Creating high-quality videos is only one part of a complete TikTok strategy. How you share those videos, including the use of popular TikTok hashtags, impacts how much reach you can achieve on the platform.

TikTok uses hashtags similar to those found on Twitter and Instagram. Finding and using relevant hashtags, as well as trending TikTok hashtags, can boost your content and help your target audience find your TikToks. Using hashtags signals to the algorithm what your content is about, which helps it reach an interested audience.

Building a TikTok hashtag strategy means finding which TikTok hashtags are currently trending, as well as the hashtags used by your target audience. We’ll go over how to do both and dig into how important hashtags are on TikTok.

The Top 100 TikTok Hashtags

1. # 2023
2. # valentinesday
3. # blackpink
4. # islam
5. # allah
6. # stopmotion
7. # musica
8. # рекомендации❤️
9. # movie
10. # jesus
11. # lyrics
12. # capcut_edit
13. # views
14. # muslim
15. # shorts
16. # fakebodyy⚠️
17. # disney
18. # respect
19. # amazing
20. # film
21. # taylorswift
22. # southpark
23. # mindset
24. # flowers
25. # poetry
26. # spotify
27. # traveltiktok
28. # nostalgia
29. # vent
30. # outfitideas
31. # christian
32. # jesuslovesyou
33. # clips
34. # instagood
35. # pink
36. # news
37. # muslimtiktok
38. # lanadelrey
39. # cartoon
40. # police
41. # icespice
42. # bollywood
43. # entertainment
44. # manifestation
45. # minivlog
46. # avatarthewayofwater
47. # outerbanks
48. # dayinmylife
49. # mexico🇲🇽
50. # movie
51. # superbowl
52. # thelastofus
53. # selenagomez
54. # funnymoments
55. # concert
56. # obx
57. # newmusic
58. # rihanna
59. # adventure
60. # motivational
61. # horrify
62. # baseball
63. # hellokitty
64. # godisgood
65. # 09
66. # ocean
67. # howto
68. # relateable
69. # pedropascal
70. # r6
71. # spring
72. # cartoonme
73. # starbucks
74. # scream
75. # tlou
76. # wrestling
77. # valentines
78. # swifttok
79. # estalandoosdedos
80. # rainbowsixsiege
81. # mlb
82. # الشعب_الصيني_ماله_حل😂😂
83. # tamil
84. # grwmroutine
85. # blackhistorymonth
86. # healthyliving
87. # workfromhome
88. # yeat
89. # gtag
90. # springbreak
91. # trump
92. # sephora
93. # paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
94. # mobilelegendsbangbang
95. # growmyaccount
96. # quotes
97. # nostalgic
98. # trendingvideo
99. # vfly
100. # 2023❤😍

These were the most popular TikTok hashtags from all over the world between December 5, 2022 and April 4, 2023. These are reported by TikTok itself in the Creative Center.

You can definitely see that some of these trending TikTok hashtags have to do with the time of year. For examples, #valentinesday in February, or #Islam due to Ramadan.

Top 10 TikTok Hashtags In 2023

1. #tiktok
2. #love
3. #like
4. #follow
5. #explore
6. #2023
7. #meme
8. #video
9. #followforfollowback
10. #duet

Some popular hashtags on TikTok are universally trendy, no matter what time of year it is. These are the top 10 for 2023, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

How To Find Trending Hashtags On TikTok

TikTok offers tools to help discover the top hashtags on the app at any given time, which can be used as part of your TikTok hashtag strategy.

Find Trending Hashtags in the TikTok Creative Center

The TikTok Creative Center has a trending hashtags section that displays the top hashtags on the app within the last 7, 90, or 120 days.

Each hashtag in the list will show you how many TikTok posts and views the hashtag got, as well as which top creators have used it.

You can also click the “analytics” button to dive deeper into the data. Here, you’ll see more detailed numbers on the hashtag’s usage, a graph of interest over time, examples of TikTok videos that have used the hashtag, and related interests.

It also offers demographic information of who is using the hashtag. For example, if we click into the analytics page for #tiktokfashion, we see that most of the people interacting with this hashtag are aged 18 to 24. As well, the most popular region for the hashtag is France.

The trending hashtags dashboard also allows you to filter by country and industry, which we’ll talk more about later.

Find Trending Hashtags from the Discover Page

TikTok’s Discover page is no longer easily accessible from the app, but can be found on desktop or mobile at this link.

Here, TikTok curates a selection of trending songs, topics, and hashtags, along with how many views each has generated.

While popular hashtags are featured here, you should keep in mind that TikTok curates this page with hashtags it wants to promote and the entries aren’t necessarily listed in order of popularity.

For example, the Discover page shows #whenwomenwin as the top result. Although it is indeed one of TikTok’s more popular hashtags, TikTok is also interested in promoting it.

Scrolling down, we find more hashtags on TikTok used for hashtag challenges and trends, such as #makeupinspo and #materialgirl.

While these might not be the most popular hashtags at the moment, using hashtags that TikTok is actively promoting is still a solid strategy. It means that these hashtags will likely be boosted by the TikTok algorithm, so it’s a good idea to sprinkle some of these hashtags into your posts.

Are Trending TikTok Hashtags Worth Using?

Researching top TikTok hashtags can give you insight into overall trends on the app, but only using them may or may not provide the boost you’re hoping for.

The problem with top popular hashtags on TikTok, such as #tiktok, #foryoupage, or #like is that millions of other people are using them. Generic hashtags like these won’t do much to boost your TikToks because of immense competition. If everyone uses the same hashtags, no one sticks out.

Use Niche TikTok Hashtags For More Impact

One of the most important pieces of advice for finding success on TikTok is to find your niche and then find relevant hashtags for it. Instead of appealing to everyone and getting lost in a sea of content, you should target a specific audience.

Take a look at the hashtag #booktok, for example. It’s a popular hashtag for the book community on TikTok with more than 121 billion views and thousands upon thousands of TikTok videos. Using this tag won’t do much to make your content stand out.

“There are billions of views for #booktok. Do you really believe that add a #booktok is going to make a change?” says Alessandro Bogliari, CEO and co-founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory, a top-rated influencer marketing agency.

“Not really. It's about the behavior of the people on your video. How many times are they watching the video? Are they sharing to their own Whatsapp group? Are they liking it? Are they commenting? Those are those important factors.”

Getting TikTok users to engage with your content like that requires finding the target audience your content will organically resonate with.

Let’s take a look at this TikTok with 2.1 million likes.

@adridiaries I’ll never recover from these books. ❤️‍🩹 #sadbooks #sadbookrecs #fy #booksthatmademecry #foryou #booksthatmakeyoucry #foryoupage #booksthatmademesob #viral #booksthatwillbreakyou #books #bookish #booktok #ChevyEVSongContest #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #ifellinlovewithhope #ifhehadbeenwithme #packupthemoon #thethingsweleaveunfinished #thewayiusedtobe #athousandboykisses ♬ original sound - b

In the TikTok, the creator showcases books that made them cry. They used the #booktok hashtag, but also included #sadbooks, #sadbookrecs, #booksthatmademecry, #booksthatwillbreakyou, and #booksthatmademesob.

These more specific hashtags narrow down the audience that would enjoy this TikTok. They also have the potential to encourage other creators to use them and continue riffing on the trend.

Figuring out which niche hashtags to use will help your TikToks reach a target audience that’s more eager to engage with your content with views, likes, and comments.

How to Find Niche Hashtags on TikTok

Hashtags on TikTok are more powerful when they target your desired niche on the app. The best hashtags will always be the ones that are most specific to your community.

These are some ways you can research relevant hashtags for your niche.

Watch Your For You Page

One of the best ways to find new TikTok hashtags is to see which ones your community is already using.

Your For You page should be trained to zero in on the community that aligns with your brand and creative style. If you’re a beauty brand, your For You page should be full of makeup tutorials and reviews. If your content is all about your hobby farm, your For You page should be chock full of cute animals and people making harvest baskets.

With the For You page trained to know what you like, you can see which TikTok hashtags are organically trending within your niche. TikTok often has trends or challenges confined to particular communities and tied to a hashtag. Take the time to watch your For You page on a regular basis so you don’t miss these TikTok hashtag trends.

Watch Your Competition

Similar to the above tip, keep tabs on what TikTok hashtags your competition is using. That doesn’t mean you should copy everything they do, but it will offer insight into how other creators are making TikTok hashtags work for them.

Let’s say you’re a beauty brand, for example. You’d be smart to check out how ColourPop Cosmetics, with 1.2 million followers, uses hashtags.

@colourpopco Whyyyy is this so satisfying 🤌✨ Shop Pressed Powder Blushes, Bronzers and Highlighters at @ultabeauty, @target and on our website now! 🛍️ #colourpop #colourpopblush #blush #bronzer #highlighter #pressedpowder #colourpoppowder #asmrmakeup ♬ original sound - ColourPop Cosmetics

Here, for example, they hashtagged the type of products being used, with #highlighter, #pressedpowder, #blush, and #bronzer. That’s a smart move because TikTok users looking for product recommendations will find this TikTok more easily.

Check the Search Tab

Open TikTok’s search tab by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the app. Here, you can enter a search term and view associated TikTok hashtags.

For example, if you search for “food,” you can view a list of the most popular TikTok hashtags that use that word, such as #foodporn, #foodasmr, #foodchallenge, and #foodlover.

The results will be a mix of the most popular TikTok hashtags, viewed billions of times, as well as more niche hashtags that could inspire a video idea.

Searching for something more niche, like “horses,” will bring up more specific hashtags, such as #horseshow, #horsesforsale, and #hobbyhorses.

This search is limited to hashtags that use your exact search phrase, so it’s good practice to start looking through content to see what other hashtags creators are using as well.

Use the TikTok Creative Center

Heading back to the TikTok Creative Center, there are more tools to narrow down your hashtag search.

By Region

At the top of the trending hashtags page, you can filter your search by country. This is an important step because a hashtag trending in one country might not even be in use in another country.

For example, #wrestlemania was the top trending hashtag in Canada for the week of April 3, but in Italy it was #stopmotion.

Consider where your target audience or customers live and tailor your search to their location.

By Industry

In the Creative Center, you can also filter by industry, such as “Pets, “News & Entertainment,” and “Travel.” This is especially helpful for brands using TikTok.

Using this, we can see some of the top hashtags in the US under “Food & Beverage” are:

1. #starbucks
2. #delicious
3. #icecream
4. #lunch
5. #brunch

By Newness

In the Creative Center, you can check a box to only show TikTok hashtags that are new to the top 100.

So let’s put that altogether. If we search for only new TikTok hashtags in the US under “Food & Beverage,” we get:

1. #sushi
2. #eatwithme
3. #glutenfree
4. #goodeats
5. #peeps

Now we really have something to work with. This gives the best indication of what’s currently new and trendy in your country and industry.

Start Your Own Custom Hashtag

If you can’t find a trending hashtag that perfectly captures your content, why not start your own hashtags? There are three main uses for this strategy.

Start a Trend

New trends and challenges on TikTok very often have an associated hashtag and you can definitely create your own.

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon is masterful at doing this. They created #thetumbleweedchallenge which encourages TikTok users to roll around on the ground like a tumbleweed.

@fallontonight Jimmy takes the #TumbleweedChallenge ♬ #TumbleweedChallenge - FallonTonight

TikTok videos participating in this hashtag challenge have more than 39 million views and popular ones were even featured on the show.

It certainly helps that the show already has a huge audience and the incentive that you could appear on TV. If you launch your own hashtag challenges or trends, you can encourage participation with a contest or giveaway.

Track Your Reach

Custom hashtags are a useful way to track the reach of your content, sounds, or trends.

Take for example PuppySongs, an account that creates original music about dogs. In early 2023, their song “The Cheese Tax” went massively viral on TikTok.

@puppysongs Give to puppy what is puppy’s 🧀 #fyp #puppysongs #cheesetax #dogsoftiktok #ilovecheese #doglovescheese #taxseason ♬ Cheese Tax - Puppy Songs

PuppySongs tags all their content with #puppysongs, which encourages other users who use the account’s songs to use the tag as well. The hashtag #puppysongs now has more than 149 million views.

Created a Branded Hashtag

You might consider creating a branded hashtag that both you and fans of your brand can use.

DuoLingo, for example, always tags their TikToks with the branded hashtag #duolingo.

@duolingo company update: #duolingo #languagelearning #sweetbutpsycho #dulapeep ♬ 原声 - 🦂天蝎男♏JoJo🦂 - 🦂天蝎男♏𝑲𝒆𝒏𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒍🦂

The hashtag has inspired a ton of user generated content as well, and #duolingo has a massive 2.5 billion views.

This strategy can also be used when working with TikTok influencers and can also be used as part of a hashtag challenge.

Use a Hashtag Generator

A hashtag generator can do the work for you in identifying trending and relevant hashtags.

Some options include:

• TikTokHashtags.com
• RapidTags
• Influencer Marketing Hub
• Within a social media app like Hootsuite

Any hashtag generator made for Instagram could be used for TikTok as well.

Using TikTokHashtags.com, for example, you can enter “keto” and get a list that includes:

• #keto
• #lowcarb
• #ketodiet
• #lchf
• #ketolife
• #weightloss
• #ketosis

How To Use TikTok Hashtags

Now that you have an idea of which TikTok hashtags to use, how do you use them?

TikTok captions allow for up to 2,200 characters. That’s a lot of space, but you don’t have to use all of it for hashtags.

How Many Hashtags To Use On TikTok

A good rule of thumb is to use three to five hashtags. That leaves room for the rest of your description.

Using too many hashtags, rather than the combination of a description and a handful of hashtags, makes it look like you don’t understand the platform. Remember: authenticity is key on TikTok, you don’t want to look like you just copy and pasted content from other social media platforms.

Since you’re limiting how many hashtags you use, it’s even more important to use them wisely and not include any irrelevant hashtags that won’t do anything to boost your content.

How To Choose Your TikTok Hashtags

The best hashtags to use are a mix of top hashtags and more niche hashtags.
The best hashtags for a recipe video could be, for example:

• #foodtok
• #recipes
• #indianfood
• #curry
• #streetfood

Here’s a great example from Skims. The video is of a TikTok influencer wearing an outfit from the brand, and the hashtags are:

• #outfitideas
• #springoutfitinspo
• #skims
• #stylemyskims

@skims @cartia.mallan wears the new Essential Bodysuit in Orange Highlighter. 🧡#outfitideas #springoutfitinspo #SKIMS #stylemySKIMS ♬ Da Girls - Ciara

That’s a good mix of a very popular TikTok hashtag (#outfitideas), a more niche hashtag (#springoutfitinspo) and their own branded hashtags (#skims and #stylemyskims).

How Important Are Relevant Hashtags On TikTok?

All of this begs the question: How important is it to use hashtags on TikTok?

The truth is that using the right hashtags is only one part of your TikTok strategy. The rest of your caption and even the words you say in your TikTok are equally important for feeding the algorithm.

“TikTok is so sophisticated that it can easily understand that you're not just talking about dogs, you're talking about your Shiba Inu,” says Bogliari from The Influencer Marketing Factory.

Platforms like Instagram and Twitter, created hashtags before their search functions were advanced enough to analyze other text. TikTok is already at that stage and doesn’t require hashtags to find relevant content.

“You have the audio, you have the description, and even the text. And that's why a lot of people are considering TikTok from an SEO point of view, similar to how you would do YouTube.”

TikTok hashtags can certainly play a role in that search strategy. Using the best hashtags can help in:

• Tracking performance of your own campaigns
• Sharing new products
• Participating in niche communities
• Taking part in trends

Make Hashtags Part Of Your TikTok Strategy

A solid TikTok creator knows how to incorporate the right hashtags into their overall strategy to lift their content and make sure it reaches the right audience. And, of course, TikTok hashtags need to be paired with engaging content.

Remember:

• Use only three to five hashtags
• Use a mix of popular hashtags and niche hashtags
• Create a custom hashtag to start your own hashtag challenges or trends
• Make hashtags only one part of your overall TikTok strategy
• Encourage TikTok influencers to use your branded hashtags

Nailing down your hashtag strategy will bring you a step closer to more TikTok followers, more reach, more engagement, and more success on TikTok.

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