Trending Instagram Hashtags In 2020 That You Should Care About In 2021 [With Infographic]

Hashtags are an important and effective method of social media marketing — and trending Instagram hashtags are even more essential. Adding hashtags to your posts can help increase engagement; posts that have at least one hashtag receive 12.6% more engagement. 

Trending Instagram hashtags, which can be defined as tags that are frequently used by a large number of accounts, can help increase your brand visibility and get that engagement rate even higher. Here are the top trending Instagram hashtags in different industries that you should take note of in 2021.

Trending Instagram Hashtags 2021

Let’s take a look at the most popular Instagram hashtags for 2020 and which ones will continue to be popular in 2021.

Food

According to HopperHQ, these hashtags are trending in the food industry in 2020:

1. #Food
2. #FoodPorn
3. #FoodPhotography
4. #Foodie
5. #Foods
6. #Foodstagram
7. #Foodgasm
8. #Foody
9. #Foodies
10. #FoodLover

Which of these trending Instagram hashtags should you focus on as we move into 2021? #Food is a good one to keep around — this tag is very general, so it’s probably not going to stop trending anytime soon. #Foodstagram and #Foodgasm are two fun and creative tags that are quite popular, so make sure you give those a try as well. Plus, reach out to all the foodies out there with tags like #Foody, #Foodies, and #FoodLover.

Fashion

These are the top fashion hashtags used on Instagram in 2020:

1. #Fashion
2. #OOTD
3. #Style
4. #InstaFashion
5. #Vintage
6. #FashionBlogger
7. #Fashionista
8. #StreetStyle
9. #Stylish
10. #MensFashion

#InstaStyle is falling to the bottom of the list and might not be the most effective way to market your brand. Instead, use #vintage and #OOTD to keep followers engaged. “Outfit of the day” posts are popular because they help users to get inspiration for assembling their own stylish outfits. Your brand can get more visibility by using these trending fashion hashtags.

Fitness

These are the fitness hashtags used most often in 2020:

1. #Fitness
2. #Instafit
3. #Getfit
4. #Fitspiration
5. #Fitnessaddict
6. #Fitnessmotivation
7. #Fitnesslife
8. #Fitnesslifestyle
9. #Fitnessgoals
10. #Fitnessfreak

The fitness industry is huge on Instagram, and fitness brands can do a lot by using trending hashtags. #Fitness, #Gym, and #Workout are a few of the most obvious popular fitness tags. For 2021 trending hashtags, you’ll also want to utilize #Fitnessgoals. This hashtag is especially important just after the New Year as losing weight is the most popular New Year’s resolution, which definitely falls under the umbrella of #Fitnessgoals.

Retail

These are the most popular retail hashtags on Instagram:

1. #retail 
2. #wholesale 
3. #fashion 
4. #shopping 
5. #design 
6. #business 
7. #retaildesign 
8. #marketing 
9. #visualmerchandising 
10. #onlineshopping

Retail companies can get ahead of the game by using #Retail and #Shopping to market their brand. These general tags are hugely popular, with millions of posts each, and consumers regularly browse these tags to find new products to buy. With COVID still circulating, #onlineshopping has made its way onto the top 10 list, so try including that if you have an online store or are doing something ecommerce related. 

Travel

These are some of the top trending Instagram hashtags used for travel in 2020:

1. #stayinspired
2. #togetherathome
3. #armchairtravel
4. #stayhome
5. #DreamNowVisitLater
6. #ttot
7. #traveltuesday
8. #strongertogether
9. #travellater
10. #travelfromhome

While the travel and tourism industries have historically been huge on Instagram thanks to the app’s visual nature, which works well for sharing travel images, COVID has turned the travel industry upside down. As a result, most Instagram travel posts and hashtags focus on future plans, not current travels. If you want your posts to be successful and reach a wide audience, make them whet your follower’s appetites for travel while reminding them that now is not the time to take a trip, but they’ll be able to soon.

Music

These are the most popular music industry hashtags used on Instagram in 2020:

1. #InstaMusic
2. #InstaVideo
3. #InstaMusicVideo
4. #musicmonday
5. #instalove
6. #tbt
7. #acousticmusic
8. #livemusic
9. #instaartist

#InstaMusic is an extremely popular trending Instagram hashtag that’s not going anywhere; frequented by solo musicians and brands alike, it’s a good way to get some eyes on your posts in 2020. Music brands can also benefit from tags such as #acousticmusic and #livemusic. 

Sports

These are the top trending Instagram hashtags used for sports in 2020:

1. #sports
2. #football 
3. #sport 
4. #fitness 
5. #nfl 
6. #basketball 
7. #nba 
8. #training 
9. #soccer 
10. #gym

#Sports and #fitness will continue to be 2020 trending hashtags; they’re basic, general tags that work for anybody from professional athletes to lifestyle brands to sports marketing companies, with a Muay Thai clothing brand using both tags here. Businesses that focus on only one sport will also benefit from tags such as #basketball or #golf in 2020.

Entertainment

These are the top entertainment hashtags used in 2020:

1. #entertainment 
2. #music 
3. #love 
4. #fun 
5. #comedy 
6. #instagram 
7. #instagood 
8. #fashion 
9. #hiphop
10. #follow

Entertainment companies — think a film company, a local theatre, or a DJ — can get a lot more business by using trending hashtags on Instagram. The top 10 entertainment hashtags from 2020 will likely all continue to trend in 2021, but remember, only use hashtags that are relevant to your business (a dance studio could benefit from #hiphop while a film company most likely wouldn’t).

Beauty

Here are the top trending hashtags for beauty in 2020: 

1. #beauty 
2. #love 
3. #beautiful 
4. #makeup 
5. #fashion 
6. #instagood 
7. #style 
8. #photography 
9. #model 
10. #like

The top beauty hashtags for 2020 show that you don’t need to go crazy with hashtags to get some good results. The most popular, #beauty, is as simple as can be. When picking out hashtags for your beauty posts, just be descriptive: #makeup if you’re posting about making, #photography if you’re taking a professional quality photo, and #style if you want to show off a brand new look. 

Lifestyle

These are the top lifestyle hashtags on Instagram in 2020: 

1. #lifestyle 
2. #love 
3. #life 
4. #instagood 
5. #motivation 
6. #fitness 
7. #instagram 
8. #fashion 
9. #like 
10. #happy

The lifestyle niche is pretty broad, and the trending hashtags reflect that. In fact, there’s quite a bit of overlap with other categories, like fashion, business, and fitness. It’s always a good idea to include #lifestyle and then choose any hashtags that are relevant to your post. It’s hard to go wrong with #happy when it comes to lifestyle!

Home And Garden

These are the top home and garden hashtags in 2020:

1. #homeandgarden 
2. #garden 
3. #homedecor 
4. #interiordesign 
5. #home 
6. #gardening
7. #interior 
8. #gardendesign 
9. #gardeninspiration 
10. #homesweethome

Nothing too surprising in this year’s trending hashtags. Unlike the creative and quirky hashtags you’ll find in other niches, the home and garden space keeps things simple with purely descriptive hashtags. The only outlier is #homesweethome, which is slightly less concrete than the other ones in the top 10. Interestingly enough, it placed last, signifying that Feng Shui-like simplicity is the key to home and garden hashtag success.

Parenting

These are the top trending Instagram hashtags for parenting content in 2020.

1. #parenting
2. #motherhood 
3. #momlife 
4. #kids 
5. #family 
6. #parenthood 
7. #baby 
8. #love 
9. #parentingtips 
10. #parents

Like home and garden tags, parenting hashtags stay pretty simple. The most popular hashtag in 2020 was simply #parenting. #Motherhood and #momlife come in second and third place, indicating that motherhood topics are more popular on Instagram than fatherhood topics — #fatherhood didn’t even make the top 10. Additionally, #parentingtips is trending, so don’t be afraid to offer some valuable advice if you want to get noticed on Instagram. 

Business

These are the top business hashtags on Instagram in 2020: 

1. #business 
2. #entrepreneur 
3. #motivation 
4. #success 
5. #marketing 
6. #love 
7. #money 
8. #mindset 
9. #inspiration 
10. #instagood

The business space on Instagram is filled with motivation and feel-good posts. If you want to get attention on Instagram, focus on using hashtags that paint your post in a positive light, like #motivation, #success, and even #love. Also, posts about your #mindset will also get you into the spotlight as many aspiring entrepreneurs are hungry for tips on how to get their mind in the business game. 

Animals

These are the top animals hashtags on Instagram in 2020: 

1. #animals 
2. #nature 
3. #animal 
4. #love 
5. #pets
6. #cute 
7. #wildlife 
8. #pet 
9. #cats 
10. #dog

With COVID keeping everyone locked up inside their houses, it should come as no surprise that people are looking for nature and outdoors content on Instagram. If you want to get your posts noticed, hashtags like #nature, #pets, and #cute will do the trick. Surprisingly, #dog is pretty far down the list, so make sure to include #animals even when posting a picture of your adorable doggo. 

How to Use Trending Instagram Hashtags Effectively

Use trending hashtags for Instagram strategically to reach as many users as possible. Hashtags are a great way to find your target audience, as a hashtag categorizes a post where people who are interested in a certain topic can find it. You can create a good user experience for Instagram users by only using relevant hashtags on your posts; that way, you won’t waste the time of anybody who’s not interested. 

The first thing you’ll need to do is learn how to find trending hashtags on Instagram. One method of doing this is simply searching for hashtags on Instagram. By typing a general hashtag — such as “fashion” — into the search bar, Instagram will also give you a list of related hashtags to peruse.

Another way to find trending Instagram hashtags is to use hashtag generators. These tools, which are usually free-to-use, generate a list of related hashtags when you type a word in the search bar. There are also filtering options which allow you to view hashtags with a certain number of posts.

Many companies will also publish round-ups that list the current most popular hashtags in certain industries. Searching the Web to find blog posts like this can further inform your strategy as you work to find trending hashtags for Instagram, reinforcing your decisions as you dial in your list of tags.

Finally, one last method of how to find trending Instagram hashtags is to look at what your competitors and industry leaders are doing. By keeping an eye on these posts, you can get a feel for what your target audience is talking about and draw inspiration for some new hashtags to add to your list.

Once you have your list of hashtags, it’s time to start using them. Something important to note is that you don’t want to use the same exact hashtags on every single post; this can look spammy, and besides, some hashtags may not go with certain posts. To ensure maximum relevance, switch things up! Many brands do several types of Instagram posts — for example, a video on Monday, product post on Wednesday, and employee spotlight on Friday. 

Create a list of hashtags for each type of post and then copy and paste the correct list into each of your captions. Using trending hashtags can help you get on users’ explore pages, exposing your brand to more sets of interested eyes. 

How To Create A Hashtag That Will Start Trending in 2021

You can also create your own trending hashtags for Instagram. Start small, using a simple yet unique branded hashtag on all of your posts. Promote the hashtag often via posts and Instagram Stories and ask your followers to share posts with the hashtag, too. By taking these steps, you’ll slowly begin to see your hashtag grow and maybe even end up trending.

Here’s a good example: World of Dance, a television show, has created a couple of branded hashtags that have amassed a sizeable following. One is #thisiswod, created to share videos from the TV show; and another is simply #worldofdance. World of Dance promoted the hashtag to the show’s viewers first and then slowly began to expand into the broader dance community. Now, the hashtags have thousands of posts and followers and are frequently used by dancers around the world. 

To have an even better chance of creating a trending hashtag, find a timely hook to include: Take a story that’s in the news or an event everybody’s buzzing about and link it back to your company somehow. This will help more social media users pick up on your hashtag and begin using it too.

The Takeaway

Trending hashtags can be hugely helpful if you use the right ones. It might take a little work to figure out which tags are best for your brand, but once you’ve got your list of hashtags dialed in, you can start growing your account — just be flexible and willing to tweak your hashtags throughout the year if needed. By using 2020 trending hashtags, you can give your brand the visibility boost it needs.

Bonus Content

Check out the infographic version of this article below and feel free to share on your website or social media accounts!