Modified On :
June 11, 2026
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn hashtags work differently in 2026 than they did two years ago - and the old rules will hurt your reach.
- The number of hashtags you use per post matters less than which ones you pick.
- A branded hashtag does more than build awareness; it creates a searchable content archive your audience can find months later.
- "linkedin hashtags" and "#LinkedInMarketing" are not the same type of tag, and using them interchangeably wastes potential reach.
- Tracking hashtag performance without the right method gives you data that leads you in the wrong direction.
In 2026, LinkedIn continues to be a powerhouse for professional networking, with over 1 billion users actively engaging on the platform.
It's not just a space for job seekers and recruiters anymore; it's a dynamic hub for thought leadership, industry insights, and meaningful conversations.
But here's the kicker: posts with hashtags receive up to 30% more engagement than those without. That's a significant boost, especially when you're aiming to expand your reach and connect with the right audience.
Whether you're a marketer looking to generate leads or a professional eager to stay updated on industry trends, following and using hashtags effectively can make all the difference.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to follow hashtags on LinkedIn and share best practices to ensure your content gets the visibility it deserves.
Are LinkedIn Hashtags Still Effective in 2026?
Yes - with an important caveat. How LinkedIn uses hashtags changed significantly in 2024, and most guides haven't caught up.
LinkedIn rolled back several hashtag features: hashtag following was removed from profiles, hashtags no longer appear in the dropdown search bar, and the platform stopped surfacing hashtag counts by default. This caused real confusion, with many marketers concluding hashtags were dead. They're not. They just work differently now.
What changed:
LinkedIn shifted from treating hashtags as a discovery feed mechanic (similar to Instagram or Twitter) to treating them as keyword and topic signals for its algorithm. When you add a relevant hashtag to a post, you're telling LinkedIn's ranking system what your content is about - which helps it surface your post to people searching or engaging with that topic, even if those people don't follow you.
The practical implication: hashtags paired with strong on-topic copy still improve reach and discoverability. Hashtags appended to off-topic or vague posts do nothing.
What still works:
- Specific, relevant hashtags that reinforce the topic already stated in your post copy
- Niche industry hashtags (like #B2BContentMarketing or #SalesProspecting) that target a smaller but more engaged audience
- Branded hashtags used consistently across a campaign or content series
- Capitalizing multi-word hashtags (#LinkedInMarketing instead of #linkedinmarketing) for both readability and search matching
What no longer works:
- Adding popular but loosely related hashtags to boost reach (LinkedIn's algorithm is too specific for this now)
- Stacking 10+ hashtags per post - LinkedIn's own guidance treats this as a spam signal
- Relying on hashtag following to build an audience pipeline (the feature was removed)
The floor for LinkedIn hashtags is higher now, but so is the ceiling for brands that use them with intention. A post targeting #B2BLeadGeneration with 1,500 followers still has a real shot at reaching a VP of Sales who's never heard of your company, if the content earns engagement. That hasn't changed. For a deeper look at how LinkedIn ranks and distributes content, see Cleverly's guide to the LinkedIn algorithm.
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How To Follow A Hashtag On LinkedIn
In this blog post, we will discuss how to follow hashtags on LinkedIn so that you can make the most of this powerful feature.
Step 1: Search for a Hashtag
The first step to following a hashtag on LinkedIn is to search for it. You can do this by using the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn homepage. Simply type in the hashtag that you want to follow and click enter.
Once you have entered the hashtag, LinkedIn will display a list of posts and articles related to that hashtag. You can browse through the results to get a sense of the type of content that is being shared under that hashtag.
👀 Note: LinkedIn now suggests trending hashtags as you type in the search bar.
Step 2: Click on the Hashtag
If you want to follow a hashtag, the next step is to click on the hashtag itself. This will take you to a dedicated page for that hashtag where you can see all the posts that have been shared under that hashtag.
LinkedIn hashtag pages now display a follower count, allow you to switch between "Top" and "Recent" posts, and suggest related hashtags.
Step 3: Click on the Follow Button
Once you are on the hashtag page, you will see a blue Follow button on the right-hand side of the page. Simply click on this button to start following the hashtag.
Step 4: Manage Your Hashtag Follows
Once you have followed a hashtag, LinkedIn will start showing you content related to that hashtag in your feed. You can manage your hashtag follows by clicking on the My Network tab on the LinkedIn homepage:
Then, selecting Hashtags from the dropdown menu:
From here, you can see all the hashtags that you are following and make changes to your follows as needed. For example, you can unfollow a hashtag if you are no longer interested in the content, or you can add new hashtags to your list.
LinkedIn has refined how it surfaces and handles hashtag follows: you’ll now see a concise, scrollable list of followed hashtags with a “Show more” option to expand beyond the first few.
👀 Note that LinkedIn’s algorithm in 2025 places more emphasis on engagement, quality, dwell time, and relevance rather than purely on hashtag usage. So even if you follow many hashtags, your feed will prioritize content that drives engagement.
The Best Practices For LinkedIn Hashtags
LinkedIn hashtags don't work like they did two years ago. The platform has shifted toward keyword-driven content discovery, which means the old advice - just add popular hashtags and watch reach grow - no longer holds. What does work is treating hashtags as topical signals that reinforce the content you're already posting.
Here's what actually moves the needle in 2026.
Use relevant hashtags
The only hashtag worth adding is one that accurately describes what the post is about. A post on cold email open rates doesn't belong under #VentureCapital because VCs are in your target market. The LinkedIn algorithm reads hashtags as topic classifiers. When your hashtags match your content, the algorithm surfaces your post to people engaging with that topic. When they don't, you get deprioritized.
Irrelevant hashtags also hurt in a second way: the audience who finds your post through a mismatched hashtag bounces immediately, which tanks your engagement rate and signals to LinkedIn that the content wasn't useful. Hashtag selection is one lever - for the full picture on what drives distribution, see Cleverly's guide on how to increase your LinkedIn engagement rate.
Use 2 to 5 hashtags per post
LinkedIn's own guidance lands in the 2 to 5 range, and posts using more than five start to look cluttered and can be treated as low-quality by the algorithm. Three well-chosen hashtags outperform ten loosely related ones every time.
The strongest combination: one broad hashtag (#Marketing or #B2BSales) for baseline discoverability, one niche hashtag (#B2BContentMarketing or #SalesProspecting) for targeted reach, and one branded or campaign-specific tag if you have one. That structure gives you both volume and precision without signaling spam.
Do your research before committing to a hashtag
Before you finalize your hashtags, run them through LinkedIn's search bar. You want to see whether the hashtag has active post volume and whether the content under it is relevant to what you're posting. A hashtag with millions of impressions sounds appealing, but if your post is competing with thousands of pieces of content per day, discoverability drops significantly. A niche hashtag with a more engaged, focused audience often outperforms a popular one with high noise.
Also check the tone of what's already posted under a hashtag. Some tags get co-opted by communities or conversations that don't align with professional positioning. Five minutes of research before launch is faster than explaining a brand misstep later.
Create your own branded hashtag
A custom hashtag does two things that industry hashtags can't: it builds a searchable archive of your content, and it gives your audience a way to find and follow your specific output rather than a general topic feed.
The mechanics are simple - pick something short, specific, and tied to your brand or a content series you run consistently. Use it on every post in that series without exception. The tag only builds equity through repetition.
When you encourage clients, collaborators, or your team to use the same hashtag, that content aggregates under a single searchable feed. Over time, anyone who searches your branded hashtag finds your body of work rather than a mix of everyone's content. For more on building the kind of presence on LinkedIn that makes branded hashtags worth the effort, see Cleverly's guide to LinkedIn personal branding.
Match hashtags to the post topic - not the audience you want
This is the most common mistake on LinkedIn: using hashtags that describe who you want to reach rather than what the post is about.
LinkedIn's algorithm uses hashtags as topical signals, not targeting parameters. When your hashtags misalign with your content, the algorithm treats it as a relevance mismatch and reduces distribution. A post about a cold email framework doesn't belong under #FinancialServices just because CFOs are your ICP.
Before you finalize your hashtags, ask one question: does this tag describe what this post is about? If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is "it describes the person I want to read it," cut it and write copy that speaks directly to that person's problems instead. Hashtags sharpen the signal your content is already sending - they don't substitute for it.
Participate in trending conversations - selectively
Trending hashtags can boost visibility, but jumping on a trending topic because it has volume rarely works. The LinkedIn algorithm evaluates whether your post adds to a conversation or is just attaching itself to a popular tag for reach. Posts that read as forced trend-jumping typically underperform compared to on-topic content with niche hashtags.
A more reliable approach: follow a handful of industry-specific hashtags yourself, and when you have something genuinely relevant to add to a conversation gaining traction, post into it. Relevance and timing together drive results; relevance alone beats timing every time.
Track your hashtag performance
LinkedIn's native analytics no longer tracks which specific hashtags drove impressions on individual posts. To build useful data, you need a manual workaround.
The most practical method: for two to four weeks, test different hashtag combinations on similar posts - same content type, roughly the same post length, published at similar times. Record which hashtag sets appeared on your highest-impression posts. Patterns emerge faster than you'd expect.
If you're posting for a company page and want more systematic data, third-party tools like Sprout Social or Shield Analytics track hashtag performance with post-level breakdowns that LinkedIn's native interface no longer provides.
The metric to optimize for first is impressions - a hashtag driving high impressions means LinkedIn is surfacing your content to people outside your immediate network, which is the whole point. Once you find the hashtags driving impressions, check whether those posts are also earning replies, reposts, or profile views. That combination tells you whether you're reaching the right audience, not just a large one. For more on reading LinkedIn's performance signals, see Cleverly's breakdown of LinkedIn impressions.
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Best LinkedIn Hashtags by Industry
The right hashtag for your post depends on your topic, your audience, and whether you want volume or precision. As a rule: broad hashtags (#Marketing, #Business) reach more people but compete with far more content. Niche hashtags (#B2BSalesStrategy, #LinkedInProspecting) reach a smaller, more targeted audience -- and in B2B, that targeting often matters more than raw reach.
Use the lists below as a starting point, then test. Rotate different tags across similar posts to see which combinations earn the most impressions and engagement for your specific audience.
Sales and B2B Marketing
These are the highest-value hashtags for anyone doing outbound, demand generation, or B2B content marketing on LinkedIn.
- #B2BSales
- #SalesProspecting
- #LinkedInOutreach
- #B2BMarketing
- #LeadGeneration
- #SalesDevelopment
- #OutboundSales
- #B2BContentMarketing
- #SalesEnablement
- #DemandGeneration
LinkedIn and Personal Branding
Use these when posting about LinkedIn strategy, profile optimization, or building an audience on the platform.
- #LinkedInMarketing
- #LinkedInTips
- #PersonalBranding
- #LinkedInStrategy
- #ThoughtLeadership
- #ContentCreation
- #ProfessionalBranding
- #ExecutivePresence
Marketing and Growth
For content focused on campaigns, strategy, digital channels, and marketing operations.
- #DigitalMarketing
- #ContentMarketing
- #GrowthMarketing
- #MarketingStrategy
- #EmailMarketing
- #SEO
- #BrandStrategy
- #MarketingOps
Technology and SaaS
For product, engineering, and software-focused content.
- #SaaS
- #ProductMarketing
- #B2BTech
- #ArtificialIntelligence
- #AI
- #TechStartups
- #ProductManagement
- #CloudComputing
Leadership and Career
For executives, founders, and professionals posting about management, culture, or career growth.
- #Leadership
- #ExecutiveLeadership
- #CareerGrowth
- #ProfessionalDevelopment
- #Entrepreneurship
- #StartupLife
- #FutureOfWork
- #Productivity
Finance and Fintech
- #Fintech
- #Finance
- #FinancialServices
- #Investing
- #WealthManagement
- #FinancialPlanning
Human Resources and Talent
- #HumanResources
- #TalentAcquisition
- #EmployerBrand
- #Recruiting
- #HRTech
- #EmployeeExperience
- #WorkplaceCulture
A note on mixing tag types: The strongest posts usually combine one broad hashtag (#Marketing), one niche hashtag (#B2BContentMarketing), and one branded or campaign-specific hashtag if applicable. This gives you baseline discoverability with a larger audience while still reaching the more targeted segment most likely to engage.
For more on building a LinkedIn content strategy that compounds over time, see Cleverly's guide to LinkedIn content creation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, LinkedIn hashtags are an important tool for professionals looking to connect with other professionals, share their expertise, and expand their network.
By using relevant hashtags, avoiding overuse, keeping it simple, doing research, creating custom hashtags, participating in trending conversations, and tracking your success, you can make the most of this powerful feature and achieve your goals on the platform.
At Cleverly, we’ve helped 10,000+ clients generate leads with top companies like Amazon, Google, Uber, PayPal, Slack, Spotify, and more.
Our data-driven LinkedIn outreach campaigns have produced over $312 million in pipeline revenue and $51.2 million in closed deals — all through strategic LinkedIn lead generation.
👉 If you’re ready to turn your LinkedIn presence into a predictable lead engine, let's talk!
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