If there’s one feature that’s overlooked on Instagram, it has to be tags. Much like on Twitter, hashtags can serve as a kind of connective tissue stringing together otherwise disparate pieces of content from across the service.
UPDATE: See the latest most popular hashtags on Instagram, as of January 2013.
First and foremost, tags are descriptive. They can also aid significantly in content discovery, allowing users to gain more exposure for the images they publish using the wildly popular mobile photo-sharing app. Tagging photos with the right terms at the right time can lead to a flood of likes and new followers.
So what are the most popular tags? The list fluctuates over time, but we thought it would be worth taking a snapshot of the hashtags that are most commonly used on Instagram at the moment. Some of them are generic and unsurprising, like #love (the most popular), #me (a treasure trove of digital vanity) and #cute. Others refer to third-party social services, such as #tweegram, which is the name of a mobile app that lets users create and post text-based graphics into their Instagram feed. Given that we’re approaching mid-July, it’s no shock that #summer makes an appearance on the list.
10. #summer
Photo by juliawalde.
9. #igers
Photo by fozyfresh.
8. #cute
Photo by johnpaultitlow.
7. #me
Photo by monalafleur.
6. #instamood
Photo by olemstafne.
5. #iphonesia
Photo by ryleymaxwell.
4. #photooftheday
Photo by schtrahl.
3. #tweegram
Photo by yelliejanae.
2. #instagood
Photo by milosmoeller.
1. #love
Photo by koolmello.