LinkedIn Hashtag Strategy: What Actually Works in 2026

You've seen the posts — fifty hashtags crammed into the comments, a wall of #motivation #hustle #entrepreneurship that reads like someone panic-googled "trending LinkedIn hashtags" thirty seconds before hitting post.

It doesn't work. Worse, it looks desperate.

LinkedIn hashtags have changed significantly over the past few years, and so has the way the algorithm treats them. If you're using the same approach you did in 2022, you're likely leaving reach on the table — or actively hurting your posts.

This guide breaks down exactly how LinkedIn hashtags work in 2026, how many to use, how to pick the right ones, and the strategy behind posts that actually get found.

How LinkedIn Hashtags Actually Work

LinkedIn's algorithm uses hashtags to categorise and distribute content. When you add a hashtag to a post, LinkedIn can surface that post to two groups:

People who follow that hashtag — LinkedIn lets users follow hashtags, and content tagged with those gets fed into their home feed.
People in LinkedIn's interest graph — LinkedIn builds a profile of what topics a user engages with, and uses hashtags as a signal to match content to relevant audiences.

The key word is "signal." Hashtags are one of several signals LinkedIn reads. They matter, but they're not the primary driver of distribution. Engagement rate, your connection network, and post format carry more weight.

What this means practically: hashtags help your content reach beyond your first-degree connections. A well-chosen hashtag puts your post in front of people who don't follow you yet but are interested in your topic. That's the real value.

How Many LinkedIn Hashtags Should You Use?

The short answer: 3 to 5.

LinkedIn's own guidance has historically suggested 3 hashtags. Based on post performance data and creator feedback in 2025–2026, 3–5 is the practical sweet spot.

Here's why more isn't better:

Too many hashtags dilute the signal. If you use 15 hashtags spanning marketing, wellness, leadership, and crypto, LinkedIn doesn't know who to show your post to.
It looks spammy. LinkedIn's audience trends professional. A post ending with 20 hashtags reads as low-effort.
The algorithm may suppress it. There's consistent creator-reported evidence that posts stuffed with hashtags get reduced organic reach.

The exception: LinkedIn newsletters and long-form articles can support slightly more hashtags (up to 7–8) because there's more content for LinkedIn to contextualise the tags against.

The 3 Types of LinkedIn Hashtags You Should Use

Think in tiers, not just topics.

1. Broad Hashtags (High Volume)

These are large, well-followed hashtags with hundreds of thousands to millions of followers. Examples: #LinkedIn, #Marketing, #Leadership.

Use 1 per post maximum. High-volume hashtags move fast — your post will be buried within minutes. They're low ROI unless you're already a high-engagement creator.

2. Mid-Tier Hashtags (Your Sweet Spot)

These have 10,000–100,000 followers and represent a specific niche or topic. Examples: #ContentMarketing, #B2BMarketing, #LinkedInTips.

Use 2–3 per post. Mid-tier hashtags are where most of your distribution gain comes from. The feed moves slower, your post has staying power, and the audience is genuinely interested in the topic.

3. Niche Hashtags (Low Volume, High Intent)

These have under 10,000 followers but represent a tight community. Examples: #SaaSSales, #FreelanceMarketing, #StartupFounder.

Use 1 per post (optional). Niche hashtags won't drive volume, but they can drive quality — comments from people who are exactly your target reader.

A practical formula: 1 broad + 2 mid-tier + 1 niche = 4 hashtags. Adjust based on your topic.

How to Pick the Right LinkedIn Hashtags

Random guessing is a terrible hashtag strategy. Here's a more deliberate approach.

Check Follower Count Before You Commit

Click any hashtag on LinkedIn to see how many followers it has. This takes 10 seconds and tells you whether the tag is worth including.

#ContentStrategy — 300,000+ followers: strong mid-tier #ContentMarketingTips — 8,000 followers: niche but active #ContentCreatorMarketing — 200 followers: skip it

Match Hashtags to Your Audience, Not Just Your Topic

A post about LinkedIn content written for HR professionals should tag differently than the same post written for B2B founders. The topic is the same; the audience isn't.

For HR: #HRMarketing, #TalentBrand, #EmployerBranding For B2B founders: #B2BMarketing, #FounderContent, #LinkedInTips

When you're writing your post using a tool like the LinkedIn Post Generator, it's worth pausing before you add hashtags and asking: who am I actually writing this for? That should drive your hashtag choices more than the topic itself.

Use LinkedIn's Own Suggestions (Selectively)

When you type a hashtag in LinkedIn's post composer, it auto-suggests related tags with follower counts. This is a useful research tool. Don't just accept the first suggestion — compare 3–4 options and pick the one closest to your ideal audience size.

Build a Personal Hashtag List

Creators who post consistently tend to use the same 8–10 hashtags across their content, rotating 3–5 per post. Build your master list once, then mix and match.

This also signals to LinkedIn's algorithm what you consistently post about — which helps your content get matched to the right audience over time.

Where to Put Hashtags in Your LinkedIn Posts

There are three schools of thought:

1. At the end of the post body — the most common approach. Clean, easy to scan, clearly separated from the content.

2. In the first comment — some creators prefer this to keep the post body clean. This used to be a workaround when LinkedIn reportedly deprioritised hashtag-heavy posts, but the gap has largely closed.

3. Embedded naturally in the text — occasionally works for 1–2 hashtags, but can read awkwardly.

The practical recommendation: put them at the end of the post, separated by a line break. This is what the majority of high-performing LinkedIn creators do in 2026, and it keeps your content readable.

If you're previewing how your post will look before publishing, the LinkedIn Post Previewer lets you see exactly how hashtags will render — both at the end of the body and in the comments, so you can decide what looks right.

LinkedIn Hashtag Strategy by Content Type

Your hashtag choices should shift based on what you're posting.

Personal Insights and Opinion Posts

Lean toward community hashtags where people discuss ideas. #LinkedInTips, #CreatorEconomy, #ThoughtLeadership

How-To and Educational Posts

Topic-specific mid-tier hashtags work best. #ContentMarketing, #SEOTips, #SocialMediaStrategy

Company News and Product Updates

Brand-adjacent hashtags. #SaaS, #Startups, #ProductLaunch

Case Studies and Results Posts

Use the audience's industry hashtags. #B2BSales, #Ecommerce, #DigitalMarketing

Hiring Posts

Very specific. #Hiring, #JobAlert, #[City]Jobs

What Not to Do With LinkedIn Hashtags

These are the mistakes that actively hurt your posts:

1. Using irrelevant hashtags for reach. Tagging your marketing post with #Fitness because fitness hashtags have lots of followers is a signal mismatch. LinkedIn will show your post to the wrong people. Low engagement follows.

2. Creating your own hashtag. #YourCompanyName is not a distribution strategy unless you have a large, loyal following actively using it. For most creators, branded hashtags get zero traction.

3. Using the same hashtags on every post. Rotating your hashtag set keeps your content reaching fresh audiences and signals topic breadth to the algorithm.

4. Using hashtags that are basically dead. Hashtags with under 500 followers often have no active feed. Check before you use.

5. Burying hashtags mid-sentence when they don't belong. "I've been thinking about #leadership lately and how it connects to #productivity in #remotework environments" — this reads like keyword stuffing, not natural writing.

How to Track Whether Your Hashtags Are Working

LinkedIn provides post analytics showing impressions, reach, and engagement. But it doesn't break down reach by hashtag.

The best proxy: track whether posts using specific hashtags get significantly more reach than your average. If a post with #B2BMarketing consistently outperforms one with #Marketing, that's a data point worth acting on.

For a more structured approach to LinkedIn content, the LinkedIn Content Strategy guide covers how to build a systematic approach — hashtags are one piece of a larger picture.

You can also monitor which hashtags you follow and how active their feeds are. If a hashtag's feed has posts from 3 weeks ago at the top, the community is dead.

According to research on LinkedIn content performance, posts with hashtags consistently outperform those without in terms of organic reach — but returns diminish sharply after 5 tags.

A Simple LinkedIn Hashtag Framework for 2026

Stop overthinking it. Here's the repeatable approach:

Identify your target reader for this specific post
Choose 1 mid-tier hashtag for your main topic (10k–100k followers)
Choose 1 mid-tier hashtag for your audience's role or industry
Choose 1 niche hashtag relevant to the specific angle of your post
Add 1 broad hashtag if your topic is mainstream enough to benefit from it
Place them at the end of your post, separated by a line break
Rotate your choices — don't use the same 4 hashtags every time

That's it. Consistent execution of a simple framework beats an elaborate strategy you don't follow.

Ready to Write Posts Worth Hashtagging?

A great hashtag strategy is wasted on a weak post. Before you worry about hashtags, make sure your content is actually worth distributing.

The LinkedIn Post Generator helps you write posts from scratch — with the hooks, structure, and tone that drive engagement. Once you have a post worth posting, drop in your 3–5 hashtags and you're done.

And if you want your posts looking sharp before they go live, run them through the LinkedIn Post Previewer to see exactly how they'll appear in the feed — hashtags included.