All You Need to Know About Book Hashtags

Book hashtags play an important role in getting your #bookstagram content in front of your target audience. At the time of writing, #bookstagram has been used over 100 million times.

It’s a niche area of the internet that you probably don’t know about unless you’re a bookstagrammer yourself or a big book lover.

It’s amazing to see so many people using #bookstagram, but the downside of this is that if you post your book-related photo using only #bookstagram, it’s going to get lost in a sea of other photos. And, sadly, lots of these photos are not even related to books anymore.

So what book hashtags should you be using to help grow your account on Instagram?

These are some of my top tips for using hashtags to get more followers on Instagram, from someone who has grown a bookstagram account to over 70,000 followers.

This is part of a series of bookstagram tip blog posts I will be posting. You may wish to first check out my post on how to start a bookstagram.

If you’re new here, you can also check out this post to read about my bookstagram evolution and how I got started on bookstagram, many moons ago!

Click here to follow @whatshotblog on Instagram where I post book and travel content.

Book Hashtags Explained

What are hashtags

When you click on a hashtag, Instagram will show you all photos that have used that hashtag.

You will taken initially to your ‘For You’ page where the Instagram algorithm has selected the most relevant or popular posts tagged with that hashtag for you to look at. This will include a mix of image posts, carousels and reels.

Whilst it was possible in the past to view posts published using a hashtag chronologically, the Instagram app is increasingly focused on providing content tailored to you by the algorithm, so this function is no longer available.

Getting featured on other users’ ‘For You’ pages can lead to greater levels of engagement as your post will be one of the first posts that people see when they search for something.

Why you should use hashtags

Essentially, hashtags are keywords that signal to the platform what your content is about and help the Instagram algorithm figure out what your account is about and who to push the content to.

Hashtags can also be a great way to discover content from people that you don’t already follow.

One of the best ways to discover new people and, in turn, be discovered by other users, is to use keyword-rich captions, which includes the use of relevant hashtags.

What’s more, people can follow hashtags too. You can do this by clicking the ‘plus’ sign to the right of the search bar when you search for a term.

This means that your post could appear on the feed of someone who doesn’t even follow you if you happen to use the hashtag that they follow instead. How cool is that?

Where to use hashtags

There has been quite a lot of debate over the years as to where to place hashtags and whether this affects the Instagram algorithm.

People will argue about whether to put hashtags in the caption or the comments and how that affects the algorithm, but, personally, I’ve never noticed a difference.

Whether you post the hashtags in the comments or caption, your post will still appear in searches for that hashtag.

Some people think it looks “cleaner” to include the hashtags in the comments, but do whatever suits you.

How many hashtags to use

Instagram will only allow you to add a maximum of 30 hashtags to each post. This includes hashtags in the caption and the comments or a mix of the two.

There’s a lot of debate right now about whether you should use 7 or 8 hashtags or the full 30. Some people have reported that using a smaller number is more beneficial, but others say neither method changes things for them.

The key, in any case, is to use super relevant hashtags. Hashtags like #book or #bookreview aren’t going to get you very far these days as they are just far too broad!

If you’re posting about a specific genre, look for relevant hashtags for that genre, if you want to connect with people in a specific country, look for relevant hashtags for bookish people in that country.

As mentioned, hashtags are a way to signal to the algorithm what your content is about, so you want this to be really targetted and clear.

Create personalised hashtags

Personalised hashtags can be a great way for people to keep track of specific content from you. If you have your own mini-series on Instagram, then create a unique hashtag just for that content so people can easily find it.

For example, if you want to find my book discussion and review related content you could search for #whatshotbooks and these would all pop up.

This can be much easier for a follower than scrolling endlessly through your feed trying to find that one specific post they saw a month ago.

If your content can split into different categories, you can create one personalised hashtag for each and include it at the end of your caption so it’s easy for people to find similar posts.

Follow me on Instagram for more bookish content @whatshotblog

Change them up regularly

Don’t use the same block of hashtags over and over again for every photo. For one, it goes back to my previous point about wanting to (a) maximise your exposure to new audiences and (b) you should be using really specific hashtags.

I don’t believe (but cannot confirm) the algorithm will penalise you for repeating the exact same hashtags again and again, but using different (but relevant) hashtags means you are getting your content in front of fresh eyes.

Make sure the hashtags relate to the picture

For example, don’t use the hashtag #catsofinstagram for a picture that doesn’t include a cat. For one, people look at that hashtag, hoping to see cats, probably won’t like your post.

Secondly, Instagram’s AI technology can read your image and will categorise it accordingly. If the hashtags don’t match the image, I imagine you’re going to confuse the tech.

Book Hashtags to Use

How to choose book hashtags

There is a certain method to choosing which book hashtags to use. Book hashtags were not all created equal and some are of far better quality than others.

Just a quick scroll through any hashtag will give you a good indication as to whether it’s being used by true book lovers or has just become a spam hole.

But how do you know which hashtags to use when there are so many? For each hashtag you are considering, you should look at how many times it has been used already.

As I said at the beginning, using #bookstagram with millions and millions of uses may result in your photo getting lost as so many people post to this every day.

Instead, you should target more niche hashtags and you can build up a bank of these relating to each type of bookish photo you take.

For example, you could have a set of hashtags for book reviews, one for your shelfies, one for bookshops etc.

It’s great to change these up and not use the same hashtags for every photo. You could then store your sets of 30 hashtags in notes so it’s easy for you to copy and paste when it’s time to post.

If you’re a smaller account, you may find it easier to stand out by using the ones with fewer users as you’ll have fewer accounts to compete with for a spot on the “top” section.

Some will also be location-specific, such as #bookstagramuk, which may help you find like-minded bookworms close to home.

Below are some suggestions for book hashtags (but there are so many out there so this list is by no means exhaustive!).

Bookstagram Hashtag Suggestions

To give you a flavour of the kind of hashtags out there, I have made a list of suggested hashtags for bookstagram.

These include a mix of hashtags for all things bookish: reading, book reviews, book recommendations, book stacks, bookshelves and more.

I’ve broken these down by the number of posts already using each hashtag as I think this is a really helpful metric for being able to see which might get you the most exposure depending on your own account’s popularity.

However, as I said above, when I save groups of hashtags to my notes, I do this by category and I suggest you do the same. After these suggestions, you’ll find some more advice on location-specific and themed book hashtags. A mix of the generic hashtag suggestions below, as well as more niche ones, is ideal.

Niche

#instabookshop #booksconnectus #bibliophilefeatures #booksbooksandmorebooks #newbookstagrammer #bookstagramming #bookstagrammademedoit #booksparks #springreading #readingoutside #readholic

Popular

#instabookstagram #booksaremylife #readerlife #bookishgirl #toberead #readerforlife #tbrpile #bibliophilelife #bookloversofinstagram #bookshark #readinggoals #bokaccount #bookishallure #readerslife #bookstagrams

#shelfiesunday #bookishlove #mybookfeatures #bookfeaturepage #bookaddiction #ilovetoread #bilbiophiles #booksaremylife #unitedbookstagram #bookpic #booktag #bookstagramfeatures #bookstagramcommunity #bookaesthetic #booksandcoffee #igread #bookreviewer #bookwormlife #booksaremagic #readathon #bookishphotography

Very Popular

#booksarelife #lovetoread #readmore #epicreads #bookishlove #booksofig #booktography #bookhoarder #bookstack #readmorebooks

#booknerdigans #shelfie #instabooks #bookreview #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #igbooks #booknerd #bookstagrammer #bookblogger #bookish #booklove #booksbooksbooks #bookclub #amreading

Too Popular / Generic

#books #bookshelf #bookstagram #read #bookworm #booklover

Location-specific Book Hashtags

Bookstagram is a wonderfully diverse space on the internet and includes book lovers from all over the world. Of course, the problem with that is that there are bookstagrammers using the hashtag who speak and post in different languages.

As such, some bookstagrammers might only want to see posts from those in their own country who speak the same language and shop at local bookshops and websites.

One way to find local bookstagrammers, is to search for local book hashtags. Did you know that there’s #bookstagramuk for the British, #bookstagramespaña for the Spanish, #livrestagram for the French, #bookstagramgermany for the German and more?

There will undoubtedly be a number of location-specific hashtags for your home country and maybe even your home town. Do a little digging and I’m sure you’ll find lots of local bookworms!

It’s also a great way for linguists and those who read in other languages to discover new titles released in other parts of the world.

Niche Book Hashtags

The above bookstagram hashtags are a great place to start but there are lots of very specific ones that will help you engage with a community of like-minded people that you will definitely be able to root out too.

Using a mix of generic and niche hashtags is ideal so you should try to find hashtags related to your post’s specific themes. By niche bookstagram hashtags, I mean hashtags to do with young adult books or bookshops, for example, as opposed to just reading. This will help you find an even more targeted audience.

Here are some young adult book hashtag ideas to get you started: #yabooks #ireadya #youngadultbooks #yafiction #yabookstagram. You’ll find similar ones for every genre and topic, such as #thrillerbooks, #harrypotterbooks, #romancenovels and more.

The Future of Hashtags

Whilst hashtags have long been one of Instagram’s most important features, as social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok start to act more and more like search engines, these features are becoming less important than good keywords.

Algorithms are not just looking at hashtags but the captions themselves, so ensuring that your captions include important keywords in a natural way is another important way to signal to the algorithm what your content is about.

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So there you have my ultimate guide to book hashtags! I hope this helps you on your bookstagram and content creation journey.

There are literally thousands and thousands of bookstagram hashtags out there so it’s worth seeking some out that are really relevant to your account specifically.

If you found this post helpful, please support me with a small contribution on Ko-Fi. This information was provided free of charge but is invaluable to bloggers and influencers and I’d really appreciate your support!

Please let me know how you get on with these tips by leaving a comment below or by dropping me a DM on Instagram! I’d love to hear from you.

If you liked this post, check out these book blogging posts:
Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing for Book Bloggers
How to Start a Book Blog
36 Book Blog Post Ideas
24 Bookstagram Prop Ideas
Why Book Bloggers Should be Paid
Book Bloggers Share Their Thoughts on Influencer Marketing
Beginner’s Guide to Bookstagram for Indie Authors
How to Write a Good Review of a Bad Book
20 Best Bookstagram Accounts to Follow Now
Why Influencers Shouldn’t Use the Term “Gifted”
How to Disclose Sponsored Instagram Posts

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Laura

Founder & Editor of What’s Hot?

Laura is an award-winning travel and book blogger based in the UK. She studied French literature at Oxford University and is now an IP lawyer at a top law firm in London. She was named UK Book Blogger of the Year in 2019 and loves to combine her passion for books and travel with literary travel.