Hashtags, first used in 2007, were once all the rage. Every social media post, whether it be on Instagram, Facebook or some other platform, was adorned with a set of personalized hashtags. Day of the week hashtag trends such as #throwbackthursday and #TGIF or popular single-word hashtags like #cute and #fashion were used in abundance. However, the once beloved way of using hashtags has long since faded away. So, how can businesses and professional organizations use hashtags in their social media posts in a way that is relevant to the current times?
Below are three elements to consider when using hashtags in 2026.
Content Categorization and Discoverability
In contrast to their former, more casual use on social media, hashtags are now used to categorize content. Whether it be on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or another social media platform, hashtags allow the platform to categorize content and help users find posts. Using straightforward hashtags that refer to the content or industry allow for users to find posts, examples of this being #newproduct or #plumbing. In addition to this, users can click on these hashtags, and they will be brought to a feed of all the posts that have used that hashtag. Clicking on these hashtags enhances discoverability by showing related posts from the same or similar brands.
Audience Targeting and Engagement
Using audience targeting when implementing hashtags into social media ensures that a brand’s content reaches the correct audience. In order for a brand to curate their posts towards their target audience, they should use specific hashtags such as industry-specific, location-specific, etc. When an audience that is genuinely interested in your brand’s posts, they are more likely to engage with the post with likes, shares, comments and more.
Therefore, focusing on audience targeted hashtags will increase engagement and subsequently signal to the platforms algorithm that the content is valuable.
Social Listening
Social listening tools can be very useful because they track hashtags related to a company’s brand or products and identify user’s responses to those hashtags. Monitoring social media channels for feedback and mentions from your brands audience can assist in making curated and custom hashtags. These hashtags can then be used for user-generated content when customers use the hashtag. All in all, using social listening tools will help a brand understand their audience better. Take a deeper dive into social listening with Sonnhalter’s blog “What is Social Listening?.”
So, the answer is yes, hashtags are still relevant in 2025. Considering the technological advancements social media has had from the year 2007 to current times, hashtags are more important for brands to use now than ever. Hashtags have evolved from simply describing a social media post to allowing brands to categorize posts, learn about their audiences, increase engagement and more.
