Hashtags have lost most of the power they once held on LinkedIn. The platform’s own product changes show exactly why. Since 2024, nobody can follow a hashtag, so tags no longer push your post into a feed of interested readers. Our LinkedIn content marketing team has helped B2B brands adapt to every shift like this since 2018.
Hashtags still have a small role, especially for events and branded campaigns that need a shared label. What matters now is knowing when a tag helps a post and when it quietly limits its reach.
Do hashtags still work on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn hashtags now work mainly as a light topic label that helps the platform understand what a post covers. Since back in 2024, LinkedIn removed the option to follow hashtags, they no longer build an audience of their own,
The feed now judges each post by reading the post itself, so clear wording carries far more weight than a tag. For most B2B brands, hashtags have become optional at best and a drag on reach at worst.
We advise clients to leave hashtags off most posts, as we set out in our review of the latest LinkedIn algorithm changes. The few exceptions where tags still help are covered further down, along with the data that supports our advice.
What changed with LinkedIn hashtags?
LinkedIn has been stripping back its hashtag features in stages since 2024, shifting discovery toward the content of each post. The table below sets out the main changes and what each one means for the way you post.
| Date | Change | What it means for you |
| 2016 | LinkedIn made hashtags clickable | Tags grouped posts into searchable topic feeds |
| February 2024 | Profile hashtags removed | Profiles no longer advertise topics through tags |
| March 2024 | Creator Mode retired | Its creator tools opened up to every member |
| 2024 | Hashtag following removed | Tags stopped delivering posts to topic followers |
| 2026 | AI models lead feed ranking | Post wording matters more than any tag |
What does the data say about LinkedIn hashtags?
Recent evidence found that posts with hashtags earned a higher median engagement rate of 2.56%, compared with 1.75% for posts without them.
Reach told a very different story: posts with hashtags averaged 2,269 impressions, compared with 6,632 for posts with none. Adding more tags widened that gap, and posts using 11 or more hashtags averaged just 502 impressions.
In practice, hashtagged posts seem to reach a smaller audience that engages a little more, while untagged posts travel much further. For brands that rely on LinkedIn to find new buyers, that trade-off rarely pays off.
The figures show a correlation, not proof of cause, so treat them as a guide to test against your own results. Even so, they line up closely with our long-standing advice to keep hashtags to a minimum.
How many hashtags should you use on LinkedIn?
Most LinkedIn posts perform best with up to two hashtags, placed at the very end so they never interrupt the message. Your average impressions fall as more tags are added, so anything beyond two is hard to justify.
The old advice of 3-5 hashtags per post dates from the era of hashtag feeds, which LinkedIn has since closed. If a tag simply repeats a word already in your post, it adds nothing and is safe to remove.
When are hashtags still worth using on LinkedIn?
Event hashtags
An event hashtag gives attendees and speakers a single label for sharing updates before and after the day itself. When StraightIn promoted the B2B Marketing Expo, we built our pre-event campaign around #b2bexpo to start conversations with attendees early.
That campaign drove strong engagement and helped us build relationships with attendees before the show even opened. Pair your event hashtag with a LinkedIn Event page, then use our guide to marketing events on LinkedIn for the rest.
Branded campaign hashtags
A short branded hashtag can tie together posts from your team and clients during a campaign or product launch. Keep it unique to your brand, so your posts never get mixed up with unrelated content using the same phrase.
Ask colleagues to use the same tag whenever they share campaign content to keep your message consistent across every profile involved.
Niche industry hashtags
A specific industry tag such as #CyberSecurity or #FinTech can help LinkedIn place a post within the right topic. Broad tags such as #Business or #Marketing are used so widely that they tell the platform very little about your post.
How do you add hashtags to a LinkedIn post?
Adding a hashtag only takes a few seconds, but a few small habits make tags easier to read and less likely to limit reach.
- Type the # symbol followed by your word or phrase, with no spaces or punctuation inside the tag.
- Capitalise each word in multi-word tags, such as #ContentMarketing, so that screen readers can read them aloud correctly.
- Place hashtags at the end of your post, after your main point and your call to action.
- Search for the tag on LinkedIn first to check that it is not already attached to unrelated or unwanted content.
What works better than hashtags on LinkedIn?
Clear, keyword-rich writing now does the job that hashtags used to do, as LinkedIn’s systems read each post to judge its topic. A strong first line that names your subject helps both readers and the algorithm understand what follows.
Early engagement matters too, which is why our team shares every new post internally on Slack as soon as it goes live. Quick comments from colleagues signal to LinkedIn that a post is worth showing to a much wider audience.
Writing consistently about the same few topics also builds authority over time, which helps your brand appear in AI search results. Our article on improving AI visibility with LinkedIn content explains how this works, while our Brand Builder service puts it into practice.
LinkedIn hashtags FAQs
Can you still follow hashtags on LinkedIn?
Following a hashtag is no longer possible, so a tag can’t add your post to anyone’s personal topic feed. Searching for a hashtag still works as the results show recent posts that have used it.
What are the best hashtags for LinkedIn?
The best LinkedIn hashtags are specific to your industry or event and used sparingly by people working in your field. Generic tags with millions of uses rarely help, as your post gets buried quickly among unrelated content.
Do hashtags help LinkedIn search and SEO?
Hashtags make a post appear in LinkedIn’s own hashtag search, but they add little value for Google or AI search tools. Descriptive opening lines and clear wording do far more to help your content get found beyond the platform.
Should Company Pages use hashtags on LinkedIn?
Company Pages follow the same principles as personal profiles, so one or two relevant tags are plenty for most page posts. Regular posting and employee engagement do far more to grow a page, as our guide to LinkedIn Company Pages explains.
Getting LinkedIn hashtags right in 2026
LinkedIn hashtags have shifted from a discovery tool to a small topic label that most posts can happily do without. Use them sparingly for events and campaigns, then let clear writing and early engagement carry the rest.
If you want LinkedIn content that reaches the right buyers, our LinkedIn content marketing team can build a strategy around what works today. Get in touch for a free consultation where we’ll review your current LinkedIn content approach.
