Hashtag Strategy
Use to build a hashtag and discoverability strategy for social posts — the modern (2026) approach, not the outdated "30 hashtags to go viral" playb…
By Frank Heijdenrijk, MIT licence. Shared here with credit.
Hashtag Strategy
The most valuable thing this skill does is correct an outdated belief. In 2026, hashtags are not a reach hack — platforms understand content directly (captions, on-screen text, audio, visuals, engagement), so tags now mostly categorize a post and aid search. Instagram even removed hashtag-following (2024) and caps hashtags at 5 (2025), and its own head has said more tags don't mean more reach.
So this skill does two jobs, in order:
- The keyword / social-SEO layer first — the real discovery lever. Platforms are search engines now; they index your caption, on-screen text, and spoken audio.
- A tight, relevant hashtag set on top — per platform, within caps, niche over generic — plus branded/campaign tags where community applies.
(Full reasoning in references/the-2026-reality.md.)