Why Hashtags No Longer Drive Growth
For years, hashtags were treated as a shortcut to visibility. Stack enough of them onto a caption, and the algorithm would reward you with reach. That approach worked until, quite suddenly, it stopped working. We have spent years researching the perfect mix of popular and niche tags, convinced we would crack the algorithm.
Instead, what we and others have found is that the role of hashtags has changed. They have not vanished completely, but they are no longer pulling the weight they used to. These days, they work more like labels, helping platforms categorise your content rather than push it out to new people.
We have watched this play out across our client accounts and the whole industry at AIWIZ. The brands that are still stacking hashtags as a strategy for growth are disappointed with their reach. Whereas those who have shifted focus to content quality and genuine engagement? They are the ones growing.
What the Platforms Say About Hashtags
Instagram’s Adam Mosseri put it bluntly in early 2025: hashtags no longer meaningfully increase reach. They are fine for search, he said, but they will not get your content in front of more people. Recently, Instagram also capped posts at five hashtags and has already scrapped the option to follow hashtags altogether. That tells you where their priorities lie.
The research tells the same story. Socialinsider looked at 75 million Instagram posts and could not find any real link between hashtag numbers and reach.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Elon Musk has been even more direct, telling X users to drop hashtags because the system does not need them. When analysts examined X’s open-source algorithm, they discovered that stacking multiple hashtags actually reduces your visibility. The very tactic people thought was helping was working against them.
LinkedIn data from over 620,000 posts showed hashtags had minimal impact on visibility, and using more than five actively dragged performance down.
TikTok
TikTok’s the one exception, though even that is shifting. Trending hashtags still help there, but TikTok’s recent algorithm updates have moved towards keyword-based discovery. The platform cares more about what is in your caption than what tags you have attached.
What Actually Drives Social Media Growth
Your Feed Content Has to Hold Attention
There is no workaround here. Your main feed is where people decide whether to stick around or scroll past. That is where your best thinking, clearest ideas, and strongest visuals need to live.
The algorithm rewards content that holds attention. Posts that make people stop scrolling, watch to the end, or spend time reading. No amount of clever optimisation fixes boring content. We always start with the message itself before thinking about distribution. If the content is not worth engaging with, nothing else matters.
Shares Matter More Than Likes
Likes are easy; it takes half a second and costs nothing. Sharing something is intentional. It means the content was good enough to pass on, useful enough to send, or interesting enough to start a conversation.
Platforms have noticed. Saves, DMs, reposts, and private shares now carry more weight than public likes. Mosseri at Instagram confirmed this directly: for getting your content discovered by new people, sends are more valuable than likes. Instagram said in 2025 it is doubling down on shares as the main signal for distribution.
This explains why educational posts, practical tips, and strong opinions tend to outperform polished but forgettable promotional content. People share things that make them look clever or helpful, things that start conversations, things they will want to find again later. If nobody is sharing your posts, that is feedback worth paying attention to.
Social Search Is Changing Discovery
This one caught a lot of people off guard. Younger audiences have started treating TikTok and Instagram like search engines, typing queries into the search bar rather than scrolling and hoping for the best.
Google knows this is happening. Their own Senior Vice President, Prabhakar Raghavan, previously admitted that nearly 40% of young people now go to TikTok or Instagram instead of Google when searching for a place to eat. That is Google publicly acknowledging that they are losing ground to social platforms.
Adobe’s research from 2024 found 64% of Gen Z have used TikTok as a search engine. TikTok’s own data shows 57% of users actively search on the app, with nearly a quarter doing so within 30 seconds of opening it. They are looking for recipes, recommendations, how-to guides, fashion ideas, and workout routines. Practical stuff.
This changes how you should write. Captions need plain language that matches what people actually type into search. Forget clever wordplay that obscures what the post is about. Say what it is. If someone searching for “best CRM for small business UK” lands on your post, that caption should make it obvious they have found what they wanted.
We have started treating social captions the same way we treat SEO copy. Match the intent, deliver the value quickly, write like a normal person. It works.
What Businesses Should Focus On
The shift is not complicated, but it does require changing some old habits:
- Make content people actually want to save or send to a friend.
- Write captions in plain, searchable language.
- Use hashtags sparingly and only when they add genuine context.
- Think about what your audience is searching for, then answer that.
Visibility now comes from being clear and genuinely helpful, not from gaming the system with keyword-stuffed captions and endless tag lists. That approach has run its course.
The Fundamentals Still Apply
Strip away the algorithm talk and platform updates, and the core principle is the same as it has always been. Platforms want people to stick around. Content that is useful, interesting, or genuinely entertaining helps them do that. Content that feels like filler does not.
Tactics come and go. What worked in 2021 looks dated now. What works today will probably need adjusting in a year or two. But making things people actually want to engage with? That part stays constant.
At AIWIZ, we build strategies around that principle. Quality content, understanding what your audience cares about, and growth that does not evaporate when the algorithm shifts again.
Need Help With Your Social Strategy?
If your social strategy still leans on tactics from three years ago, it might be time to rethink the approach.
We help brands build content strategies that work with how platforms actually function today. Get in touch with AIWIZ to talk about what that could look like for you.