Instagram allows up to 5 hashtags on a post or Reel, so the job is picking the right five, not finding thirty. For a local business that means two or three tags for what you do, one for where you are, and your own branded tag. This generator writes those from your business type, your town and the post itself.
How to pick your 5 hashtags
What you do
Two or three tags a customer would actually follow or search: the product, the service, the craft. Pick the ones that match THIS post, not the business in general.
Where you are
One tag with your town, city or neighbourhood, joined to what you do. Local tags are how someone nearby finds you; a national tag puts you in a feed with millions of posts.
The pattern: #[Town][WhatYouDo] or #[Neighbourhood]Eats
- Leeds: #LeedsBakery #LeedsFood
- Austin: #AustinHairSalon #ATXSmallBusiness
- Brooklyn: #BrooklynCoffee #ParkSlope
Your own tag
Your business name as one tag, used on every post. It costs one of your five slots and gives customers one place to see everything you have posted, including what they tag you in.
For example: #HollowOakBakery
Tags to skip
- #love, #instagood, #photooftheday. Giant generic tags. Your post sinks in seconds, and nobody browsing them is looking for a local business.
- #followforfollow, #like4like. They attract accounts that never buy anything, and they read as spam to the customers you want.
- Another business's own tag. Borrowing a competitor's or a brand's tag for reach reads as sneaky to the people who follow it.
- The same five on every post. Repeating an identical block on every post reads as automated. Keep your branded tag and swap the rest to fit the post.