Social listening tools track conversations about your brand, competitors, or industry across social media and the web. They analyze mentions, hashtags, and sentiment to uncover trends, measure brand perception, and inform marketing decisions. Which social listening tool is the easiest to use?
Hootsuite is one of the easiest social listening tools to use, especially for marketers already managing social posts. It offers a simple dashboard, built-in sentiment analysis, and optional upgrades for deeper insights. Hootsuite makes it easy to monitor social media conversations and keywords, so you can focus on taking action on the insights available. Try it free today. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish #752: The Art & Science of Sales Page Copy: Tips From Pro Copywriters – Amy Porterfield
rewrite Listen on… Simple strategies for writing irresistible copy and selling more of your product instantly.
My friend, I know your goal as an online business owner is to attract as many people as you can to your life-changing product. And believe me, you can’t do that without some killer copywriting skills – or the text and words that sell your product and inspire action. Having an incredible offer is fantastic, but selling it can be tricky if your audience isn’t drawn to your sales page. I’ve successfully launched Digital Course Academy so many times, but I continue to tweak my copy frameworks to get even better results than before! So, even if your product has been in the market for years, there’s always room for adjustments to align with industry trends or the evolving needs of your audience. Today, I’m sharing some super easy strategies I’ve tried and tested to boost your messaging game and talk to your audience on a human level – without any of that fancy language and jargon no one understands. Whether you’re writing emails, social media posts, or copy for your website and sales page, these tips will help you create content that people will love! In this episode, I share: (4:47) How to clearly define the problem your offer solves (9:40) Simple tips for writing personalized, intimate, and effective sales copy
(12:36) A real life example of how to use a statistic in your messaging (16:39) The two frameworks my team uses to write copy in the right place at the right time (21:16) Why you should be testing and updating sales copy in real-time during launches
(29:51) Tips and strategies for writing for social media and email Listen in and get ready to sell your product instantly with these impactful copywriting tips. Soon enough, you’ll be a pro at writing content that your audience can’t resist!
Click here to listen!
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rewrite this title in spanish How the TikTok algorithm ranks content in 2025 + tips for visibility
rewrite TL;DR Instead of chasing broad, unpredictable viral hits, prioritize content that resonates deeply within your niche community on TikTok. The algorithm favors content that aligns with specific groups (e.g., #BookTok, #SportsOnTikTok), amplifying visibility in these engaged audiences. The TikTok algorithm heavily weighs watch time, especially in the initial moments. Starting videos with a strong hook (a question, a preview of the payoff, or striking visuals) can boost retention and signal quality content worth recommending. The algorithm relies on video information like captions, hashtags, and sounds to categorize and recommend content. Optimizing for search with relevant keywords (via TikTok Creative Center) and using trending sounds can significantly increase your discoverability. Hey, can you just post a viral TikTok real quick? It’s a request too many social marketers have had to face. Fortunately, attitudes toward virality are shifting. Hoostsuite’s Social Trends 2025 Report identified micro-virality as an important trend in which brands focus on gaining visibility and traction within their core community. This aligns well with the TikTok algorithm, which is all about building communities of people clustered around shared interests and passions. When you understand both the TikTok algorithm and your own audience, you’re well set up to create content that resonates, gains traction, and leads to real business results. What is the TikTok algorithm? The TikTok algorithm is a proprietary ranking system that determines which TikTok videos to recommend to each user. No two TikTok users will see the same combination of TikTok videos on their For You Page—this feed is unique and highly personalized. In fact, the type of content you see on your FYP will evolve over time, as the algorithm catches on to your changes in your interests and viewing preferences. Here’s how TikTok itself defines the For You feed algorithm: “A stream of videos curated to your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you love … powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user.” How does the TikTok algorithm work in 2025? The main factors that influence the TikTok algorithm are user interactions, video information, and device and account settings. 1. User interactions Every action you take on TikTok provides the app with information about what kind of content you’re most interested in. Here are some of the user interactions that will impact what shows up on your For You feed: Videos you’ve liked or shared on the app Videos you’ve added to your favorites Videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested” Videos you’ve reported as inappropriate Interests you’ve expressed by interacting with organic content and ads Which accounts you follow Comments you’ve posted Creators or sounds you’ve chosen to hide How long you spend watching a video Content you create on your own account The positive signals tell the algorithm to serve more similar content, while the negative ones will prevent similar content from showing up in your feed. 2. Video information The TikTok algorithm also collects information about the videos you seek out through search and the overall types of videos you watch in general. Video information signals include: Captions Sounds Hashtags Effects Trending topics Video length 3. Device and account settings This doesn’t have as much influence as the user interaction and video information signals, but device and account settings still factor in. These are the settings TikTok uses to optimize performance. But because they’re based on one-time settings choices rather than active engagements, TikTok doesn’t deem them to be quite as relevant. Some of the device and account settings included in the TikTok algorithm are: Language preference Country setting (you may be more likely to see content from people in your own country, or videos that are particularly popular in your country) Device type Categories of interest you selected in your new user preferences If you’re not happy with the recommendations you’re getting, it’s possible to reset your own personal algorithm. Head to Settings and privacy, tap Content Preferences, then Refresh your For You feed. You’ll start with a fresh slate of popular new content. You can also train your algorithm with the Not interested feature. Press and hold a post or tap Share, then tap Not interested. You can also set up filter lists to remove content containing specific words and hashtags. 9 tips for getting picked up by the TikTok algorithm 1. Find your community Connecting with existing communities is important on every social network. But the way TikTok’s algorithm works, it’s even more important to engage with specific subcultures on this social media app than on, say, Facebook. On other platforms, people spend most of their time engaging with people they already know or accounts they already follow. On TikTok, though, users are engaging with content primarily through the For You feed – a feed full of fresh content from entertaining strangers. But those strangers can quickly gel into a community. In fact, TikTok users are four times more likely to say that TikTok is the best platform for being part of a community. And 72% of women on TikTok say it’s easy for new communities to connect and bond over shared life experiences on the platform. Here’s how TikTok itself describes its community culture: “Communities shape their own lingo, aesthetics, and styles that are distinctly unique to the platform, yet they remain inclusive, inviting everyone—brands included—to join in, explore, and co-create.” Tap into an existing community and you’ll likely find your content amplified to that audience. Fortunately, TikTok subcultures tend to congregate around hashtags Some of the fastest growing communities on TikTok include: #BookTok: This community of book lovers saw more than 1.2 million posts in the first ten months of 2024. Note that the more niche #Romantasy community saw a 300% increase in posts in 2024. #SportsOnTikTok: This hashtag saw a 350% increase in posts in 2024. Meanwhile, #WomenInSports saw a more than 2400% increase! #Science and #STEMTok: TikTok’s dedicated STEM feed, which became available to all users by default late in 2024, partly explains the 45% increase in posts to the #Science hashtag in 2024. Understanding your most valuable subculture can also help you plan your content creation that connects authentically with TikTokers, creating greater credibility, brand loyalty, and even more exposure. TikTok users want brands to take this approach: 76% say they like it when brands are a part of special interest groups on the platform. TikTok’s Audience Insights can help you find your subculture by identifying the interests and hashtags most relevant to your target audience. You can even find the “Bottom 10” interests for your audience so you can avoid cheating content in those categories. To access Audience Insights, open TikTok Ads Manager and hover over Analytics, then click Audience Insights. Note that you don’t have to be a TikTok advertiser to use this tool. To go more in-depth, check out our full guide to audience research. 2. Maximize the first moments TikTok moves fast. This is not the platform to add a wordy intro before you dive into the meat of your video. The hook needs to inspire viewers to stop scrolling. Remember: Watch time tells the TikTok algorithm that this is content worth sharing with other viewers. The first three seconds are critical. TikTok recommends starting off with a question that your video will answer, setting a timer or including the time in your title, or flashing ahead to a quick preview of the end result before walking viewers through a process. This video from the Met Museum walks users through getting to the Cloisters. But before diving into the step-by-step navigation, it leads with some gorgeous shots of the Cloisters themselves. Who wouldn’t want to go … and therefore watch the video to find out how to get there? 3. Optimize for search As important as hashtags are for your TikTok strategy, don’t forget about the importance of keywords. TikTok SEO is critical to teach the algorithm just what your content is about… and to allow interested TikTokers to find it, of course. Destination Madison created a TikTok series called Madison’s Iconic Eats, playing off pop-culture themes like set-jetting: “Social search and TikTok SEO is a huge focus for us,” says Sarah Warner, PR & communications manager at Destination Madison. “We want to anticipate what people are looking for and make sure that when they’re looking, they find us first. Doing so gives our content longevity and helps new people find us every day, even when we aren’t posting.” You could search for trending keywords that match with your content. Or, like Destination Madison, you could use trending topics and keywords to inspire your content. TikTok captions can be a maximum length of 4,000 characters, which means you’ve got plenty of room to work with. Start looking for trending keywords by region and industry in the TikTok Creative Center. (And if you’re stumped for what to write, try our social media caption generator.) Keep in mind that your caption is not the only place to include keywords. TikTok can also pick them up from your voiceover or text overlay. 4. Create high-quality content specifically for TikTok This should be an obvious one, right? Low-quality content is not going to find its way to the For You feed. But just in case you need proof, TikTok’s internal data shows that high-quality content creators get 67% more watch time per video view, three times as many views, and more than 40 times greater follower growth. And since TikTok is unlike other social platforms, high-quality content is TikTok-first content. In fact, 79% of TikTok users prefer brands that understand content creation specifically for TikTok. You don’t need any fancy equipment. In fact, TikTok research shows audiences prefer a “less-polished, authentic aesthetic.” What you do need is decent lighting, a good microphone if you’re going to record audio, and some quick edits and transitions to keep the visuals moving. Here are ways to embrace the TikTok-first aesthetic: Try different video lengths. Videos recorded in TikTok can be up to 10 minutes long, while uploaded videos can be up to 60 minutes long. TikTok says users spend half their time watching longer videos. But keep an eye on completion rate, an important signal to the algorithm. Experiment with aspect ratio. Yes, you can now upload horizontal videos to TikTok, and they’ll play in full screen mode on phones. These will also work well with TikTok’s improved desktop interface. We’re not suggesting you abandon vertical videos, but it’s worth testing both formats, especially for different lengths. Dive into editing. Play around with TikTok’s built-in features like effects and text treatments. According to TikTok: “These native features help keep your content feeling native to the platform which can also help get it on more For You pages!” Try different formats. 76% of TikTok users say they enjoy a mix of images and video on the platform. Carousels are great too, like this example from @chipotle: Showcase expertise: Specialized content that highlights unique knowledge and expertise elevantes the quality of your TikTok offering and connects to your niche. A couple of suggestions straight from TikTok are to solve a problem, share a hack, or teach something step by step. Add text to your video: Captions are in general a best practice for accessibility. Text like headlines and intro cards can also help draw viewers in and keep them engaged. And heads-up: More than 30% of TikTokers watch videos on mute and need captions for content. Leave them out and you’re missing out on a third of potential viewers. 5. Post at the right time for your audience Posting at the right time is important for all social media platforms, and that includes TikTok. (That’s why we made this handy cheat sheet of the best times to post on every social platform.) Engagement with your content is a key signal to the algorithm, and the best way to get engagement is to get in front of TikTokers when they’re actively using the app. Hootsuite’s research with Critical Truth shows that overall, the best time to post on TikTok for engagement is late night Saturday through just past midnight on Sunday. But for best results, you need to know the best time to post for your specific audience. And for best results with the TikTok algorithm, you need to post at the best time to extend reach, which is not always the same as the best time to maximize engagement. Fortunately, reach is a key goal available in Hootsuite’s Best Time To Publish feature. This handy tool provides custom recommendations based on your past performance and tailored to your unique audience and their activity patterns on TikTok. When planning your posting times, consider that the average brand posted 11.5 times on TikTok in Q4 2024. X is the only platform on which brands post more often. 6. Engage with other TikTok users Interacting with other TikTok users is a surefire way to build engagement… which in turn will tell the algorithm you’re an account worth putting on people’s FYP. Whether you’re an individual content creator or a brand, TikTok recommends a “react, respond, and remix strategy” for maximum engagement. React to trending content Respond to trending questions or prompts Remix trending ideas with creators Duets, Stitch, and video replies to comments are great ways to engage this strategy. Stitch is a tool that allows you to clip and integrate moments from other TikTokers’ content into your own. Duets, meanwhile, allow one user to record a “duet” with another user by commenting alongside the original creator’s video in real time. Video replies to comments let you create new video content based on comments or questions on your previous posts. The default settings on TikTok allow others to create Duets and Stitch videos using your content. If you want to change this for any particular video, tap the More options … icon on the video, tap Privacy settings, then toggle off Allow reuse of content. You can also turn off these features for your whole TikTok account, but that would limit the opportunities for other TikTok users to engage with your content, decreasing discovery potential. Finally, be sure to engage with your audience in the comments.76% of TikTok users say brands that post or reply to comments on TikTok feel like part of the community, and 68% of TikTok users say brands should use the comments section to better understand their audience. 7. Use the right hashtags As you’ve seen, hashtags are an important way to connect with communities and new audiences on TikTok. But don’t go overboard. TikTok recommends just two or three relevant hashtags per video. To find trending hashtags, head to the TikTok Creative Center. Click on the Analytics button next to any trending hashtag to see a full breakdown of its popularity, including audience demographic details and related interests. Source: TikTok Creative Center Keep your eyes peeled for hashtags related to challenges. These are a good way to come up with new ideas for content… and the algorithm will appreciate the participation, too. Plus, users want to get involved: 77% say they like it when brands create new challenges, trends, or memes. 8. Use trending sounds and music Like we’ve already said, participating in any kind of trend is a good bet when aiming for the For You feed. Sounds are a big part of TikTok culture, with audio clips that take on lives of their own. TikTok specifically says that using trending sounds or music can help make your videos more discoverable. Bonus: Videos with background music get an average 98% more views than those without. You can get a sense of the latest trending sounds just by keeping an eye on your For You feed. But to get more specific, you can find trending songs by region in the TikTok Creative Center. Just like for trending hashtags, you can find analytics data like audience demographics and related interests. Note that this section of the Creative Center only includes songs, not user-generated original sounds. For a deeper dive into TikTok trends to lean into, try using the TikTok Symphony Assistant. This platform-native AI tool can help you source trending sounds, music, and themes that fit your specific creative needs. 9. Be real – and have fun TikTok just isn’t the place for buttoned-up, overly polished content. The most popular content on TikTok is playful and unpredictable, so have some fun. Maybe some behind-the-scenes content After all, 77% of TikTok users say brand videos should offer a view into their (and their employees’) everyday lives. TikTok users want to see brands experiment and have fun on the platform: 79% say brands should experiment with different topics to see what suits them best on TikTok. And 40% say brands that show personality are more relevant. 14 things the TikTok algorithm will penalize When planning your content strategy, it’s just as important to understand what types of content the TikTok algorithm will not recommend. The following types of content are ineligible for recommendation in the For You Feed. They may also be harder to find in search. Content created by anyone under 16 years old Hate speech and hateful behavior Disordered eating and body image Dangerous activity/dangerous challenges Nudity and body exposure Sexually suggestive content Shocking and graphic content Misinformation False or unverified claims about civic and election integrity Fake engagement (such as “like-for-like”) Unoriginal content (such as content uploaded with a watermark or a simple GIF) Gambling Promoting tobacco or drugs, or showing excessive alcohol consumption Live content with the main goal of driving people off-platform. Content not suitable for young people may be restricted to audiences over 18. And content that violates the Community Guidelines will be removed altogether (and could result in a strike against your account). If you post content that falls into any of these categories, you’ll see that information in TikTok Analytics, where you can also file an appeal. Grow your TikTok presence alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance — all from one easy-to-use dashboard. Try it free today. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish Master your 2025 social media strategy [free template + expert tips]
rewrite A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing. The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don’t make it so lofty and broad that it’s unattainable or impossible to measure. In this post, we’ll walk you through a seven-step plan for creating a winning social media marketing strategy. We’ve also included a completely free social media strategy template to download. Plus, we’ve even got expert insights from Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing. TL;DR? If you’re a social media or marketing manager looking for help with your strategy, you’re in the right place. Key takeaways A social media strategy maps out goals, tactics like influencer marketing, and metrics to align your efforts with business wins. Social is all about two-way engagement: building trust and community, not just pushing sales. Trends break fast on social. Your strategy must be able to flex with changing times and behaviors. Psst: You can also get a primer from our free ebook on social media marketing basics — grab it below. No email required! What is social media marketing? Social media marketing is the use of social platforms to grow your brand, connect with your audience, and achieve business goals. Unlike traditional advertising, it’s built on two-way conversations — brands don’t just talk at people, they engage with them. A social media marketing strategy outlines your marketing goals, the tactics (like partnerships) you’ll use to achieve them, and the metrics you’ll use to track success. Without a strategy, you’re just posting for the sake of it. With one, you’re making every post, comment, and campaign count. A strong social strategy should: Set clear goals that align with your business objectives Define the different platforms and kind of content that work best for your audience Track key metrics like website traffic to measure what’s working (and what’s not) Establish a workflow for planning, publishing, and reporting social media activities Social media moves fast, and a good strategy with clear optimization helps you stay ahead of trends, connect with the right people, and drive real results. #1 Social media tool Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win. Free 30-day trial Why build a social media strategy? Posting without a plan is like sailing without a compass — you might move, but you won’t get far. A solid social media strategy turns chaos into results. Here’s why it’s worth the effort: Turns effort into impact. Random posts waste time, while a strategy ties every move — like social media campaigns — to what your business actually needs. It’s the difference between shouting into the void and speaking to the right crowd. Builds trust that lasts. Social isn’t just ads — it’s where real conversations happen. A strategy helps you show up consistently, proving you’re a brand people can rely on, not just another sales pitch. Keeps you in the game. Trends flip fast, and algorithms shift faster. With a strategy, you’re not guessing: you’re adapting and staying relevant while others scramble. Proves your worth. No more “nice-to-have” debates. A clear plan shows the boss (and your budget) exactly how social moves the needle, making your wins impossible to ignore. Think of it as your secret weapon when it comes to social media management: a good strategy sharpens your focus, amplifies your voice, and cuts through the noise. Ready to see how? The next steps walk you through building a social strategy that works, starting with goals and ending with results you can measure. How to create a social media marketing strategy: A 7-step guide Step 1. Set goals for business success A winning social media strategy starts with clear objectives — without them, you can’t measure ROI. Hootsuite’s strategy doc tracks your SMART marketing goals — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound — and if you need help getting started, we’ve got social strategy guides for small businesses, financial services, government, higher education, healthcare, real estate, law firms, and non-profits. Track meaningful metrics Skip vanity metrics like follower count. Instead, focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rate or click-throughs, which 69% of marketers in a recent Hootsuite survey prioritize for ROI (79% target brand awareness). Not sure where to start? If you need inspiration, take a look at these essential social media metrics. Pick metrics that prove your work’s value: think Story views on Instagram or CPC on Facebook. Write down at least three goals to start, matching them to your business for boss buy-in. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by deciding what to post and which metrics to track, but you need to focus on what you want to get out of social media to begin with. Don’t just start posting and tracking everything: match your goals to your business, and your metrics to your goals. Amanda Wood Senior Manager, Social Marketing at Hootsuite Step 2. Know your audience deeply Get to know your fans, followers, and potential customers as real people with real wants and needs to target them effectively — for lead generation or loyalty. Hootsuite Analytics reveals who your followers are, where they live, and how they engage — 61% of organizations in a recent Hootsuite survey rely on AI-powered insights like these to help lighten the load. List audience demographics like age, location and interests using our free buyer persona template, and include this info on your target audience in your Hootsuite strategy doc. Jugnoo, an Uber-like service for auto-rickshaws in India, used Facebook Analytics to learn that 90% of their users who referred other customers were between 18- and 34-years-old, and 65% of that group was using Android. They used that information to slash referral costs by 40% by targeting 18–34-year-olds on Android — your data can do the same. Check out our guide to using social media analytics and the tools you need to track them. Step 3. Assess your competitors’ performance Odds are your competitors are already using social media — learn from them to sharpen your targets. Conduct a competitive analysis A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they’re doing well (and not so well). You’ll get a good sense of what’s expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own. It will also help you spot opportunities and weaknesses you can document in your social strategy doc. Maybe one of your competitors is dominant on Facebook, for example, but has put little effort into X (Twitter) or Instagram. You might want to focus on the social media platforms where your audience is underserved, rather than trying to win fans away from a dominant player. Use social media listening Social listening is another way to keep an eye on your competitors. Hootsuite Listening tracks their moves, with 1/3 of brands in 2024 relying on it to stay ahead of trends. Search competitor’s company names, handles, and keywords, spotting gaps like a weak Instagram presence or shift in sentiment to exploit. Log these insights in your Hootsuite strategy doc to guide your next steps, but don’t overdo it: Amanda advises monthly checks to keep your focus. Step 4. Boost your social presence Before you focus on growing your social media presence, take stock of what’s already working — and what isn’t. Hootsuite’s social media audit guide and template can help you spot gaps, uncover opportunities, and ensure your profiles are set up for success. Review your current performance Which platforms are driving the most engagement and traffic? What type of content resonates best with your audience? Are there inactive or underperforming social media accounts that need attention? Use this info to double down on what’s working and rethink what’s not. If a platform isn’t delivering results, either adjust your approach or consider shifting focus to where your audience is most active. Optimize your profiles for visibility and engagement In 2024, 25% of American adults reported using social media as their primary search channel. Gen Z is particularly big on social search, too — the same survey showed that roughly 46% of that generation prefers searching on social instead of traditional search engines. Those numbers mean your social content needs to be optimized for social SEO. Make sure your bio, profile images, and contact info are up to date Use keywords in your descriptions for better social search visibility Maintain consistent brand identity across platforms A well-optimized profile makes it easier for potential followers (and customers) to find and trust your brand. Look for impostor accounts If fake accounts are using your brand name, they could be confusing customers (or worse, damaging your reputation). Check for copycat accounts and report them when needed. You might also want to get verified on platforms where it’s available to add credibility and prevent impersonation. Here’s how to get verified on: A strong social media presence starts with a solid foundation. By auditing and optimizing regularly, you’ll ensure your strategy is built on a framework that supports growth, engagement, and results. Step 5. Find content inspiration While it’s important that your brand be unique, you can still draw content strategy inspiration from other businesses that are great on social. Plus, pushing creative boundaries in content creation can help your social strategy soar. According to our 2025 Social Media Trends survey, 25% of respondents said that most of their social content is entertainment-driven. “I consider it my job to stay active on social: to know what’s trending, which social media marketing campaigns are winning, what’s new with the platforms, who’s going above and beyond” says Amanda. “This might be the most fun step for you, or the hardest one, but it’s just as crucial as the rest of them.” Social media success stories You can usually find these on the business section of the social network’s website. (Here’s Facebook’s, for example.) Case studies can offer valuable insights that you can apply to your own social media plan. Award-winning accounts and campaigns You could also check out the winners of The Facebook Awards or The Shorty Awards for examples of brands that are at the top of their social media game. Your favorite brands on social media Who do you enjoy following on social media? What do they do that compels people to engage and share their content? National Geographic, for example, is one of the best on Instagram, combining stunning visuals with compelling captions. Source: National Geographic on Instagram Nike is a great example of superior customer service on X. They use their 280 characters to share new product releases and celebrate sports victories, but they’re also available to answer customer questions and solve problems. Source: Nike on X Notice that these accounts have a consistent voice, tone, and style. That’s key to letting people know what to expect from your feed. That is, why should they follow you? What’s in it for them? Consistency also helps keep your content on-brand even if you have multiple people on your social media team. For more on this, read our guide on establishing a compelling brand voice on social media. Ask your followers Consumers can also offer social media inspiration. What are your target customers talking about online? What can you learn about their wants and needs? If you have existing social media channels, you could also ask your followers what they want from you. Just make sure that you follow through and deliver what they ask for. Step 6. Craft engaging content Creating great content is only half the battle. To see real results, you need to post strategically, delivering the right content to the right audience at the right time. Plan your content mix The best social media strategies balance different types of content to keep audiences engaged. And while 34% of survey respondents said that “overly self-promotional content” is a major turn-off in how they perceive brands on social, 48% of marketers publish product or brand updates or news multiple times a week. Yikes. How do you find the balance? Try to think of your content as a mix of three general categories: Educate and inform. Share tips, industry insights, and thought leadership. Entertain and engage. Hop on trends, use humor, or share behind-the-scenes moments. Promote and convert. Highlight your products, services, and customer success stories. Not every post needs to be a sales pitch. Keep the the 80-20 rule in mind: 80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience 20% can directly promote your brand. Whatever you decide on, be sure to document it in your strategy doc. Create a content calendar A social media content calendar helps you stay consistent without scrambling for last-minute ideas. Use yours to plan out: Topics and formats (videos, infographics, carousels, etc.) Posting frequency for each platform Key dates and campaigns to align with industry events or product launches If you’re starting a social media marketing strategy from scratch, you may not have figured out how often to post to each network for maximum engagement yet. Post too frequently and you risk annoying your audience. But, if you post too little, you risk looking like you’re not worth following. Start with these posting frequency recommendations: Hootsuite Planner helps you craft a balanced mix of posts and optimize timing based on engagement trends. Map out topics, formats, and key dates in your calendar, hitting our recommended frequencies to avoid annoying or overwhelming followers. Optimize for engagement Social media isn’t just about posting. It’s about sparking conversations and making meaningful connections with your audience. Strong captions that encourage responses, trending hashtags that boost discoverability, and interactive elements like polls, Q&As, and user-generated content all help increase engagement. When you create content that invites participation, rather than just broadcasting messages, you encourage more likes, shares, and comments, which in turn helps expand your reach. Strategic content keeps your audience engaged and your brand top of mind. Plan ahead, stay flexible, and adjust based on what resonates most with your audience. Step 7. Measure and refine your strategy Your social media marketing strategy isn’t set in stone — refine it with data as you go. That’s why it’s important to document your progress along the way. Hootsuite Analytics tracks your progress, spotlighting ROI worries shared by 68% of marketers in 2024, and benchmarks your performance with just a few clicks. Look at performance metrics In addition to the analytics within each social network, you can use UTM parameters to track social visitors as they move through your website, so you can see exactly which social media posts drive traffic to your website. Benchmark your results You’ve got your numbers, but how do they stack up to the competition in your industry? Industry benchmarks are a great way to evaluate your performance against other businesses in your category. If you use Hootsuite Analytics as your management tool, you can use our built-in social media benchmarking tool to compare the performance of your social accounts against the average of brands in your industry. You can set up custom timeframes, switch between networks — Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok — and look up benchmarks for metrics like followers, audience growth rate, engagement rate, clicks, shares, and much more. You’ll also find resources to improve your performance right in the summary section: Re-evaluate, test, and do it all again Once this data starts coming in, use it to re-evaluate your social media marketing techniques regularly. You can also use this information to test different posts, social marketing campaigns, and strategies against one another. Constant testing allows you to understand what works and what doesn’t, so you can refine your social media marketing plan in real time. Remember, effective social media marketing isn’t static. Your strategy should change over time. You should check the performance of all your channels at least once a week. Once you learn the basics of social media reporting, you can track your growth over time. Pro tip: If you use Hootsuite, you can review the performance of all your posts on every network in one place. Once you get the hang of checking your analytics, you may even want to customize different reports to show specific metrics over a variety of different time periods. Surveys can also be a great way to find out how well your social media strategy is working. Ask your followers, email list, and website visitors whether you’re meeting their needs and expectations and what they’d like to see more of. Just make sure to deliver on what they tell you. Finalizing your social media strategy Spoiler alert: nothing is final. Social media moves fast. New networks emerge, others go through demographic shifts. Your business will go through periods of change as well. All of this means that your social media marketing strategy should be a living document that you review and adjust as needed. Refer to it often to stay on track, but don’t be afraid to make changes so that it better reflects new goals, marketing tools, or plans. When you update your social strategy, make sure to watch our 5-step video on how to update your social media strategy for 2025: Free social media strategy template + video guide Ready to start documenting? Grab your free social marketing strategy template below! No time to read the whole article? Let Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s own Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, guide you through our free strategy template in less than 10 minutes: What’s next? When you’re ready to put your plan into action, we’re here to help. Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can easily: Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed With files from Liz Stanton. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish Tips, ideas + free generator
rewrite Instagram hashtags are a powerful tool when it comes to discoverability, finding your audience, and increasing your reach on the platform. Knowing which hashtags to use (and when) can make a big difference in your social marketing success, so consider this your hashtag-packed guide. Keep reading for a rundown on how and why to use hashtags on Instagram, plus hashtagging help from AI and human experts — namely, Drew McWhirter, the Creative Marketing Lead at Anh and Chi, a Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver. Key takeaways Hashtags boost your reach. Hashtags are essential for getting your content seen. Using them on Instagram helps categorize your posts and makes it easier for your target audience to find you. Don’t overcomplicate your hashtags. Using 3 to 5 hashtags is often the sweet spot. Experiment to find what works best for your brand and keep your captions looking clean. #LessIsMore Use tools for inspiration. Don’t stress about finding the right hashtags! Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator can make the process easier and more efficient. What are Instagram hashtags? An Instagram hashtag is a clickable word, phrase, number, and/or emoji preceded by the # symbol. Hashtags are used to categorize or label content and make it more discoverable. In the example below, #anhandchi and #vancouverfoodie both qualify. Source: @anhandchi Use hashtags for every post to help your content find its target audience, show up on the Explore page, and get more followers and reach. How do hashtags work on Instagram? How to use hashtags on Instagram All Instagram hashtags are clickable: they can be tapped on, searched, and analyzed by SEO tools and Instagram’s algorithm. Source: @anhandchi How to add hashtags on Instagram Adding hashtags is simple. Just type “#” followed by whatever text you want to use. Just make sure it’s all one word — spaces signal the end of the hashtag (think #ILoveHotDogs, not #I Love Hot Dogs). You can add your hashtags in your caption or as a comment on your post. Either works. Once you type the “#” sign, Instagram search results will start suggesting popular and trending hashtags (as seen above). Select any that apply to your Instagram post to help give your content an extra boost. How many hashtags should I use on Instagram? In our expert opinion, the best number of hashtags to use on Instagram is 3 to 5. Try experimenting with your Instagram hashtag strategy to find the number that best suits your needs. Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear. Do hashtags still matter on Instagram? As of December 13, 2024, Instagram users can no longer follow hashtags, but that doesn’t mean hashtags don’t matter anymore. In the past, Instagram “growth hackers” added irrelevant trending hashtags to their posts in hopes of expanding their reach. By removing the ability to follow hashtags, Instagram is helping make sure users are served content they’re actually interested in. But don’t abandon your hashtag strategy just yet. Hashtags are still a valuable signal for Instagram’s algorithm. They help the platform understand what your content is about so the right people can discover it. Free Instagram hashtag generator Tools that can come up with Instagram hashtags for you, like Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator, make a social media manager’s job a whole lot easier. Just pick a language, describe your content, add keywords, and you’ll get 10 AI-generated hashtags to use in your post. Please note: This tool may display inaccurate or offensive material that doesn’t represent Hootsuite’s views. You’re solely responsible for use of any content generated using this tool, including its compliance with applicable laws and third-party rights. 275 best hashtags for Instagram in 2025 30 Top Instagram hashtags These are the most popular hashtags globally — they’ve been used hundreds of millions (or billions) of times. However, while top hashtags are good to know, they’re usually not very specific (#cool). A large number of posts may mean lots of people use that hashtag, but it also means there’s a ton of content on it, and your posts might get lost. Consider using a combination of popular and niche hashtags to reach different audiences, from broad to specific. Here are 30 hashtags to get you started: #love (2.1B) #instagood (1.8B) #fashion (1.1B) #photooftheday (1B) #photography (1B) #art (1B) #beautiful (848M) #nature (826M) #travel (752M) #follow (735M) #picoftheday (734M) #happy (721M) #instadaily (712M) #cute (682M) #style (674M) #trending (652M) #tbt (588M) #summer (569M) #followme (557M) #beauty (556M) #instalike (556M) #fitness (550M) #food (531M) #photo (515M) #like4like (479M) #music (477M) life (463M) #me (459M) #family (455M) #friends (453M) Psstt: If you’re looking for popular hashtags on Instagram Reels, here are 158 of them. 25 Popular B2B hashtags If you’re operating a brand account on Instagram, keep these business-related hashtags in mind. #smallbusiness (144M) #business (124M) #entrepreneur (109M) #socialmedia (41M) #digitalmarketing (40M) #startup (28M) #sales (22M) #tech (22M) #leadership (21M) #innovation (18M) #networking (15M) #SEO (11.9M) #contentmarketing (9.8M) #marketingstrategy (8.8M) #businesstips (7.7M) #productivity (4.9M) #strategy (4.4M) #b2b (3.6M) #consulting (3.4M) #workplace (2.6M) #professionaldevelopment (2M) #leadgeneration (1.4M) #b2bmarketing (685K) #saas (725K) #thoughtleadership (265K) #1 Social media tool Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win. Free 30-day trial 19 Trending Instagram hashtags Keeping up with trends is an important part of staying relevant on Instagram. Here is a list of hashtags that are trending in 2025. #pets (100M) #diy (92.6M) #gaming (70.5M) cooking (66.1M) #petsofinstagram (61.6M) #blog (56.5M) #influencer (49.8M) #giveaway (49.1M) #fitnessjourney (44.1M) #craft (34.5M) #lifestyleblogger (24.9M) #ai (23.2M) #parenting (22M) #crypto (19.7M) #recipe (19.1M) #finance (18.6M) #beautytips (13.4M) #homeworkout (10.8M) #collab (7.5M) 20 Hashtags for likes Lots of the most popular hashtags on Instagram are like-related—and we love to like. #instalike (556M) #like4like (479M) #like (407M) #daily (168M) #instalove (145M) #likesforlike (140M) #like4likes (142M) #likesforlikes (78.4M) #like4follow (71.5M) #liketime (53.7M) #liker (44.3M) #likeme (42.1M) #likers (16.9M) #likeit (15.8M) #liked (11.5M) #like4followers (4.3M) #likelikelike (3.6M) #likethis (5.3M) #likefollow (2M) #likeplease (2.2M) 19 Viral Instagram hashtags Virality is rooted in time—the same hashtags that everyone’s using this week will change by the time next week comes around. These are some examples of hashtags that have gone viral this year. #reels (825M) #trending (652M) #style (647M) #ootd (445M) #makeup (414M) #model (378M) #foodie (259M) #nails (240M) #outfit (159M) #nailart (145M) #kids (137M) #healthylifestyle (133M) #skincare (126M) #reelsvideo (125M) #business (124M) #fashionstyle (124M) #healthyfood (123M) #realestate (116M) #creative (109M) 21 Common Instagram hashtags Here are some of the hashtags you’ll see more regularly on the platform. #selfie (450M) #fun (449M) #smile (445M) #girl (431M) #motivation (401M) #dog (385M) #model (378M) #lifestyle (369M) #sunset (337M) #instamood (294M) #amazing (288M) #nofilter (285M) #sun (273M) #inspiration (255M) #followforfollow (208M) #instapic (207M) #bestoftheday (198M) #cool (165M) #night (147M) #swag (142M) #happybirthday (133M) 30 Dog hashtags for Instagram So you can hashtag your Havanese or get more likes for your labrador. #dog (385M) #dogsofinstagram (325M) #dogs (175M) #instadog (119M) #doglover (105M) #dogoftheday (90M) #doglovers (63.8M) #ilovemydog (51.6M) #frenchbulldog (40M) #goldenretriever (38M) #rescuedog (28.2M) #doglove (25.6M) #dogphotography (21.5M) #dogmom (19.6M) #labradorretriever (15.1M) #dogmodel (11.5M) #dogsitting (10.4M) #dogofinstagram (10.5M) #dogtraining (10M) #doglife (68M) #doggrooming (7.5M) #doginstagram (4.8M) #dogstyle (3.8M) #doginfluencer (2.3M) #dogboarding (2.1M) #dogsmile (1.8M) #dogselfie (1.8M) #dogpics (1.1M) #doggram (1.6M) #dogadventures (1.6M) 20 Cat Instagram hashtags The most popular hashtags for pretty kitties and the people who work for them. #cat (298M) #catsofinstagram (208M) #cats (161M) #catstagram (107M) #catlover (79.5M) #instacat (67.4M) #catlife (48.5M) #catlovers (47.1M) #catoftheday (41.8M) #ilovemycat (21.7M) #cutecat (21.1M) #catlove (20.2M) #blackcat (19.9M) #kittycat (16.5M) #caturday (13.6M) #catphoto (10.2M) #catmom (5.9M) #catphotography (5.4M) #catscatscats (5.1M) #catselfie (2.4M) 20 Traveling Instagram hashtags Not all who wander are lost… especially people with internet access. #travel (752M) #travelphotography (246M) #travelgram (184M) #vacation (160M) #adventure (153M) #instatravel (131M) #traveling (96.3M) #travelblogger (91.1M) #travelling (89.4M) #traveler (55.5M) #traveller (45M) #travelblog (29.5M) #journey (28.8M) #traveldiaries (19.1M) #adventuretime (18.8M) #travelphoto (18.1M) ##lifeofadventure (16.6M) #travelholic (13.2M) #worldtraveler (9.2M) #adventureawaits (5M) 23 Exercise hashtags for Instagram Popular hashtags fit for your workout-related content. #fitness (550M) #gym (285M) #workout (231M) #healthy (192M) #health (174M) #fitnessmotivation (156M) #bodybuilding (145M) #yoga (126M) #running (95.8M) #gymmotivation (76.4M) #exercise (71.7M) #body (65.5M) #fitnessmodel (64.5M) #run (64.2M) #cardio (52.3M) #fitnessjourney (44.1M) #getfit (36.1M) #gymrat (29.4M) #workoutmotivation (28.8M) #fitnesslifestyle (18.5M) #yogainspiration (18.2M) #sweat (16.3M) #strengthtraining (14.7M) 23 Instagram hashtags for photography This platform is built on envy-worthy photos, and the top hashtags prove that photography is still going strong on Instagram. #photography (1B) #photooftheday (1B) #photo (515M) #photographer (267M) #naturephotography (252M) #travelphotography (246M) #photoshoot (209M) #instaphoto (129M) #streetphotography (128M) #foodphotography (117M) #portraitphotography (82.5M) #landscapephotography (75.9M) #photos (66.6M) #weddingphotography (65.3M) #photoshop (60.4M) #photographylovers (46.2M) #filmphotography (43.1M) #photograph (39.9M) #photogram (24M) #photographers (19M) #photoart (15.9M) #photographeveryday (15.2M) #photographyislife (14.5M) 25 Artwork hashtags for Instagram Give your creative work an extra boost with these popular hashtags. #art (1B) #photography (1B) #artist (343M) #drawing (300M) #artwork (208M) #digitalart (154M) #artistsoninstagram (121M) #draw (109M) #instaart (96.3M) #artoftheday (84.2M) #contemporaryart (73.7M) #paint (57.9) #abstractart (52.5M) #artgallery (52.5M) #tattooart (34.7M) #modernart (31.3M) #artistic (29.9M) #artofinstagram (25.2M) #picsart (22M) #artists (21M) #artcollector (20.3M) #urbanart (19.8M) #artlover (11.1M) #artdaily (7.5M) #artjournal (5.6M) Check out more daily hashtags! How to come up with hashtags for Instagram 1. Use Hootsuite’s free hashtag generator Scroll back up and check out our hashtag generator! It’s totally free and a snap to use. 2. Check out our AI hashtag suggestion tool Want an even more streamlined tool? Hootsuite’s AI hashtag suggestion tool is incorporated right into the Composer. You can only use this if you schedule your posts with Hootsuite (which, by the way, is free for 30 days). Just select the hashtag button on the bottom right of the text field and Hootsuite’s AI will suggest relevant hashtags. 3. Conduct competitive analysis Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Take a look at accounts that you look up to — you know, brands with a strong Instagram game. Keep track of competitors in your industry and see which hashtags they are using: odds are, those same hashtags can help you get more reach and find the right audience. 4. Use Explore page suggestions You really only need one good keyword to find lots of hashtags. Head to the Explore page, search for a word, then hit “Tags” and see a ton of suggested hashtags that are related to your keyword. For example, check out what populates when searching the keyword “raccoon.” Psstt: No matter what strategy you use, make sure you’re using hashtags that are actually related to your content. It might be tempting to throw #raccooncafe onto your post, but if you can’t deliver the sort of media that’s expected under that label, any user you attract won’t stay long. 4 tips for using hashtags on Instagram from a social media expert For some delicious advice on using hashtags for business, we asked Drew McWhirter, Creative Marketing Lead of Vancouver’s Anh and Chi Vietnamese restaurant. “In a digital world full of content, hashtags are our way of narrowing it down and reaching the right people,” McWhirter explains. Here’s how she uses hashtags to reach local foodies. 1. Be specific… but not too specific “The method to my hashtag madness lies in the range of specificity,” says McWhirter. She explains that it’s important your hashtags aren’t too vague (#GoodVibes, while cute, isn’t going to be helpful in terms of social strategy). For example, Anh and Chi’s Instagram hashtags usually include #vietnameserestaurant or #vietnamesefood instead of just #restaurant or #food. Source: @anhandchi “Instagram shows you how many posts a hashtag has been used on,” she continues. “This is incredibly helpful because it lets me see which hashtags are more popular and which have little to no use—I steer clear from hashtags that have very few posts because they are incredibly niche and won’t help to expose our content to larger audiences.” 2. Location matters When your brand is a brick-and-mortar business (or your product or service is only available in a certain city or region), it’s always a good idea to include your location in your hashtags. That way, your content will reach more people who are located in your area, and there’s a higher chance of converting your Instagram success to real money and growth for your business. Source: @anhandchi Anh and Chi use hashtags like #vancityeats and #vancouverfoodie to show Instagram users (and the algorithm) that the restaurant is in Vancouver. “Location-related hashtags help us reach our local audiences,” says McWhirter. 3. Tag amplifiers Hashtags can be used to attract the attention of influential Instagram accounts—for example, media. “I tag media-related accounts because it’s one more avenue of exposure for potential reach,” says McWhirter. Anh and Chi’s Instagram hashtags often include the names of local newspapers, magazines and blogs, which can result in valuable reach, including sharing on social or media coverage. Often, local media will have their own hashtags listed in their bio. For example, Dished Vancouver has a branded hashtag “#dishedvan” to encourage foodies to share their photos, and boost user generated content, too. 4. Think like an Instagram user While the purpose of hashtags is partially for things like algorithms and SEO, the end goal is always to best serve humans on the platform—so don’t get too caught up in the tech of it all. “I like to put myself in the shoes of a user,” says McWhirter. Think about what kinds of content people are searching for, and how your brand can be useful to them. “I ask myself questions like, ‘Do I find this content interesting?’ and ‘What am I getting out of this?’” she adds. Source: @anhandchi Hashtags like #grilledsquid and #seafoodlover will help squid fans find this post. Start building your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts directly to Instagram, engage your audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles — all from one simple dashboard. 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