Top 20 Instagram Hashtags

Fellow IGers, you may or may not have read my previous article How to use hashtags: A simple guide but let’s assume you did because today we continue the hashtag topic focusing solely on Instagram.

For those of you who have yet to partake in this powerful app and need a brief recap here you go:

Instagram is a free photo sharing program that was launched in October 2010. The service allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it and then share it on a variety of social networking services, including Instagrams own
Wikipedia – Instagram

Also read: Facebook just bought Instagram for 1 billion dollars

For those of you who are active IGers or looking to explore the community with greater savvy you cannot go wrong with increasing your hashtag knowledge.

Here’s a list of the top 20 Instagram tags as of July/29/2012.

1) #love // 27,928,891 photos

Instagram’s top hashtag is a simple human emotion. As you can see by the number of photos tagged #love IGers share what they care about, whether its animals, celebrities, or their own faces.

2) #instagood // 24,604,565 photos

If youre looking to boost your like and comment numbers, #instagood tends to feature images IGers are proud of.

3) #tweegram // 21,275,688 photos

Many IGers are members of other Web communities and choose to share their instagram photos with those other communities. Most notably Twitter and Facebook. Tweegram lets IGers type in a tweet-length message and publish it as an Instagram-ready image.

4) #photooftheday // 18,244,991 photos

This is a race to see whose photo will be added to the gallery for the photo of the day. #photooftheday has users looking for approval from their peers, however, this hashtag is a little different, as the best photo in the tag each day is featured in a gallery.

5) #iphonesia // 17,420,571 photos

The niche hashtag, #iphonesia, is generally used by IGers based in East Asia who are sharing photos taken with their iPhones. However, watch out for IGers from elsewhere who often hijack the hashtag.

6) #instamood // 17,152,452 photos

This hashtag was created by the user who shares it’s name. IGer Aziz, @instamood, created it in late 2011. This popular hashtag reflects photos according to our emotion and mood of the IGer. You’ll find that these photos often use color and nature to express emotion and mood.

7) #me // 16,517,697 photos

This one’s predominantly comprised of self-portraits. It’s also a great, easy way to catch out those who initially capture images with more traditional cameras.

8) #tbt // 14,643,176 photos

Among the top tags, #tbt is perhaps the most fun. It’s an acronym of both Throwback Thursday and Truth Be Told. When you browse tagged photos, you’re never quite sure if you’re about to see a photo from someone’s past or an IGer throwing down some knowledge on their followers.

9) #cute // 15,474,377 photos

The hashtag is labeled for the photos tag with it. Cute photos from painted nails and pets to Justin Bieber, this hashtag has an array of photos of what IGers think is “cute”.

10) #summer // 14,591,938 photos

I’m writing this post during the middle of Summer and thus there are an ever increasing number of photos being tagged #summer. People are enjoying the beach, traveling, food and backyard BBQs.

11) #igers // 14,100,469 photos

Similar to the #me hashtag IGers use this tag to share photos of themselves and their friends. The difference is that photos of IGers taken with images of food, action, and beer, this tag is pretty much post anything hashtag.

13) #picoftheday // 12,003,539 photos

This might be obvious but #picoftheday is a busy stream of images from users who feel their photo is better than the millions of other photos shared on Instagram that day. If you feel your photo is the best on Instagram – well, good luck with that. 🙂

12) #girl // 12,240,642 photos

Simply a collection of photos of the fairer sex.

14) #instagramhub // 12,142,707 photos

This is another hashtag focused on building a community that challenges and motivates IGers to create better images and be active community members by liking and commenting. Here you’ll find a hub aimed at helping IGers learning Instagram best practices and sharing tips.

15) #iphoneonly // 11,913,136 photos

Instgram started as an iPhone app only. These early adopters were proud of their status and after the influx of millions of new Android IGers iOS users were probably more interested in aggregating iPhone captured Instagram images.

16) #instadaily // 11,704,553 photos

IGers using this hashtag are competing to take the most impressive image on a given topic.

17) #beautiful // 10,598,976 photos

Evidently, these are photos that IGers feel are beautiful.

18) #jj // 9,810,961 photos

Created by the well-known IGer Josh Johnson, the #jj community runs by a simple rule: For every one photo posted, comment on two others and like three more.

19) #bestoftheday // 9,739,429 photos

Much like #photooftheday, these photos are seeking your like and comment.

20) #sky // 9,054,767 photos

All we have to do is look up. The sky offers dramatic and peaceful images and you’ll find stunning images within the #sky hashtag.


Use these hashtags to explore, share and grow your Instagram community!

Building your Instgram community

Here is an image from the early days of an IGer who now has 60K followers and frequents the Explore/Popular page.

His tactics: post multiple images a day, use hashtags and participate in the hashtag communities.

Are these hashtags useful? Let me know in the comments below!

Good luck and follow me on Instagram!