Why the old lists do not work
Most hashtag advice still assumes thirty slots. That built a habit of stacking broad tags on the theory that one might catch. With five slots, a wasted slot is one of five.
How to tell a niche tag from a broad one
The split is two niche, two mid, one broad. Knowing which is which is the actual skill, and you can check it yourself in about ten seconds.
Search the tag on Instagram and look at the top posts. If what you see is your specific subject, the tag is niche. If it is your general field, it is mid. If it is everything, it is broad. That test reads what a tag currently means, which is more useful than knowing how many posts carry it.
The generator applies the same split automatically.
Five worked examples
Business and finance
- Two niche: #cashflowtips, #smallbizfinance
- Two mid: #smallbusinessowner, #businesstips
- One broad: #business
- These are illustrations of the split, not tags we have measured. Run each through the ten-second test and swap in the one that describes your video.
Education
- Two niche: #gcserevision, #studywithme
- Two mid: #studytips, #studentlife
- One broad: #education
- These are illustrations of the split, not tags we have measured. Run each through the ten-second test and swap in the one that describes your video.
Fitness and health
- Two niche: #kettlebellworkout, #homeworkoutbeginner
- Two mid: #homeworkout, #fitnesstips
- One broad: #fitness
- These are illustrations of the split, not tags we have measured. Run each through the ten-second test and swap in the one that describes your video.
Food and cooking
- Two niche: #onepotpasta, #weeknightdinners
- Two mid: #easyrecipes, #homecooking
- One broad: #food
- These are illustrations of the split, not tags we have measured. Run each through the ten-second test and swap in the one that describes your video.
Lifestyle
- Two niche: #sundayresetroutine, #smallapartmentliving
- Two mid: #morningroutine, #dailyvlog
- One broad: #lifestyle
- These are illustrations of the split, not tags we have measured. Run each through the ten-second test and swap in the one that describes your video.
What to do with the five
Change them per video, not per account. A saved block reused on every post is the thirty-tag habit surviving in a smaller container, and with five slots a stale set costs more, not less.
What creators are actually doing
The shift since the cap is measurable rather than anecdotal. See the data.