Digital Agencies
Are hashtags dying: The curious case of right digital strategy
DELHI: “Don’t hashtag, they’re thirsty,” Ellie (played by Jenna Ortega) tells the lead character of popular Netflix series You in one of the episodes of the recently released season 2. The 13-year-old girl was teaching the art of using social media to the subject, something that comes like second nature to her generation. While she was talking about building a personal brand on the photo-sharing website of Instagram, we have been observing a sneaky exit of numerous hashtags from other brand posts as well. For example, observe the number of hashtags in the Teddy Day posts made by Manforce India, one of the most active brands on social media, in the past few years.
From 23 hashtags in 2017, the brand has used just two hashtags for this year’s post. So, the question that arises is; are hashtags dying?
The marketing and advertising industry doesn’t think so.
According to The Marcom Avenue director Divanshi Gupta the conversation about hashtags dying is quite irrelevant to today’s time, when every campaign that a brand marketer conceptualises begins by producing a catchy ‘#’!
She says, “The current status of hashtags is quite important but its application in trying to reach to the target audience is now only limited to using the relevant hashtags, as users search and follow hashtags to keep them updated on the platform. Also, hashtags have a different level of reach and meaning to different social media platforms. Thus, the chances of hashtags dying in the near future are quite bleak.”
Logicserve Digital founder and CEO Prasad Shejale also insists that they remain a great medium of brand engagement.
“According to Sprout Social report, an Instagram post with a single hashtag can gain 12.6 per cent more engagement compared to a post with no hashtag. They are very useful to attract the right audience and amplify the reach of posts, campaigns with an ability to make things go viral. This, in turn, helps brands target the niche markets and create brand awareness among masses. Even for me, when I post anything on my LinkedIn or other social platforms, with the right hashtag I see a significant boost in the reach.”
However, there is a need to filter and streamline the number and the quality of hashtags a brand is using with its posts.
Shejale adds, “Brands shouldn’t overuse hashtags as it can hamper readability and can affect the engagement. It’s also equally crucial to keep the hashtag simple and narrow to retain attention and achieve effective marketing outcomes.”
Mirum India ECD Naila Patel highlights, “Hashtags were designed to categorise conversations better and most content creators felt the need to add multiple hashtags to explain or engage people in the discussion. But slowly, hashtags seem to have moved away from the omnipotent role to a more 'good to have' existence. In-fact a lot of famous campaigns have seen single hashtags.”
Elaborating on how to pick the right hashtags, Isobar national head for social media Aakriti Sinha notes, “With the advent of ephemeral content, formats like memes, daily trends, Instagram TV, Insta Live and stickers and now music, hashtags anyway had begun to take a backseat with the dip in number of Instagram posts. There is no necessity to add hashtags except for the campaign hashtags for recall for promoted content. What matters is the CTA vs. the hashtag discoverability. For such content, the campaign hashtags should play a role of brand/campaign activity and/or encourage UGC using the same.”
Gupta adds, “In a social media campaign, the manager should use a limited number of hashtags wisely to enhance reach. Also, the hashtags used should represent: you, your idea, your brand ideology, trend, and industry. Using hashtags on the basis of these parameters will help you in reaching and appearing in user’s feed who have an interest in similar searches.”
While hashtags are expected to stay, the next point to ponder on is the right number of hashtags to put on a brand post. Even industry experts are not sure about the right number.
While Sinha believes that the idle number should be between 5 and 10 Gupta notes that the usage of hashtags should be limited within the range of 3 to 5. Patel argues that only Instagram as a platform has a role for multiple hashtags. She pegs the ideal numbers to be three-four.
Shejale says, “It’s difficult to decide on an exact number of ideal hashtags to be used for posts. But yes, I would say, around 7-10 hashtags are enough.”
Gupta shares that using hashtags will help the brand be found in more places but it has to be ensured that the post doesn’t have irrelevant keywords, as it’ll lead to diminished reach.
Hence, it is safe to conclude that hashtags are not making an exit from the digital world anytime soon, but it is more important for brands today to strategise around this tool for maximum social engagement without any irrelevant reach that can hamper the conversion rates for them.
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
