# hashtag-strategy

Builds a hashtag and discoverability plan for social posts: keyword layer first, then a tight per-platform tag set.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 672 installs · ★ 199
- Author: social-media-skills
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-15
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/hashtag-strategy

## What it does

The skill's main job is correcting an outdated belief. Hashtags are not a reach hack anymore — platforms read captions, on-screen text, audio and visuals directly, so tags mostly categorize a post and help search. Instagram dropped hashtag following in 2024 and caps tags at 5 as of 2025.

It works in order. First it loads `brand-profile.md` and `audience.md` and looks at the post itself. Then it picks the primary keyword the audience actually searches with, plus variations, and places them in the front of the caption, in on-screen text and in spoken audio. Only after that comes the tag set: Instagram 3–5 with a hard cap of 5, TikTok 3–5 as keywords, LinkedIn 3–5 specific, X 0–2, Threads 1, Pinterest and YouTube keyword-led. Mid-tier and niche tags, roughly 10K–500K posts, beat generic mega-tags.

Branded and campaign tags cover community and tracking. You get 2–4 reusable sets per pillar and rotate them instead of pasting one block everywhere. Publishing is handed to `scheduling-and-queue`. Ask for 30 tags to go viral or for `#fyp` and the skill pushes back: more tags do not mean more reach, and `#fyp` does not affect the For You feed. It also makes no analytics claims about your tags — check the platform's own reach-from-hashtags insights instead.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add social-media-skills/skills --skill hashtag-strategy -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/hashtag-strategy/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add social-media-skills/skills --skill hashtag-strategy -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add social-media-skills/skills --skill hashtag-strategy -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install social-media-skills/skills hashtag-strategy
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add social-media-skills/skills --skill hashtag-strategy -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills --path skills/hashtag-strategy
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add social-media-skills/skills --skill hashtag-strategy -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/hashtag-strategy/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- place keywords where platforms actually index them
- pick tags per platform without breaking its cap
- swap generic mega-tags like #fyp for niche ones
- design a branded tag for UGC and campaign tracking
- build several tag sets and rotate them across posts

## Example prompts
- Build a hashtag strategy for my course launch post
- How many hashtags should I use on Instagram, and which ones?
- Do hashtags still work or are they dead?

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: e3cb59f2dfa26865.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE e3cb59f2dfa26865
```text
---
name: hashtag-strategy
description: >-
  Use to build a hashtag and discoverability strategy for social posts — the modern (2026)
  approach, not the outdated "30 hashtags to go viral" playbook. Run when the user says
  "hashtags," "what hashtags should I use," "how many hashtags," "hashtag strategy," "help me get
  discovered/reach," asks "do hashtags still work / are hashtags dead," or asks how to tag a post. Reads brand-profile and audience first. Sets the keyword/social-SEO layer
  first (caption, on-screen text, spoken audio) because that — plus engagement and the content
  itself — drives discovery far more than hashtags now; then picks a tight, relevant, per-platform
  hashtag set (respecting caps like Instagram's enforced 5-tag limit), favors niche/mid-tier tags
  over generic mega-tags, and designs branded/campaign hashtags for community and tracking. Rotates
  sets rather than copy-pasting one block, and hands placement/publishing to scheduling-and-queue.
  Sets honest expectations: hashtags categorize and aid search; they are not a reach hack.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
---

# Hashtag Strategy

The most valuable thing this skill does is correct an outdated belief. In 2026, **hashtags are not a
reach hack** — platforms understand content directly (captions, on-screen text, audio, visuals,
engagement), so tags now mostly **categorize** a post and **aid search**. Instagram even removed
hashtag-following (2024) and **caps hashtags at 5** (2025), and its own head has said more tags
don't mean more reach.

So this skill does two jobs, in order:

1. **The keyword / social-SEO layer first** — the real discovery lever. Platforms are search
   engines now; they index your caption, on-screen text, and spoken audio.
2. **A tight, relevant hashtag set** on top — per platform, within caps, niche over generic — plus
   branded/campaign tags where community applies.

(Full reasoning in `references/the-2026-reality.md`.)

## Step 0 — Read the foundation + the post

Load `brand-profile.md` and `audience.md`, and look at the actual content/caption being tagged. Tags
must match real content and the audience's real searches.

## Step 1 — Set the keyword / social-SEO layer (the real lever)

Pick the **primary keyword** (how the audience actually searches) + a couple of variations, and
place them where platforms index:

- **Caption, front-loaded** (the first ~80 chars carry most weight).
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE e3cb59f2dfa26865

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the e3cb59f2dfa26865 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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