Author: Franz Malten Buemann

Instagram hashtags are powerful. 
They can help your posts reach a target audience, attract followers in your niche, increase engagement, and develop a more positive and recognizable brand image.
Here’s the thing, though: with great power comes great responsibility (#spiderman).

Hashtags can skyrocket your business to new heights, but if used too frequently or without a clear strategy in mind, they become pointless and inefficient.
While it can be hard to choose the right hashtags on Instagram, you don’t have to guess. Aside from this article, we’ve put together an ultimate course on using Instagram for marketing. In this course, we’ll teach you to not just attract followers, but to attract the right followers.
First, let’s go over Instagram hashtags specifically — and why they’re so important for your Instagram marketing strategy. We’ll cover the following topics: 

What is an Instagram hashtag? 
Why are hashtags important?
Types of Instagram hashtags 
Best practices for using hashtags on Instagram  
Top Instagram hashtags for 2021
Trending Instagram hashtags
How to use hashtags on Instagram for business
How to search hashtags on Instagram

Why are hashtags important?
Hashtags are essentially Instagram’s sorting process. With around 95 million photos posted on Instagram every day, it’s difficult for Instagram to efficiently deliver the right content to the right people. Hashtags help your post get discovered by viewers most interested in seeing it.
Krystal Gillespie, HubSpot’s Social Media Community Manager, explains the importance of hashtags this way: “Hashtags are like a funnel. For instance, #marketing is incredibly broad and attracts all types of posts. We’ve found #digitalmarketing or #marketingmotivation gives us a more specific, targeted reach. The audience searching for these hashtags are also trying to narrow their search to what we offer related to marketing, so we’re actually reaching more of the right people.”
Essentially, hashtags are a better way to categorize your posts. They help you reach a target audience, and more importantly, they help your target audience find you. These users are more likely to engage with your post because it is exactly what they were looking for.

Types of Instagram Hashtags 
Hashtags are highly versatile little pieces of text. They can build a community, make your account more visible, or simply attract like-minded individuals to your account. 
Before choosing a group of hashtags for your posts, take a look at the most common ones you can use and their categorizations.
Best Instagram Hashtags for Companies
Whether you’re a social media manager at a company, an owner of a small business, or a sole proprietor, you can use the following hashtags to get more visibility on Instagram. 

Product or service hashtags. Companies use product hashtags for posts related to their product and service offerings. This will usually be general, such as #hairsalon or #knitwear. 

Industry niche hashtags. These hashtags are used to indicate the specific work you do and are narrower than your product or service hashtags. Examples include #blackhairsalon or #handmadeknits. 

Branded hashtags. Branded hashtags help you build a community specifically around your brand or business. This can be a slogan. It can also be the name of a specific product that you offer or even your business name. 

Campaign hashtags. If you’re running a sponsored ad, you can use a unique hashtag to keep track of activity relating to the campaign. 

User-generated content hashtags. This type of hashtag is created specifically for your customers. These are different from product, branded, and campaign hashtags because you, the company, can’t influence what gets posted. Other people can visit this hashtag to see unfiltered and unsponsored photos of your product. 

Instagram community hashtags for your industry. These hashtags are great for getting more visibility among other Instagrammers who do what you do. For example, if you were a knitter, you might post in #knittersofinstagram.   

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Event or conference hashtags. As a company or business owner, you can use these hashtags to add to the conversation relating to a specific event or industry conference.  

Cultural movement hashtags. Cultural movements such as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ Pride, and feminism have hashtags on Instagram (#BlackLivesMatter, #Pride, and #feminism, respectively). Use these hashtags to uplift voices, share information, and make your company’s stance clear. 

Location hashtags. These are great to target users in your area. Think #hairsalonnyc or #atlantabakery. 
 

Phrase hashtags. Phrase hashtags such as #writeeveryday and #bebrave can hint at what you do while providing inspiration to users.  

Like individuals, you can also use daily, acronym, and holiday hashtags to engage in trending conversations. 
Top Instagram Hashtags for Individuals
Do you use Instagram for personal use? Take a look at the hashtags that are available to you. 

Personal hashtags. You use these hashtags specifically in posts related to you. Think #me, #selfie, #lovemyself, #vacation, and #lovemylife. 

Daily hashtags. Daily hashtags usually have a theme, such as #workoutwednesday, #throwbackthursday, and #motivationmonday. 

Acronym hashtags. Think #ootd (outfit of the day), #potd (photo of the day), and #tbt. 

Holiday hashtags. Use these hashtags for specific holidays such as #DiaDeLosMuertos or #IndependenceDay to share how you’re spending time during these days. 

Like companies, you can also use phrase, cultural movement, event, and location hashtags. 

Best Practices for Using Hashtags on Instagram  
Using hashtags on Instagram is a relatively simple process, but you’ll want to adhere to a few rules to get the most out of your hashtagging. 
We’ve compiled best practices under the following frequently asked questions. 
How many hashtags can I use on instagram? 
Thirty hashtags is the maximum number you can use. 
The average is eleven, with half of Instagram accounts using between one and three. You can use more or less depending on your Instagram marketing goals. More doesn’t necessarily mean better. 
Should I add hashtags to every Instagram post? 
Yes! Absolutely you should. 
Try to choose hashtags that are as narrow or as niche as possible. The less volume of posts a hashtag has, the more likely you’ll be seen by people who follow them. Plus, if the subject matter is highly specific, people are more likely to engage with your post. 
All of my posts are similar. Can I use the same hashtags over and over again? 
No. Instagram’s algorithm may penalize you for consistently using the same hashtags, pushing your posts down so they don’t show up for those tags. 
Even more, they might even ban your account, because using identical hashtags could make it look like you’re spamming users.
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Try rotating out your hashtags so that they’re highly relevant to that specific post, even if the posts are similar. Let’s say that you own a handmade pasta business. If you always use the hashtag #spaghetti but post photos of linguini, macaroni, and penne, Instagram may flag your account, and users won’t engage. 
Can I hide the hashtags in a comment? 
Absolutely. You can hide your hashtags in a comment. Instagram doesn’t distinguish between caption hashtags and comment hashtags. 
Simply write your caption as you would. After that, navigate to the published post and leave a comment with your hashtags. They will be hidden completely until users navigate to the comment section. 
How do I hide hashtags in the caption? 
Don’t want to post the hashtags in a comment? No worries. 
You can hide the hashtags in the caption by either 1) writing a caption that’s more than three lines long or 2) adding 3 to 5 line breaks with a punctuation mark.  
To add a line break, place the text cursor at the end of your caption and hit Return. Don’t forget to add either a period, a dash, an asterisk, or a tilde to ensure that that line stays there. (If there’s no punctuation, Instagram may treat it as accidental extra space, and delete those line breaks upon publication.) 
Are there any hashtags I should avoid using? 
Yes. Instagram maintains a list of banned hashtags. However, they don’t publish this list, and there’s no authoritative source. 
Some are intuitive, such as NSFW and self-harm hashtags, while others, such as #pushups and #mustfollow, aren’t as self-evident. If you have any doubt about your hashtags, be sure to look it up using the app’s Search function.
If it doesn’t show up, it’s banned. If it does show up, navigate to the hashtag feed and check for a message like this: 
 

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If your prospective hashtag doesn’t have a message like this, you’re all good to go. 
Now that you know some basic dos and don’ts, let’s take a look at the top Instagram hashtags for the year. 

Adding one of the most popular Instagram hashtags to your post doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see more interaction. Since the hashtags below are so popular, they are being used by millions of people, so your post will most likely be obscured by the competition. Narrowing your hashtag topic is important, but we’ll get to that next.
Here are the top Instagram hashtags for this year.
1. #love (2B posts)
Instagram users build their photo galleries on good feelings. For this reason, the #love hashtag is ever present next to the pics of friends, family, vacations, and beautiful scenery.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #love: 
#love #lovely #loveit #loveyourself #lovelife #lovequotes #loveislove #lovefood #lovemylife #lovewhatyoudo #lovethis
2. #instagood (1.2B posts)
Occurrences of this hashtag are inspired by the @instagood Instagram account, which scours the Instagram community for excellent photos and videos that are just too #instagood not to share. Add this hashtag to your content for a chance to be reposted.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagood:
#instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment #instagramhub

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3. #fashion (900M posts)
People often turn to Instagram to see what styles are “in”, looking at posts ranging from fashion week to everyday outfit inspirations. This means that a significant portion of the content on Instagram revolves around fashion — in fact, there are nearly one billion #fashion posts on Instagram. You will find celebrities, luxury brands, clothes, makeup, and other aspirational images tagged with #fashion.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fashion: 
#fashion #fashionblogger #fashionista #fashionable #fashionstyle #fashionblog #fashiongram #fashionaddict #fashionweek #fashiondiaries
4. #photooftheday (883M posts)
Managing a business account? This hashtag is a surefire way to attract more followers and repeat visitors. If you plan to post daily content, all around a common theme, add the #photooftheday hashtag to increase your exposure.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #photooftheday: 
#photooftheday #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday #bestoftheday
5. #art (750M posts)
Artists of all kinds have always flocked to Instagram, and this hashtag holds pictures or process videos of all of their paintings, sculptures, and quirky creations. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #art: 
#art #artist #artwork #instaart #arte #streetart #digitalart #artofvisuals #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #artsy #artistic #arts #artgallery #modernart 
6. #beautiful (717M posts)
Instagram is the place to go to put your best foot forward — whether it be your amazing getaway, a new hairstyle, or a breath-taking sunset, #beautiful photos encompass the best of what the platform has to offer.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #beautiful: 
#beautiful #beautifuldestinations #beautifulday #beautifulview #beautifulplace #beautifulcuisines #beautifulplaces #beautifuldestination #beautifulnature
7. #photography (700M posts)
At its core, Instagram is a photo sharing media, so it makes sense that there are some stunning and artistic images shared in #photography. Instagram is unique in that a user could be scrolling through the #photography posts and see National Geographic and professional photos next to amateur photographers.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #photography: 
#photography #travelphotography #naturephotography #streetphotography #foodphotography #portraitphotography #landscapephotography #weddingphotography #blackandwhitephotography
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8. #follow (620M posts)
This hashtag — currently tagged on more than six hundred million posts — is a tactic used by public accounts looking to gain more followers. It’s a ubiquitous tag, non-specific to any one type of content creator, so you’ll see #follow on fashion accounts, travel blogs, makeup tutorials, celebrity fan pages, and much more. The idea is that if a user comes across content that they like on your explore page, they might be motivated to follow the account for more of that content.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #follow: 
#follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback #pleasefollow #follows #follower #following
9. #happy (615M posts)
Sometimes the best part of feeling good is sharing that sunshine with others. The #happy group of posts is full of radiant people and lighthearted content that brings us joy. Tag a photo of a cute kitten or one of yourself after getting a promotion with #happy.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #happy: 
#happy #happyday #happylife #happyfriday #happyhour #happyme #happymonday #happysunday #happytime #happydays #happydog #happyplace
10. #cute (610M posts)
#Cute puts your content in a pool of Instagram photos and videos that elicit “awes” from all over the Instaverse. If you think your puppy is the cutest puppy that ever lived, it deserves a photo with this esteemed hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #cute: 
#cute #cutedog #cutebaby #cuteness #cuteanimals #cutecat #cutepetclub #cutenessoverload #cuteboy #cutedogs #cutecouple #cutepuppy #cutest 
11. #instagram (600M posts)
Navigate to this hashtag and you’ll find everything from selfies to photos of food to pet pictures to vacation shots. Use this hashtag to signal that you’re on Instagram and that you have something worth sharing. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagram: 
#instagram #instagramers #instagramhub #instagrammers #instagramer #instagramanet #instagramdogs #instagrammer #instagramjapan #instagramcats #instagramfitness

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12. #nature (600M posts)
Nature is all around us. It’s also on Instagram. This hashtag is used to post everything related to nature, including mountains, rivers, and wild animals. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #nature: 
#nature #naturephotography #naturelovers #naturelover #nature_perfection #naturegram #nature_brilliance #natureaddict #nature_shooters #naturephoto #naturelove
13. #tbt (560M posts)
#Tbt stands for “Throwback Thursday,” and encourages Instagram users to post an old photo of themselves or an event they’re reminiscing over. Everyone likes content from the good old days — here’s your hashtag for enjoying the nostalgia.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #tbt: 
#throwbackthursday #tbthursday #tbtphoto 
14. #followme (560M posts) 
A close cousin to #followforfollow and #likeforlike, #followme is used by Instagrammers looking to grow their follower base.  
Top Instagram hashtags related to #followme: 
#follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback #pleasefollow #follows #follower #following
15. #travel (544M posts)
Away for the weekend? Show your followers where you are, using this hashtag to indicate you’re traveling somewhere new.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #travel: 
#travel #travelgram #instatravel #travelphotography #traveling #travelling #travelblogger #traveler #traveller #travelingram #traveltheworld #travelblog #travels #traveladdict 
16. #style (500M posts)
This hashtag has more than 500 million posts associated with it, making it one of the top tags on Instagram. It’s used for beautifully edited photos of outfits, vacations, luxury products, and anything aesthetically stunning. Tag #style on a gorgeous outfit inspiration or new product, and Instagram users looking to add a little glamour to their lives will find you.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #style: 
#style #styleinspo #styleblogger #styleinspiration #styleoftheday #stylefashion #stylegoals #stylediary #stylegram #styleguide #styleblog
17. #repost (500M posts)
Reposting is a common function on Instagram that allows you to share content from other users, with credit back to the original user. Use the hashtag, #repost, to tell others on Instagram that you were inspired by this photo or video.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #repost: 
#repost #reposter #repostapp  #reposting #repostthis #reposted 
18. #instadaily (500M posts)
This hashtag is similar to #photooftheday and is perfect for Instagrammers who post every day.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instadaily: 
#photooftheday #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday #bestoftheday
19. #summer (490M posts)
The summertime is the best season to enjoy fun vacations, fruity drinks, and time by the pool. This tag is full of Instagram users enjoying the long summertime hours on the beach or showing off the breezy outfits keeping them cool under the hot #summer sun.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #summer: 
#summer #summertime #summervibes #summerfun #summernights #summerdays #summerstyle #summerfashion #summerday

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20. #selfie (442M posts)
This is the quintessential selfie hashtag, indicating to the Instagram community that the photo its captioning is a picture of you.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #selfie:
#me #selfies #selfietime #selfienation #selfiesunday  #selfiegram #selfielove #selfieaddict #selfiesaturday #selfiemania 
21. #fitness (433M posts)
Get in on a trending community of workout warriors with photos and videos from your best exercise sessions, using the #fitness hashtag to share the moment.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fitness:
#fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitnessmodel #fitnessaddict #fitnessgirl #fitnessjourney #fitnesslife #fitnesslifestyle #fitnessgoals #fitnessfreak #fitnessfood #fitnessgear #fitnessinspiration
22. #beauty (431M posts) 
The hashtag #beauty is mainly used by beauty bloggers — professional make-up artists and hobbyists — but you’ll also find some pet shots and nature shots in there, too. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #beauty:
#beauty #beautyblog #beautycare #beautytips #beautyaddict #beautysalon #beautybloggers #beautyqueen #beautyguru #beautyproducts #beautyofnature #beautygram 
23. #food (428M posts)
Meal pics are the bread and butter (no pun intended) of a people-oriented Instagram account. Use the #food hashtag to caption your next delicious Instagram photo.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #food:
#food #foodporn #instafood #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
24. #fun (400M posts)
If it’s not fun, it’s not Instagram-worthy. Make it known to millions of Instagram users that you had a blast in your latest photo or video with this popular hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fun:
#fun #funny #lol #lmao #hilarious #laugh #laughing #tweegram #friends #wacky #crazy #silly #witty #instahappy #joke #jokes
25. #likeforlike (345M posts)
#Likeforlike is similar to the #followforfollow hashtag. Use this hashtag if you want to increase engagement on your Instagram account, telling users that you’ll like their photo or video if they like yours.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #likeforlike:
#likeforlike #followme #like4like #liker #likes #l4l #likes4likes #love #likesforlikes #liketeam #likeback #likebackteam #likeall #likealways
The above hashtags might have helped define Instagram over the last year, but there are still plenty more that end up trending every year. The following hashtags can help inspire photos and videos that Instagram users always find captivating. 

1. #life (366M posts)
This one goes out to all the photos and videos that encompass the essence of your life — whether in quarantine or not. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #life:
#life #lifestyle #healthylifestyle #lovelife #luxurylifestyle #lifeisgood #lifestyleblogger #lifequotes #loveofmylife #luxurylife #lifeofadventure 
2. #music (350M posts)
This hashtag is for those who love music and the people who create it. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #music:
#music #musica #musician #musically #musicvideo #musical #musicians #musicislife #musicproducer #musiclife #musiclover #musicfestival #musicphotography #musicproduction
3. #amazing (289M posts)
The hashtag #amazing is used for everything you find, well, amazing — places, art, beautiful homes, awe-inspiring videos, and more. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #amazing:
#beautiful #cute #awesome #amazingview #amazingfood #amazingplaces
4. #nofilter (280M posts)
Instagram offers so many different filters to help enhance photos, it’s practically assumed that any picture on Instagram has been edited. But if you’re posting a pic that was beautiful all by itself, let the world know that this gem didn’t need a filter to look so nice.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #nofilter:
#nofilter #nofilterneeded #nofilters #nofiltersneeded #nofilternecessary #nofilterneededforthisbeauty 
5. #sunset (272M posts)
Who doesn’t love a good sunset? Users add posts to this hashtag to show off a beautiful sunset near them. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #sunset:
#sunset #sunsets #sunsetlovers #sunsetporn #sunsetlover #sunsetsky #sunsetphotography #sunsetbeach #sunsethunter #sunsetmadness 
6. #motivation (258M posts)
On Twitter, #MondayMotivation encourages inspiring quotes and messages to help people start the week off on the right foot. On Instagram, the #motivation hashtag has come to caption anything from a photo of a user after a big gym session, to a computer screen right before he or she gets to work.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #motivation:
#motivation #motivationalquotes #motivational #motivationmonday #motivationalquote #MotivationalSpeaker #motivationalmonday #motivations #motivationquotes
7. #instamood (251M posts)
#Instamood is all about the vibe or emotion a photo or video elicits. Pretty scenery, a day at the beach, or a night out with good people are all prominent under the #instamood hashtag. Landscapes are a popular starting point when figuring out what to post on Instagram, according to Jumper Media, and they fit into this hashtag perfectly.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instamood:
#instamood #instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment #instagramhub 
8. #foodporn (250M posts)
I hope you’re hungry! The #foodporn tag is brimming with mouthwatering posts of desserts, pizza, recipe videos, and so much more. This hashtag is for the best of the best when it comes to delectable treats on Instagram — find the most original, delicious, and tantalizing food pictures on the internet under this hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #foodporn:
#food #foodporn #instafood #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
9. #handmade (245M posts)
The hashtag #handmade is like the #art hashtag for handmade wares, clothing, and novelties. The rise of slow fashion and a growing interest in sustainably-made products makes this one of the top trending hashtags this year. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #handmade:
#handmade #handmadejewelry #handmadewithlove #handmadeisbetter #handmadefont #handmadegifts #handmadejewellery #handmadeshoes #handmadesoap #handmadeaccessories 
10. #dogsofinstagram (225M posts)
We all know that the internet loves cute puppies, so it shouldn’t be surprising when a hashtag for our beloved doggos trends on Instagram.  It’s always a good idea to include man’s best friend in an Instagram post — your followers will love it and you’re almost guaranteed dozens of heart emojis in your comments.
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Top Instagram hashtags related to #dogsofinstagram:
#dogsofinstagram #dogs #dog #dogstagram #dogsofinsta #dogsofig #dogsitting #dogslife #doglife #dogsofinstaworld #dogoftheday
11. #bestoftheday (210M posts)
The #bestoftheday tag offers a glimpse into the massive amount of varied content that is posted to Instagram every day. Here, you’ll find some of the most noteworthy images on the platform — images of beautiful spots around the world, award-winning photos, yummy recipes, adorable animals, and so much more.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #bestoftheday: 
 #bestoftheday #instadaily #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday
12. #instafood (190M posts)
This popular tag is different from other food hashtags because it accompanies food pictures that are gorgeous, creative, and, most importantly, worthy of Instagram. Instagram posts are  known for being aesthetically appealing, and #instafood is no different. Use this tag if you’re posting a photo of a colorful, unique, and sumptuous dish! 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instafood:
#instafood #food #foodporn #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
13. #explore (185M posts) 
Instagram has always had an explore section, but only recently have Instagrammers started to use this hashtag to win a highly coveted but elusive spot on this page. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #explore:
#instagrammers #igers #instalove #instamood #instagood #followme #follow #comment #shoutout
14. #memes (180M posts) 
A classic but a goodie. Throughout the years, humor has taken different forms — comedy sitcoms, stand-ups, knock-knock jokes, and more. But none of these forms come near the Instagram-worthiness of memes. Use this hashtag to share a unique meme or repost one from another account. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #memes:
#memes #meme #dankmemes #funnymemes #memesdaily #edgymemes #offensivememes #fortnitememes #dailymemes #spicymemes #memestagram #btsmemes #memes😂  #memepage #memelord
15. #followforfollowback (160M posts)
Interested in building a fast list of followers on Instagram? #Followforfollowback tells everyone who browses this hashtag that you’ll follow users who choose to follow you. This hashtag is always trending highly.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #followforfollowback:
#followforfollowback #follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback
16. #tweegram (95M posts)
There is plenty of multi-platform sharing across social media sites, and in #tweegram, you’ll find images taken from Twitter, Pinterest, and more. #Tweegram is best known for quotes, screenshots of Tweets, and memes.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #tweegram:
#tweetgram #tweet #twitter #twitterposts #twitterweek #twittermarketing #twittermemes #twitterpost #twittermeme #twitterquotes #twitterwhy 
17. #instagramhub (65M posts)
This hashtag isn’t specific to one type of post — #instagramhub is a place for active Instagram users to demonstrate their presence on the platform and reach larger audiences. By including this popular hashtag, influencers on Instagram are able to connect with as many users as possible.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagramhub:
 #instagramhub  #igers #instagram #instadaily #instamood #instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment
18. #quarantine (30M posts)
#Quarantine is the quintessential COVID-19 hashtag and has no defined aesthetic or subject matter. Instead, it ecompasses everything that we see, experience, and do — or don’t do — during quarantine. You can find pet photos, cooking videos, memes, and, most shockingly, shots of people on vacation. 
It’s worth noting that there’s no #COVID hashtag because Instagram wants to prevent the spread of misinformation. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #quarantine:
#quarantine #quarantinelife #quarantineandchill
19. #BlackLivesMatter (26M posts)
The Black Lives Matter movement swept through the United States in 2020 and has been at the forefront of the cultural imagination since the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Use this hashtag to add value to the movement or uplift voices that differ from your own.  
Top Instagram hashtags related to #blacklivesmatter:
#blm #blackhistorymonth #blackownedbusiness #blackgirlmagic #blackouttuesday #blackexcellence
Read HubSpot’s stance on Black Lives Matter here.

1. Keep your hashtags organized.
To create an efficient hashtag system, you can use Excel or an Instagram analytics tool. If you choose an excel sheet, you’ll need to manually keep track of which hashtags you use, how often, and which ones correlate to your most popular posts. Over time, you’ll see relationships between certain hashtags and your most popular posts, and this can help you decide which hashtags work best for your brand.
If you have a more advanced social media team, you might want to consider a tool like Iconosquare, which automatically stores top hashtags and provides reports on which hashtags reach the most people.
For smaller businesses with limited budgets, Krystal Gillespie says that, “an excel sheet is the best way to start. Once you get more advanced I would highly recommend using a tool to track the data. A manual system can get overwhelming when you’re posting three times a day and using about 20 hashtags per post.”
2. Figure out your magic number.
Most top brands use seven or fewer hashtags per post, so it’s easy to assume that’s the magic number for everyone … right? Krystal explains that this isn’t always the case: She told me HubSpot has been more successful with hashtags ranging in the low 20s.
The point is, you can’t know how many hashtags work best for you until you test it. For HubSpot, it took the team several months to find a number that worked best, and during our trial period, we ranged from seven to 30. Give yourself the same flexibility for trial and error.
3. Narrow your hashtags.
There are two big reasons more specific, smaller-volume hashtags are better for your brand: first, you can compete in a smaller pool. HubSpot, for example, doesn’t typically use the hashtag #marketing because it’s too broad. If you search #marketing, you’ll find pictures of restaurants, inspirational quotes, before-and-after hair style pictures, and memes.
The randomness of #marketing leads me to the second reason specific hashtags are a good idea: as a user, I’m more likely to find what I need if I search for something specific, and when your business comes up for my specific search request, I’m more likely to be happy with what I found.
Krystal explains: “Keeping a hashtag close to the interests of your brand really helps. We try to use hashtags tailored for a specific topic and then narrow it down further — for instance, we’d use #SEOTips if our marketing post was mostly about SEO.”
Think of it this way: #dogs is more popular, but it has a wide demographic. If I search #goldenretrieverpuppies and I find your post, I’m more likely to engage with it because it’s exactly what I wanted.
4. Research what other people are hashtagging.
An easy way to generate hashtag ideas is to make a list of your followers or competitors and research what they’re hashtagging on their own photos. It can also be particularly helpful to research what influencers in your industry are hashtagging — by definition, influencers are people with a large social media following, so they must be doing something right.
5. Test out related hashtags.
When you type a hashtag into Instagram’s search bar, Instagram shows you related hashtags in the scroll-down menu. Instagram also delivers related hashtags on the next page after you click on a hashtag. This is a simple way to create a longer list of hashtags to try out.
6. Follow your own hashtag.
Another way to use Instagram hashtags for your marketing purposes is to follow your own hashtag. Krystal explains, “On Instagram I actually follow the hashtag #hubspot so I can find anyone who talks about us and connect with them. As long as your account isn’t private, people will be able to find you via the hashtag.”
Following your own hashtag is an effective way to engage with other people talking about your brand and develop better relationships with them.
7. Create a brand campaign hashtag.
This is the trickiest item on the list, but if done successfully, it can pay off big time. Some businesses have successfully attracted followers by creating their own campaign hashtag. A campaign hashtag needs to be funny, clever, or at least memorable in order to work.
Campaign hashtags are particularly useful for promoting a new product or upcoming event, or even just inspiring people. Red Bull, for example, encouraged followers to post Red Bull pictures with a #putacanonit hashtag (see what I mean about clever?). LuLuLemon, rather than running a more traditional ad campaign, developed a positive connotation for their brand by asking followers to post real, active pictures of themselves with a #sweatlife hashtag.
Now that we’ve covered the importance of using Instagram hashtags for your business, you might be wondering how to search for Instagram hashtags within the app, or how to use the search function to find related ideas. If you’re unsure of the technical process for hashtag searching, here’s how:

How to Search Hashtags on Instagram
To search hashtags on Instagram, tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen, then tap the search bar at the top. Selecting the “Tags” option will enable you to search hashtags and related hashtags based on the popularity of each one.
1. Open Instagram and tap the search icon.
Instagram wants you to use hashtags, and has made it extremely easy to find the perfect ones for your post. To start, open the Instagram app on your mobile device and tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen.

2. Tap the search bar at the top of your screen.
The search screen on your Instagram might first send you to a newsfeed-style page (the Explore page) with suggested content based on topics you’ve demonstrated an interest in on social media. To switch to a hashtag search, tap the search bar at the top of this page, as shown in the screenshot above.
3. Tap “Tags.”
Once you’ve tapped the search bar at the top of your screen, Instagram will give you four options with which to filter your search. Instagram refers to hashtags as simply “Tags,” as shown in the screenshot below. Tap this “Tags” option, then tap the search bar above it, and begin searching topics for which you want to find a trending hashtag.
You don’t have to include the pound sign (#) in your search — your results will be the same with or without it — but you will need to use this pound sign in the caption of your photo once you choose a hashtag.

4. Browse hashtags based on post count and current content.
Voila! You should see multiple options for hashtags based on your search. Browse around at each related hashtag that Instagram suggests for you — you might find that a hashtag with slightly fewer posts includes photos or videos that are more in line with the content you’re posting.
After finding the best hashtags for your account, you’ll be sure to create a winning hashtag strategy. 
Use Hashtags on Instagram to Gain More Followers
Using hashtags is a critical part of a strong Instagram marketing strategy. Following best practices, you can increase your follower count and boost the numbers of leads coming from Instagram. Happy hashtagging!
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Ever since email marketing became a legitimate marketing channel in the 1990s, email marketers have largely measured their performance against two metrics: open rate and clickthrough rate.
The open rate measures the percentage of recipients who opened your email, which helps you gauge the performance of your subject line and preview. Your clickthrough rate (CTR) measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on the links in your email against the total number of subscribers who received the email.

This means that a low open rate can dilute your clickthrough rate, even if a large percentage of the recipients who opened your email clicked through to your website. With this in mind, your clickthrough rate may not be the best indicator of engagement.
So, how do you accurately measure your email campaigns’ true levels of engagement? Cue the click-to-open rate, or CTOR.
At HubSpot, our email marketing team measures their campaigns’ engagement against CTOR because it’s a clear indicator of resonance.
“CTOR helps us understand and measure how our email message and CTAs are resonating and performing with our audience,” says Ari Echt-Wilson, a Conversational Marketing Manager at HubSpot and former Experiment Head of HubSpot’s Global Messaging Team. “Since the only people who see the message are the ones that open the email, it makes sense for us to measure clicks based on those who opened the email.”
How To Calculate the CTOR
To calculate the click-to-open rate, the formula is simple: You start by dividing the number of unique clicks by the number of unique opens. Then, you multiply that number by 100. The answer is your CTOR.

Let’s use an example: You send an email to 1,000 subscribers. Twenty subscribers open the email and there are a total of 15 clicks. Here’s how you find the CTOR: (15/20) x 100 = 75%. This would mean that your CTOR is very high, with the majority of subscribers who opened the email clicking on the links.
When using this formula, it’s important to only count unique opens and clicks. For instance, if one of your subscribers opens your email in the morning and clicks on a link. Then, later that night, they go back to the email and click on it again. You wouldn’t want that subscriber to be counted twice, as that would muddle the data. That’s why the CTOR must only account for unique opens and clicks.
Now that you know how to calculate the CTOR, you may want to set benchmarks for your own emails. A 2020 Campaign Monitor report found that the average click-to-open rate across all industries is 14.3%. Brands in real estate, design, and construction industries see the highest CTOR averages at 17.7%. The same report shows that food and beverage brands experience the lowest CTOR at 8.9%.
Use these numbers as benchmarks for your own campaigns.
CTR vs. CTOR: Which one is better?
According to Echt-Wilson, CTOR is arguably the best metric for measuring an email campaign’s resonance. But this rate can reveal even more insights about your email marketing, helping your team understand how to improve your campaigns.
“If an email is never opened, then it’s hard to grasp how we can move the needle in terms of engagement,” says Tova Miller, a Senior Marketing Manager and former Demand Generation Marketing Manager at HubSpot.
Clickthrough rate is still a valuable metric to track though, especially when you need a holistic view of your email’s performance.
“I look at clickthrough rate to get a high-level understanding of how my email performed overall,” says Jordan Pritikin, the Email and Growth Marketing Manager at HubSpot. “Since CTR accounts for deliverability, subject line performance, and how your email’s content performed, it’s a good metric to look at when I need a quick glance at how my email performed overall.”
How to Improve Your CTOR
Whether you’ve been tracking your CTOR for a while or plan to start, there will always be room for improvement. Here are a few steps to take to enhance your CTOR:
1. Use CTA buttons.
A great email has a few elements: engaging copy, enticing images, and compelling calls-to-action. And in an email full of text, button CTAs are great attention-catchers.
You can use text-based CTAs, like “Click here for more information.” However, some data reports suggest that buttons can lead to higher clickthrough rates. In one A/B test, Campaign Monitor saw a 28% increase in conversions by using a button instead of a text link.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using buttons:

Keep the prompt short: one to three words.
Use action-based verbs, like “learn,” “discover,” “find,” and “start.”
Place your CTA after presenting the offer, not before.

Lastly, your CTA button should be prominent enough to stand out, but not so big that it hinders the overall user experience. If you’re not sure, do a squint test to make sure it’s just right.
2. Re-evaluate your offers.
One of the reasons why your click-to-open rate may be low is because your offers don’t align with your audience’s interests. You may find that subscribers are opening up your email but as they scroll, none of the links appeal to them.
There are a few ways to address this:

Segment your email list – This will ensure you deliver emails that your subscribers are actually interested in. Your leads shouldn’t be receiving the same emails as your customers. They’re in different stages of the funnel and may have different motivations.

Send a survey – If you’re not sure what offers your audience want to see, who better to ask than the source itself? You can also include link triggers in the email survey that can segment subscribers based on their answers.

3. Stick to one CTA.
There are a few tactics you can use when it comes to email CTAs. Some brands prefer to employ multiple CTAs in their emails, leaving it up to subscribers to click on the one they find most interesting. You’ll see this often in emails for retail offers. The idea is that more CTAs equals more opportunities to increase CTR.
One drawback of this approach is choice overload. It happens when consumers have difficulty making a decision because they are faced with too many options.
With this in mind, consider testing a single CTA. If there’s only one desired action, you may increase your CTOR by using this focused method.
However, keep in mind that this approach may not be appropriate for all campaigns. Experiment, A/B test, and adjust as needed.
Email Marketing Is Always Adapting
Email marketing might be one of the most established marketing channels in the digital era, but it’s always adapting. Clickthrough rate reigned as the superior engagement metric for most of email marketing’s history, but the click-to-open rate is proving to be a lot more revealing and insightful than its predecessor.

When you visit the App Store or Google Play and search “social media,” there are hundreds of apps to choose from. But, as the pool of social platforms grows, will any of them really change the game for marketers this year?
The truth is, probably so. The year 2020 changed the way we did just about everything — including socializing. Social distancing became a familiar part of our lives leaving a void for personalized communication we used to have in-person.
Nevertheless, humans are adaptable, and several new social networking sites have emerged in the last twelve months to recreate the communities we’ve had to abandon abruptly.

2021 Social Media Trends
The hottest trend thus far is audio-based social networking. Stephanie Morgan, social media expert and founder of marketing agency Social Lock sees a bright future for this new type of community, “Audio-based social networking is a relatively new concept, but it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
Aside from Facebook and Snapchat, we’ve also been watching platforms like Reddit and Pinterest aim to improve on advertising and marketing features.
But, if your role specializes in social media, audience growth, or online engagement — or if your company targets the early-adopters in Gen-Z or millennial age groups — you’ll still want to be on the lookout for platforms that could gain momentum later on.
Why? Watching the growth of young, promising social channels will help you determine which are worth joining and which aren’t worth your time. And, if you do end up joining a hot new social channel early on, you may have more time to pick up on what promotional content works there. This will put you ahead of competitors that launch their accounts later and might struggle to come up with creative post ideas.
To help you stay on the cutting edge of social media, we’ve compiled a list of six young social platforms that you might want to put on your radar this year. These platforms have all gained a large user base, interest from investors, or news buzz in recent months.
For each platform, we’ll walk you through how it works, its user base, why it might be promising to marketers later on, and how you should approach it today.
1. TikTok

Year Launched: 2017 (Founded in 2016)

Number of Users: 1 billion monthly active users

In 2018, the lip-syncing app, Musical.ly merged with a similar one-year-old app called TikTok. Since then, TikTok has reportedly reached 1 billion active monthly users. With more than 2.6 billion global downloads, TikTok is now more popular in app stores than Facebook, Instagram, and other prominent social media platforms.
For those who remember Vine or Musical.ly, TikTok is like a mix of the two. The platform allows you to film short videos that play on a repetitive loop just like Vine. But, like Musical.ly or Snapchat, you can add fun effects, AR filters, text, and musical overlays to zest things up. Like similar video platforms, it has been primarily adopted by users under 30 years old.
Once you make a video, the app also allows you to optimize it by adding hashtags that can make it easier to find via search.
One way hashtags have been embraced on TikTok is through its “Challenges” tab. This area of the platform prompts you to propose a challenge with a themed hashtag. When you post a video that responds to a challenge, you can include the corresponding hashtag so those following the challenge can see your videos.
Along with being widely discussed by publications including the New York Times and Digiday, the app has also gained notoriety from comedians like Jimmy Fallon. Here’s a clip from The Tonight Show where he talks about the app and tells fans to compete in his #tumbleweed challenge:

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Aside from being fun and entertaining, the app is “leaking into brand territory,” according to Krystal Wu, HubSpot’s Social Media Community Manager. She explained that more brands are on the platform, adding that, “The Washington Post is on TikTok and they are pretty popular too.”
The Washington Post, as she mentioned, has already gained nearly 850,000 followers.
While you would expect a newspaper like this to post content with a more serious or investigative tone, the Post shows off a lighter, behind-the-scenes look at its newsroom. In this example, one of its journalists struggles to walk up the stairs to the sounds of MGMT’s “Electric Feel”:
Brands like Guess have also started to experiment with TikTok. To highlight its new line of denim clothing, Guess launched the #inMyDenim challenge encouraging users to publish videos of themselves wearing Guess denim with Bebe Rexha’s song, “I’m a Mess.” playing in the background.
Here’s a video that someone posted in response to the challenge:

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Brands like Guess have also started to experiment with TikTok. To highlight its new line of denim clothing, Guess launched the #inMyDenim challenge encouraging users to publish videos of themselves wearing Guess denim with Bebe Rexha’s song, “I’m a Mess.” playing in the background.
Here’s a video that someone posted in response to the challenge:

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At the moment, fashion, publishing, and entertainment companies are starting to play with TikTok. As the platform grows, we might see it expand to other industries that are able to get creative and visual with their marketing tactics.
While you might not want to focus all of your social media resources on TikTok just yet, it’s a great time to familiarize yourself with the app and start experimenting with a few fun videos. You could also try to brainstorm a few challenges or video ideas that could align well with your brand and the platform’s young audience. If you see any brands that are in a similar space as you, follow them for some added inspiration.
2. Clubhouse

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
Unlike traditional social media sites Facebook or Twitter which provide an asynchronous platform for communicating and sharing content, Clubhouse leverages synchronous, audio-only connectivity between the audience and the speakers. It’s not quite a podcast, but a more personal way to share information with your audience who can talk back to you in real-time. You might be wondering “What actually happens in Clubhouse?” And the truth is, a little bit of everything. Topics like starting a business from top VCs, relationship discussions hosted by celebrities, and even comedy clubs by up-and-coming comedians all find their way in front of live audiences.

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Before we talk about how much of a stir Clubhouse has caused in the tech space, we have to tell you that the app is only available in beta on devices that support iOS. That hasn’t been a hindrance to the platform thus far; Investors are lining up to support the development and expansion of the audio-only phenomenon, even without a presence on Google Play Store.
Part of the sudden uproar about this new social media network stems from the way it contradicts every other social platform available today. It’s invite-only — the antithesis of how we’ve come to understand and leverage social media. The developers of the app say they want to get Clubhouse just right before releasing it to the public, but users already part of the in-group act as the gatekeepers to thousands of conversations happening daily. If you don’t know someone willing to give you one of their three invitations, you’ll have to join the waitlist until Clubhouse is officially released.
How can Clubhouse work for marketers and brands? That’s yet to be determined, but professionals are experimenting right now. The race to crack the code on Clubhouse is a fast one as content creators are building their audiences quickly in hopes of securing monetization opportunities when they become available.
If you’ve received an invitation to Clubhouse, but aren’t sure how to use it, consider hosting an informal focus group, starting a conversation about a high-traffic blog article or social media post your company has published, or contributing to a conversation already hosted by a thought leader in your industry.
3. Twitter Spaces

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
You may not have heard of this one yet  (it was just released in December 2020), but it’s picking up steam fairly quickly. Similar to Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces is a beta version of the app’s newest audio feature. This voice chat alternative to the social platform’s traditional 280 character tweets is open to anyone with an iOS device, but only a select group of people chosen by Twitter can create their own space to start a conversation.

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While the app is similar in nature to Clubhouse, Twitter is venturing into this new audio-only territory to discover opportunities and threats in this type of community. Clubhouse has addressed its challenges with enforcing community standards – an opportunity Twitter wants to figure out to make the platform safe for everyone.
Stephanie Morgan, social media manager at Social Lock, predicts some promising insights about the newest audio-only social network by Twitter, “Spaces will be a great feature on Twitter because it’s already a dialogue friendly, majority non-visual platform.” She anticipates that hosting live discussions, training sessions, and customer Q&As could be a few use cases for businesses to utilize Twitter Spaces once it is released to the public.
Although this social tool probably won’t be a good fit for you or your business anytime soon, it is fascinating to watch in real-time. Even if you can’t use Twitter Spaces, perhaps you’ll be inspired by the team’s human-centered approach to developing the feature.
4. Caffeine

Year Launched: Founded in 2016 and unveiled in 2018

Number of Users: Unspecified
Caffeine.tv, a platform built by ex-Apple designers, allows you to create live broadcasts for friends and followers. The broadcasts show up in a feed where you can give an emoji reaction or respond with comments.

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Along with live video broadcasts, you can also stream your computer or TV screens as you play video games. This makes Caffeine a possible competitor to the slightly older game-streaming service, Twitch.tv. Like Twitch, which offers you money for high views or subscriptions, Caffeine has launched a monetization program that rewards engaging broadcasters.
The company hasn’t specified user numbers yet, but its Crunchbase profile reveals that it has over $259 million in investments so far. Caffeine’s biggest investor to date is 21st Century Fox.
Aside from investor interest, the platform is starting to make waves in the worlds of entertainment and sports. Recently, the platform was used to broadcast the 2019 X Games in Aspen.
Caffeine’s success so far demonstrates how live video and video platforms are gaining quick adoption from younger audiences, especially in the Gen-Z age group. If the app continues to gain interest, marketers might consider using it to show off their brand through a variety of strategies, like behind-the-scenes content, Q&As, or other live videos. This platform could also be useful to marketers in a wide variety of industries, including news, entertainment, gaming, and sports.
If live streaming could help your company spread awareness of a product, it might be a good time to familiarize yourself with both Caffeine and Twitch. As you learn more about the platforms, be sure to determine if your audience is actually using either of them and what they’re using them for. Similarly to TikTok, you should also check out what similar brands are doing if you find any with active accounts.
If you have an idea for a live stream that seems too out of the ordinary for Facebook or Instagram, Caffeine could be an interesting place to test it. Because the platform is new, there might not be many norms or rules associated with what content works or doesn’t work just yet.
5. Instagram Reels

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
We can’t deny that TikTok changed the game for social media since its debut in 2017. It’s still on our list this year as the platform continues to reinvent itself and expand into new audiences. Last year Facebook took notice of the TikTok trend and responded with Lasso, but ended the effort to make room for Instagram Reels.

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Reels is now in direct competition with TikTok, offering a similar video creation functionality. Instagram users can create videos adorned with special effects, music, and transitions notorious for keeping users in a loop.
How can reels work for your business? Everything from sharing product releases to how-to guides, Reels can be an engaging method for brands to make a presence with the Gen Z audience. If you’re not sure how to start, The Social Impact has some fun and informative examples of how to use Reels.
Not sure how to leverage this new Instagram feature? Start with your brand. Reels are a fun type of content that can display your brand’s personality. You don’t need fancy camera equipment or a director to publish content that has the viral factor. If your team simply doesn’t have the capacity to produce this content yet, consider tapping an industry influencer to create reels on your behalf.
6. Houseparty

Year Launched: 2016

Number of Users: 20 million+

Houseparty is a group-video messaging app that allows video chats that can host eight users at a time. To make things more fun for everyone in the chat, you can use video filters, stickers and other fun effects while a live conversation is in session.

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While the app itself has been around for a few years, it has gone through a few evolutions and recently gained large bumps in interest and users. The app first started as Meerkat, but rebranded itself to Houseparty and revamped its features. Since then, Houseparty has climbed app store charts and risen from 1 million to 50 million users in 2020.
Although the app does offer ad space, marketers of the future might use it in other creative ways. For example, a small makeup company might sponsor a “houseparty” where an influencer can answer beauty questions and show attendees how to use one of their new beauty products.
Although it might sound promising, still keep in mind that this app has a number of big-name competitors, including Snapchat and Zoom..
This app might also take added time and creativity. If you don’t have time to host a houseparty or can’t think of one that would effectively market your product, you might want to prioritize other platforms first.
How to Navigate The New Social Media Landscape
A marketer who discovers a hot new social channel first can become an expert on posting engaging content before their competitors even sign up. But, while it’s important for marketers to keep interesting platforms on their radar, the first priority should still be to focus time, effort, and resources on the platforms that are already thriving.
To make sure you’re balancing your time between new and old channels accordingly, focus on growing and refining strategies on the successful platforms, then timebox an hour or so once a month to look into newer platforms.
If you find a platform like TikTok, that’s both relatively new and has a fast-growing user base, brainstorm, and schedule a few experimental posts.
Be sure to use experimentation time wisely and on the right platforms. While TikTok is a great place to experiment and doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere soon, there’s always a chance that an extremely niche platform, like Clubhouse, could get overshadowed by a larger competitor – Twitter Spaces.
When you’re determining which platforms are worth watching or experimenting on, here are six questions your team should ask themselves:

What are its active user numbers? Big numbers could mean that the platform is gaining momentum and that you have even more chances to engage with a large pool of users.

Are publications or thought leaders talking about it? If a platform doesn’t specify exact numbers, but a lot of people, prominent figures, or news publications are discussing it — it might be promising.

Do older platforms have a similar tool and a bigger user base? If an older platform does the same thing, people might hesitate to adopt a newer platform. For example, marketers primarily use Stories on Instagram as opposed to Snapchat. Although Snapchat pioneered the story, the Instagram interface and experience is something that a lot more people know, understand, and trust.

Will my audiences understand how to use the platform? Will my audiences understand how to use the platform? It might be challenging to get a less tech-savvy person to join Snapchat or TikTok, but they might love a platform like Facebook or Twitter because the interfaces might be easier to understand. Pick platforms that your audience can easily use and enjoy.

Will audiences even be interested in the platform? Will audiences even be interested in the platform? While a tech novice might not enjoy TikTok, a teenager might get bored on a platform like Facebook. In fact, younger people prefer visual apps like TikTok and Instagram. While you want to pay attention to the level of adaptability, you also should pay attention to how your audience wants to consume media.

What type of content or post could we use to promote our brand on the platform? You should always make a plan of action when considering or launching a social platform. If you can’t come up with any interesting ways to market your specific product on a niche platform, you might want to hold off on making an account. On the other hand, experimenting with different posting strategies could allow your brand to look creative and cool to the platform’s audience.

Should you follow the social media trends of 2021?
Consumer behavior changes quickly in the digital space, and businesses that adapt to social media trends could see success. If you keep an eye on this kind of marketing research and tailor it to your target audience, you can craft a stellar social media plan that drives awareness and shows your brand in a creative light.
Remember, every trend won’t work to achieve your goals, so don’t venture into this new social media landscape without the most up to date data. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you in the 2020 Marketing Trends research report. The data inside is sourced from more of the experts you’ve heard from in this article and will help you introduce the next big moment on your social media platforms.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

To have a winning marketing strategy, you need to understand the analytics behind that strategy — analytics that highlight important things like: 1) the metrics you care about most, 2) how your current strategy is doing, 3) how close you are to reaching your goals, and 4) areas for improvement.

Content Marketing Analytics
There are a number of marketing analytics tools available with customizable metrics, a variety of visualizations and dashboards, and integrations to help you measure the impact of your marketing strategy. Let’s dive into 16 options.

1. HubSpot Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software

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Today, the most effective marketing is powered by a combination of customer insights and data that show you what you’re doing well and what needs improvement. However, identifying these insights and data isn’t always a straightforward process.
Enter: HubSpot.
HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software makes it easy to access all data and insights from a single location in just seconds (no SQL required!).
With HubSpot…

Your marketing and CRM data are organized in one, central location.
There’s no code necessary to access or pull business insights.
It’s an exceptionally easy tool to use and navigate.

HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software also offers attribution reporting (including granular, contact, and revenue attribution reporting) so you can connect every customer interaction to the associated record and revenue generated.
Attribution reporting also pinpoints the channels that are hitting and surpassing goals as well as which ones need to be revisited or reconsidered — this provides the necessary insight to allocate your budget effectively.
HubSpot comes with pre-built, beautiful, and customizable dashboards to display your data (you’ll have access to different dashboards based on the Marketing Hub plan you select). These templates are easy to personalize thanks to the drag-and-drop editor.
The Custom Report Builder provides access to your data in one place including contact, company, deal, marketing email, landing page, and blog engagement data. Custom Objects capture data that’s unique to your business and combine it with your CRM, custom data (e.g. inventory data), and contact data so you can create segments and build custom reports, campaigns, and workflows.
Use Behavioral Events to trigger or schedule touchpoints, track custom interactions that are unique to your business, and indicate when a customer is ready for another stage of the buyer’s journey.
Lastly, use Account Based Marketing (ABM) — which bridges the gap between Marketing and Sales and helps close your target accounts — to identify highly-valuable accounts as the tool surfaces prospects that match your customer profile criteria.
Price
There are four Marketing Hub plans with different analytics features and flexibility rangingin price from free (forever) to $3,200 per month.
2. Buffer
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Buffer’s content marketing analytics offers the option to build reports according to your goals. Add or remove custom metrics about the performance of numerous social media accounts. You can export those reports to share them easily.
Reports are updated daily so you can be sure you’re receiving timely data. Buffer’s analytics are designed to help you see channel performance at a detailed level on one dashboard.
The software also offers engagement metrics for each account individually. This helps you gain an intricate understanding of how customers are interacting with social content. Measure stories, posts, and hashtag performance as well as access the demographics of your audience across channels.
Price
Buffer’s Marketing Analytics product, Analyze, has two payment options with different features and flexibility that cost $35 per month or $50 per month.
3. Google Analytics

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Google Analytics has an expansive system of tools for content marketing analysis. The intuitive interface is easy to navigate and can be used to understand the performance of your content across multiple platforms. The analytics tool integrates with Google’s array of business software so you can access all of your insights in one place.
Price
Google Analytics offers a free and a paid plan. The free plan is ideal for SMBs and you can get started using it immediately. Meanwhile, the paid plan, called Analytics 360, is ideal for enterprise-level companies and requires you to speak with a sales rep for a quote.
4. SimilarWeb

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SimilarWeb provides traffic and engagement industry standards and tells you where your website stands among them. This information is useful for discovering how performance stacks up against the competition.
With SimilarWeb, break down your daily active users, sessions per user, use-time, and rank. Discover more information about your audience — such as repeated behaviors or interests — to improve your acquisition strategy.
Price
SimilarWeb offers two plans, one of which is free and another that’s meant for enterprise businesses and requires you to contact a rep for a consultation.
5. Moz

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Moz measures the impact of your search-engine-optimized content. Gain insight into how your work is ranking among others in your industry and which keywords are the most effective to use in your strategy.
Moz’s software tracks your site’s keyword rank and how visible it is overtime to learn what is and isn’t performing well among audiences. Additionally, track how competitors rank on search engine results pages (SERPS) — this allows you to spot areas for improvement and the parts of your campaign you can use to target them. To help with this, use Moz’s detailed reports to see how your content is reaching audiences and what you can do to improve.

Price

There are two main Moz solutions, Local and Pro. Both Local and Pro have different plans ranging in features, flexibility, and price. Local ranges in price from $129-299 while Pro ranges in price from $99-599 per month.
6. Hotjar

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Use Hotjar to track sessions on your site. Hotjar provides heat maps about how and where customers spend their time while on your website. In fact, there are real-time videos that capture how visitors are navigating and using your website. This allows you to hone in on the content that’s catching your customer’s eye. You can also track conversions and make inferences about which stage of the buyer’s journey customers might be entering or leaving.
Price
Hotjar offers three types of plans. There are two options for those who want a Personal plan that are either free or $39 per month. These options are ideal for personal and low-traffic websites.
The Business plans range in price from $99-$989 per month depending on the number of sessions per day you receive. Lastly, the Agency plan requires you to contact a rep to chat about a plan for your team and clients.
7. Semrush

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Semrush is used for search engine optimization (SEO) tracking and helps you track keyword performance in your content as well as monitor brand mentions cross-platform.
Additionally, the tool tracks Google rankings and which of your web pages receive the most traffic. This is helpful because discovering what drives visitors to your site allows you to adjust the content you’re presenting accordingly.
Price
Semrush offers three plans that range in price from $119 to $449 per month.
8. Quintly

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Quintly provides you with the insight necessary to analyze your content marketing campaigns. It also helps you make smarter decisions when it comes to social planning by equipping you with customizable metrics so you can better understand how your marketing strategy is working.
Quintly does a deep dive into all of your accounts to uncover metrics that matter to your teams and goals, and you can sort and share reports by team so everyone gets the information they need. Reports can also be automated and measured by impact using Quintly’s machine learning system. Users can access the API, integrate with popular software like Google Search, and overcome data silos.
Price
Quintly’s custom plans start at $300 per month.
9. BuzzSumo

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View and analyze marketing trends in real-time with BuzzSumo by topic so you’re able to create content that’s likely to be relevant to your audience. Trends can also be filtered by location — this way, you’ll have an understanding of what’s popular by region.
BuzzSumo lets you customize your feed so you can get the data that matters most to you. Identify relevant keywords to include in your campaigns, access examples of content proven to be successful on BuzzSumo’s site, and use the data you obtain through the tool to discover how you can drive the most traffic to your marketing content.
Price
BuzzSumo offers four plans that range in price from $99 to $499+ per month.
10. Kissmetrics

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Kissmetrics allows you to spot a customer’s journey across multiple devices, analyze their behavior on your website, and review conversion metrics (e.g. bounce rate and time on-site).
Kissmetrics focuses on behavioral analytics which is helpful if you want to learn about how customers react to and interact with your content. This will also provide insight into what’s most valuable to users and how to keep visitors coming back.
Price
Request a Kissmetrics demo or check out the payment plans for their two main products, one of which is meant for SaaS and one for ecommerce. The SaaS plan comes with three payment options — those plans are $299, $499, or a custom price (based on your custom plan). Ecommerce also has three plans that cost $299, $499, or a custom price (based on your custom plan).
11. Databox

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Databox is a business analytics and KPI dashboard platform that offers insight into the state of your business. The tool organizes all of your business data — from any source — into a single location for accessible performance tracking.
Over 70 available integrations make the process of bringing your data into the tool — as well as displaying, analyzing, and sharing it — simple. There are a number of metrics to choose from as well as custom views that you can apply to your data to display it in a way that works for your team.
The Goal Tracking feature allows you to track progress towards your targets by assigning and focusing on SMART goals within the tool. Scorecards are a feature that notifies you (daily, weekly or monthly) of any updates to your KPIs. There are also other alerts you can receive the moment your data is looking off so you can efficiently resolve the issue before it gets worse.
Price
Databox offers a regular version of their product and an Agency edition. The regular version costs anywhere from free to $248 per month. As for the Agency version of Databox, there’s a free plan but if you need more flexibility, contact a rep for billing details.
12. Supermetrics

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Supermetrics is a business analytics tool that you can use to pull marketing data (e.g. SEO, PPC, social media, and web analytics data) from any source and move it into Google Sheets, Google Data Studio, Microsoft Excel, Google BigQuery, or Snowflake. Use Supermetrics as a reporting, analytics, and data storage tool.
Bring your favorite metrics and dimensions into Supermetrics. Then, organize and filter your data within Supermetrics to analyze the success of your efforts and identify areas for improvement.
Price
Supermetrics offers multiple plans for all seven of their products, some of which require you to contact a rep and some of which list pricing on their unique web page.
13. Demand Sage

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Demand Sage is a tool used to bring all of your HubSpot datainto Google Sheets. There are one-click, customizable reports to help you understand your marketing and sales success and which areas to focus your efforts. Demand Sage offers one-click data sync and one-click, flexible reports.
Within your spreadsheet, create granular, record-level reports and use the table builder to display your data with any view you’d like. Additionally, attribution and revenue reporting connects marketing and sales data in your reports for greater internal alignment and insight into how your pipeline is working as well as what’s driving revenue.
Price
Demand Sage is free.
14. Grow.com

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Grow.com is a business intelligence platform that allows you to import and transform your business’s data from a number of sources and create dashboards with the metrics that matter to you.
Once your data is imported into the platform, it keeps your most relevant data at your fingertips. Build custom metrics, bring disparate data sources together, and select from a number of chart types to visualize your data however you want to. You can also easily share metrics and dashboards with team members to ensure everyone knows where to focus their efforts.
Price
Get a free Grow.com demo and talk to a rep about the price of the right plan for your business.
15. Plecto

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Plecto is a dashboard data visualization platform ideal for discovering real-time insights from an unlimited number of sources you pull your data from. Filter across the sources you integrate with Plecto and display data on your dashboards with different variables as needed.
Display data with pre-built KPI dashboards in Plecto or customize your own. There are also gamification features to increase employee engagement and motivation as well as keep team members focused on their goals.
Price
Plecto offers three payment options depending on which plan you choose ranging from $200 per month, $350 per month, or a custom price (based on your Enterprise plan).
16. Adverity

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Adverity is an intelligent marketing data analytics platform ideal for data-driven marketing. The tool automates data integration from hundreds of different sources to give you a single view of marketing performance.
Adverity makes it easy to remove any data silos you may have and provide easy access to centrally-located marketing data so your team members can identify and analyze the information they need. Adverity comes with augmented analytics, meaning it uses AI to identify trends, areas for improvement, strengths, and new insights in your data. It also automates the process of creating marketing reports and data visualizations to save you time.
Price
Contact Adverity to get a custom quote on the right plan for your business.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Do you remember those old school projectors they used to have in school? Whenever the projector was pulled out in class, I knew I was going to have fun. Teachers would allow us to go up and write on the projector, and it just felt more collaborative.

That’s kind of what whiteboarding is like in business. As marketers, you probably have a lot of brainstorming sessions where you’re laying out landing pages, writing copy, and creating a strategy for a campaign.
And brainstorming sessions and whiteboarding go together like peanut butter and jelly.
In this post, we’ll dive into whiteboarding and learn how you can use this process to improve your brainstorming sessions.

Whiteboarding Session
While whiteboarding sessions are great, it’s easy to lose control over a brainstorming session. To conduct a successful whiteboard session, we’ve gathered a few tips.
Whiteboarding Techniques
1. Be creative.
One of the best parts of a whiteboarding session is that it allows your team to be creative. People can share documents, put up sticky notes as reminders, and share their ideas with the team. When you’re in person, it’s fun to let all your team members use the whiteboard, so everyone has a chance to write down notes and share their thoughts.
2. Stay focused.
With any brainstorming session, it’s easy to lose track of what the goal is. To stay focused, we suggest writing out your goal at the top of your whiteboard, so everyone can see and knows what they’re supposed to be doing. When ideas that are off-topic are brought up, write them down in a section on the side for ideas to follow up on.
3. Encourage meaningful conversation.
Brainstorming sessions also allow teams to have meaningful conversations about different ideas. No idea is too small, and everyone should feel confident speaking their mind. The whole point of a whiteboarding session is to engage and collaborate with members of your team. It’s supposed to be interactive. These sessions also help people feel heard and like their ideas are being taken into consideration.
4. Keep the board organized.
When you’re running a whiteboard session, it’s important to keep the board organized. Even though it’s brainstorming, your ideas should be labeled in sections, so everyone knows what idea pertains to what topics. This is also where you can add a side section just for “off-topic” ideas. You’ll still want to write those down, even if it doesn’t have to do with the topic at hand, so you can come back to it later and keep the meeting focused.
Now that we know what whiteboarding is and how to be successful when you’re running a meeting, let’s review some remote whiteboarding tools to help you be successful in a virtual brainstorming session.
Remote Whiteboarding
As we’ve discussed above, whiteboarding can be done remotely as well. This doesn’t need to be an in-person activity. In fact, remote whiteboarding meetings can be just as effective because everyone can use the whiteboard at once, and have full visibility of it at the same time.
Below, let’s review some whiteboarding tools to use in your video conferencing meetings.
Remote Whiteboarding Tools
1. Zoom

A great thing about Zoom is that a whiteboarding tool is built into the video conferencing software. If you use Zoom for your remote meetings, then you don’t need to look any further for a whiteboard tool.
To access the Zoom whiteboard, click the Share Screen button, and then click Whiteboard. One of the features we like about this tool is that other participants can annotate and participate in writing on the whiteboard (if allowed). It’s also nice because you can turn that feature off if you want as well.
2. Microsoft Whiteboard

If you aren’t using Zoom, or would rather use another whiteboard tool, Microsoft has an excellent option. With this tool, all team members can edit and comment directly on the screen in real-time.
The whiteboard is also infinite, meaning you can draw, type, or add sticky notes as much as you need. You can also save your whiteboards, so you can continue using the tool as much as you want, while also going back to old sessions.
3. Conceptboard

Conceptboard is another remote whiteboarding tool you can use during your meetings. With this tool, you can see live cursors, and everyone can collaborate at once.
Additionally, this tool has video conferencing capabilities, so you can talk to your team while you’re brainstorming.
4. Limnu

Limnu is an online whiteboard tool that’s realism is the biggest seller. It feels like a real whiteboard, but it has the features of online whiteboarding such as collaboration. Anyone can edit in real-time, but you can also limit permissions if need be. Additionally, there’s a chat box function which is helpful for those who don’t have editing permissions to give their point of view.
Whiteboarding is a great way to collaborate and brainstorm with your team. And the best part is, you don’t need to be in-person to have collaborative meetings. With remote whiteboarding tools, you can hold a brainstorming session just as easily.

Hi Marketers, We’re trying to find the right marketing automation software or software stack with good integration but after several months of research, we’re yet to find a system that will do everything we need. Most systems are really good at their “thing” but only do 70% of what we need. We sell travel insurance so we have 3 main phases: Nurturing (transactional) User responds to an ad -> hits a relevant landing page -> gets a quote -> is emailed a quote specific to them -> added to a remarketing list (FB, Adwords, Youtube etc) -> added to a quote follow up sequence (email, SMS, scheduled call). Sale (transactional) User buys a policy -> added to a date triggered email sequence for delivery of the product (sale confirmation, reminders, event warnings, friend referrals) Rebuy (campaign) Regular campaign sequences triggered by sales, important dates, world events, etc. The features we need: – Journey builder – with decisions based on page visits, email opens/clicks (both transactional and campaign) – Campaign builder that supports complex sequences – Email builder (Marketing and Transactional) with split test and dynamic text – Transactional email system that supports complex sequences and multiple transactions for the same customer – Able to connect sequences with Google, FB, SMS & other remarketing – Landing page builder / pop ups – SMS / WhatsApp – Tracking of repeat site visitors with ability to launch a sequence based on this – Split testing emails and landing pages in a sequence – Attribution reporting We have our own custom CRM and have devs that can do any integration work required. I hoping someone out there has solved this and can suggest a tool or stack of tools that has worked well to solve the above. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Cheers, Dean
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If you’re considering whether a shared IP or dedicated IP environment is better for your business, this quick guide will help you decide. We explain the differences between the two and how your IP reputation can impact your sender reputation and email deliverability.