#Hashtags for Food Bloggers

UPDATED: April, 2018

Dear lovely readers who are only here for the yums,

I have no baked yumminess for you today. No recipes or new foodie photos. But I promise in just a few short days to present you with new, yummy edible goodness. Until then, consider class dismissed early today. Maybe grab that carton of half-eaten ice cream hidden in the back of your freezer (it’s ok, I won’t tell anyone) or whip up some ice cream goodness of your own (might I suggest some lavender honeycomb or s’more ice cream). You deserve it!

For my bloggy and social media readers, pull up a chair. Class is now in session!

The last couple of months I’ve taken some time to venture into the realm of Instagram. I was hesitant to take on yet another social media platform (I’m sure you know the feeling), but HOLYSPACEBALLSBATMAN Instagram is fun (and perhaps a smidge addicting). It’s also a great platform for sharing your food blog work. Instagram puts the social media emphasis almost entirely on the photos submitted by it’s users, something that aligns perfectly with the quest we’re perpetually on as food bloggers for the perfect food photo.

But, because it’s social media, having drool-worthy food photos isn’t quite enough to attract a following. You also need to master how to use this particular platform, namely the hashtag.

So, what is a hashtag? I’m so glad you asked young padiwan! A hashtag, in a nutshell, is like a keyword and it’s the words by which your photo is categorized. Sounds pretty easy and straightforward, right? WRONG! Ok, maybe not quite WRONG but there’s more to it than just the words you might associate with food in your every day conversations. While hashtags like #yummy and #delicious rank high on Instagram, so do less common conversational phrases like #foodporn and #instafood.

The more popular the hashtags you use, the more people (in theory) will see your photo. Not to go too much into technical mumbo-jumbo, but this has to do with preferences and the algorithms Instagram uses to show users new content. If users have previously liked content using hashtags like #loveit, Instagram is more likely to show them new content with the same or a similar hashtag. Using popular hashtags that are “trending” (Instagram speak for “popular”) and that multiple users are liking means that your photos are more likely to be shown to other users.

That said, part of your Instagram strategy should include hitting a range of hashtags and not just the most popular ones. If everyone and their uncle is using a particular hashtag, it can be difficult to stand out in the crowd, even if you have killer content. That means you need to diversify. Hit some popular hashtags, hit some middle of the road hashtags and hit some less popular hashtags.

That said, here are the…

Top 10 (give or take) Food Blogger Hashtags by Category

Basic hashtags for food bloggers:
#instagood                   #food                   #sweet
#yummy                       #instapic              #yum
#delicious                     #fresh                  #foodie
#hungry                       #homemade        #foodgasm

Food photography hashtags:
#foodphotography         #foodpics             #foodporn
#foodstagram                 #instafood

Meal specific hashtags:
#goodmorning           #morning           #dinner
#breakfast                  #lunch                 #dessert

Seasonal hashtags:
#summer                    #holiday             #spring
#winter                       #halloween         #fall
#summertime             #autumn            #merrychristmas
#xmas                         #thanksgiving

Ingredient or types of food hashtags:
#coffee                       #cake                     #chocolate
#beer                         #turkey                  #icecream
#wine                         #drink                    #tea
#sushi                        #chicken                #fish
#fruit                         #strawberry            #cupcakes

Aside from general hashtags that will help get your photos into the right categories to be seen, there are also hashtags you can use to get your photos seen by larger accounts who might share them, including Better Homes and Gardens, FoodGawker, and TheKitchn. Here are some of the hashtags these accounts have created to share food photos:

#bhgfood
#bhgbaking
#f52gram @f52gram
#huffposttaste
#foodgawker
#thekitchn
#feedfeed @thefeedfeed
#buzzfeast
#buzzfeedfood
#buzzfeeddiy (if your tutorial is equal parts diy and recipe)
#sweetmagazine
#droolclub
#foodprnshare
#kitchenbowl
#gloobyfood
#forkfeed
#flatlayforever (flat-lay only photos)
#cupcakeproject
#myfoodgasm
#donutscookiesandcream
#teamchomp
#beautifulcuisines
#spoonfeed
#sugarandclothloves
#abmlifeissweet
#abmfoodie
#show_me_your_food

Another great tactic to get your content noticed? Tag any brands whose products you’ve used in the recipe or photo.

Happy Instagraming!