Hashtags Without the MythsLesson 5 of 5
Junk and “dead” tags
Sounds powerful — empty inside
Some tags sound “powerful” but are empty or a trap. Don’t drag them into your set “for luck.”
What’s almost always junk
Don’t useEngagement-bait
#follow4follow, #like4like, #l4l, #fffJunk audience, spam signal
Empty “discovery”
#fyp, #foryou, #viral, #trendingDon’t describe the topic; often ignored / noise
Ultra-generic
#love, #instagood, #photoofthedayOcean with no shores, zero meaning
Not about your post
Tag “because it’s popular”Confuses the topic for the algorithm and people
“Dead” and risky
Sometimes a tag is restricted: weird search behavior, few “fresh” posts, content hidden because of spam/violations in that tag.
Check a tag in 20 seconds
- 1. Open the tag in Instagram / TikTok search.
- 2. See if the feed of recent posts looks alive.
- 3. If the tag looks toxic, empty, or “broken” — don’t use it.
- 4. Don’t use a tag that isn’t about the content of the reel/photo.
Golden rule of the course
“If someone is searching for exactly this — will my post actually fit? If not — trash it. No mercy.”
Check yourself
Which tag is almost always useless or harmful?
Explanation: Engagement-bait and empty discovery tags don’t bring a targeted audience and often look like spam. Use tags that honestly describe the post.