Despite perhaps appearing gimmicky at first glance, there is far more to Instagram hashtags than the aimless pursuit of a trend.
An effective Instagram hashtag strategy enables you to educate yourself more on what your target personas are discussing, engage better with your community and enhance the reach of your own posts.
So, what are Instagram hashtags?
It all started on Twitter, when back in 2007 former Google employee, Chris Messina, suggested the # as a way of connecting posts related to specific groups.
Although not everyone caught on at first, the adoption of the concept for the #SanDiegoFire later that year gave the movement momentum. And, the rest is history.
Today, hashtags are generally used to connect a post with an event, sector, issue, brand or specific marketing campaign - typically in combination.
Being the Internet, it’s not surprising that “spamtags” quickly became a thing, with posters hashtagging anything and everything in an attempt to increase the reach and engagement of their posts. Today, Instagram hashtags are limited to 30 per post, but even then it’s crucial that your hashtags are relevant, consistent and not in any way spammy.
We’ll touch upon more Instagram hashtag strategy later, but first let’s take a look at the #UKTOP10.
Top 10 Instagram hashtags in the UK
The top Instagram hashtags can provide real insight into how the platform is being used in a specific location. This can also provide a great platform for understanding how to connect better with your target audience.
Without further ado, here are the UK’s Top 10 Instagram hashtags:
1. #london
When you consider that Instagram hashtags are often used to discuss events, shows, trends etc, it is understandable that #London comes out on top, with an incredible 126M posts on Instagram
Again, it comes as no surprise to discover that several of the most engaged posts using the #London are from influencers, including @dubaideserttwins, with most more focused on the person than the place.
There are, however, also some rather splendid included in the top results.
2. #uk
It provides some indication as to the importance of London to UK culture that there were almost three times as many posts hashtagging the capital as there were #UK.
Once again, the top posts are dominated by influencers. But, in celebration of one of the UK’s most important cultural elements, it’s good to see two pubs finding their way into the top results.
There are also several other traditionally British landmarks, including phone boxes and buses (yes, we’re as vibrant a culture as they come):
3. #love
As a Brit myself, it’s good to see that #love comes in at number three in our top Instagram hashtags - and, even more so, in light of the complete absence of another buzzword (which we won’t mention).
Among other things, #love is used to showcase some of the more romantic posts from the UK:
4. #travel
Travel posts on Instagram have played a major role in the exponential growth of the platform. Indeed, many say that Instagram has changed the world of travel and travel marketing for good.
As a sector of social media popular with influencers, it again comes as no surprise to see influencer posts among the most popular. Of course, there is a combination of UK influencers going off on their travels and influencers from elsewhere visiting London.
5. #photography
Instagram is a photo sharing platform after all, with its overall image aesthetics playing a key role in its appeal. The overall standard of images on Instagram is certainly far higher than Facebook and other platforms, so it’s therefore unsurprising to see #photography at number 5 in our list.
Of course, influencers are involved in the top results once more, with Instagram very much being the home of the selfie - in fact there’s very little else. Well, I suppose everyone’s a photographer these days.
6. #instagood
This is a common Instagram hashtag used to attract likes to a post, with no real fixed theme. It’s really a way of saying that the image is Instagram-worthy - again highlighting how the platform is perceived as the social media for high quality pictures.
Due to the vagueness of the hashtag, the top results include a diversity of subjects.
7. #england
Is it the UK, Great Britain or England? It seems the decision has not yet been made by Instagrammers, with #england appearing 7th on our list.
When we look at the top results, however, it becomes clear that #england is most commonly used for national sports teams - which makes sense, considering that’s how we are represented in most major sports.
8. #photooftheday
At number 8 on our list is another photo-focused hashtag, #photooftheday. Unfortunately, despite its claim, it has once more been largely adopted by influencers and doesn’t really showcase the platform’s best photographic moments.
There are a few nice images in there, however:
9. #art
It’s good to see that amidst the selfies and landscapes, there is still room for #art on Instagram. It certainly does have the fundamental assets to be a great platform for showcasing artworks.
So, let’s take a look at a couple of examples - it’s certainly no surprise to see Banksy in there:
10. #fashion
Again, an unsurprising inclusion in the UK’s top 10 most popular Instagram hashtags. The fashion world has always had a prominent Instagram presence - somewhat spearheading business adoption of the platform. In fact, I wrote an article on this very subject earlier in the year - check it out!
Both brands and influencers dominate this space, so let’s take a look at some of the prime examples of #fashion on Instagram - spoiler alert, there’s another London bus:
Hash out your own hashtag strategy
It's great to know the most popular hashtags in your location, but also it goes without saying that you can go even further by identifying hashtags relevant to your brand or industry.
Our Quick Search platform enables you to do just that and, as the name suggests, it takes no time at all. Here's an example of the Top 50 Instagram hashtags related to fashion in the UK:
By arranging a free demo of Quick Search, you'll be able to instantly see what hashtags are most relevant to your brand and gain a deeper understanding of the other insights you can find on the platform.
You can also better keep up with the latest trending hashtags by downloading our Free Hashtag Tracker below:
