Hashtags became a thing way back in 2017, and it just took over the world of social media. It's hard to find a successful social media post that does not include some kind of hashtag.

Hashtags became the golden ticket to going viral or being seen. Ever since this happened, everyone who dreams of becoming Insta-famous or some kind of influencer has tried cracking the hashtag code to go viral.

Relax, because Alrika Möller from media update will tell you how to find those trending hashtags!


Twitter / X

It only makes sense to start with the app that started the whole hashtag movement in the first place. The app has gone through a lot of changes since then, but through it all the hashtag still reigns supreme.

There are two main ways to find the hashtags that will make your posts #popular.

Trends For You

This is the easiest one to navigate. The app does most of the work for you. If you hit the explore button on X, you will find Trends For You. It is a tab that lists the trending and most popular hashtags at that moment.

This will give you an idea of the topics that are popular as well as the hashtags that get searched the most. If you use those hashtags, there is a much bigger chance that people not listed under your followers will see your posts.

Hashtag Predictive text

This one will take some initiative from your side. You basically go to the search bar on Twitter / X and start typing words or letters. The app will automatically start guessing and predicting what it thinks you are looking for and will show you the most popular hashtags or topics that relate to or are close to what you searched or typed.

Sometimes the app goes as far as putting a cute little trending sign underneath, making things super easy.

Facebook

Most people think of Facebook as the OG social media platform, so it is strange to think that hashtags did not originate on Facebook. Nevertheless, the app wasted no time adopting the hashtag way when it became a thing.

If you are looking for popular hashtags to use in a Facebook post, there are a few ways, but two of them are most likely to give you what you are looking for.

Hashtag autocomplete

This is a very easy way to find hashtags. If you click on the search bar of the app and start typing something, it will autocomplete possible searches below. The searches that pop up are because they are popular at that moment, which is why the app thinks that is what you are looking for. Super easy.

Apps and sites

Hashtags have become such a big thing that you can find apps and sites that will generate hashtags for you. Most of these apps require you to provide a post. It will then look at what is trending on Facebook at the time and recommend hashtags to go along with your post.

There are many different apps and sites, so take your time to find the one that works for you and understands your content the best.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn makes use of hashtags to help people find content relating to the industry they are looking for. That is why it is important to know the right hashtags to reach the right people.

The two best ways to find the perfect LinkedIn hashtags are as follows:

Sort By

LinkedIn is nice enough to let you sort the content according to what you are looking for. If you want to find the trending posts and hashtags, you will have to go to the sort option at the home page and choose Top. This causes the app to show you the most popular posts first on your feed. You can then check the hashtags of those posts.

Suggestions

As we have established, most — if not all — social media platforms have a search bar that will make suggestions and predictions as you type. Those suggestions and predictions are the hashtags and topics that are popular and trending. They suggest it because a lot of people are searching for it. You want your posts to show up when people are searching.

Instagram

Instagram is one of the social media platforms that makes the most use of hashtags. When posting on Instagram, hashtags are #everything!

While the homepage of the app shows mainly people and pages you follow, the discover / explore page is where hashtags really shine. The explore page works with an algorithm that shows you trending posts or trending hashtags and topics based on the posts you like in the past.

The goal is to land on as many explore pages as humanly possible. There are four main ways to find what you are looking for.

Check Explore page

As the explore page already shows trending posts and topics, it can be a great place to find hashtags that will help you boost your posts and end up on someone else's explore page.

Hashtag autocomplete

This one works the same for all social media apps. When you start typing something in the search bar, it will predict what you are looking for and show you trending or popular topics and hashtags at that time.

Check Influencers

Influencers usually know what's up. They are either using trending and popular hashtags, or they are creating trending and popular hashtags. If you go to the pages of popular influencers, you can see what posts got the most likes and engagement and then check what hashtags they used and then join them.

Hashtag tracking apps

In the same way, you can use apps and sites to find hashtags for Facebook, you can do the same for Instagram. Some apps will work for both, but some have a specific niche and will work best for a specific social platform. Do your homework to find what you are looking for.

TikTok

While TikTok might be the new kid on the block when it comes to social media platforms, the app wasted no time establishing itself as a main contender. Right from the start, TikTok knew the power of hashtags and used it as a way to determine popular and trending content and show users more of what they like.

There are two ways to find trending hashtags for TikTok.

For You Page

The TikTok for you page or fyp as most of us know it, is where we see the TikTok algorithm do its thing. The page is filled with content based on what you liked before as well as trending posts and content that got many views and likes. If you take a look at the videos that land on your fyp, you will see hashtags that can give your post a nice little boost.

Discover tab

If you click on the big magnifying glass, you will go to the search / discover page. This is where you type in what you are looking for. If you take a moment before you start typing, you will see that the discover page shows the currently trending hashtags, sounds, users and filters. Check these hashtags regularly to find the hashtags that will work for you.


There are many ways to find trending hashtags. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comment section below.

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We are your go-to hub for all things social. If you are looking for more social media tips and tricks that can boost your posts, check out The best times to post on social media revealed — an updated version for SA and the UK in 2023.
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