It’s difficult to crack the Instagram code, with artists and users attempting to decipher the algorithm in order to ensure their material reaches the largest possible audience. One of the most generally encouraged methods of reaching the greatest number of users is to leverage hashtags that are currently trending or are highly followed to put content on most users’ explore pages. This Instagram marketing tactic 101, however, turns out to be a hoax. None other than Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, has confirmed this.

Instagram CEO reveals if Hashtags help get more views

According to Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, contrary to popular assumption, adding hashtags to posts is unlikely to help users get more views on videos. When he was asked if “hashtags improve views,” he was talking to a user on Instagram.
“Not at all,” said Adam Mosseri. “They do help us understand what a post is about, which means it’s more likely to show up in a location like a hashtag page, but I wouldn’t think of hashtags as a technique to try and achieve greater distribution in general.”

This is a huge breakthrough for those looking to master Instagram by deciphering the algorithm’s content distribution methods and gaining a competitive advantage on the network. During one of his Instagram Q&A sessions, the Instagram CEO revealed the bombshell. He claims that while hashtags do not help users comprehend what a post is about, they do help people understand what the post is about. This new knowledge could be game-changing for social media users who want to understand how the site works.

Meanwhile, Instagram is experimenting with new themes to make creating Reels on the network easier. The tool will allow users to replicate formats from other Reels to make their own, akin to TikTok’s pre-made templates that allow users to add their own content.