Tag

What is a tag?

Tagging means attaching a label or a link to a post. There are two common senses. The first is tagging an account, person, or location: you link a post to someone's profile or a place, which usually notifies them and adds your post to that profile's or location's collection. The second is a topic label, a keyword you attach so the content gets sorted and found. Both create a connection that makes a post easier to discover or attribute.

Tag vs hashtag vs mention

These three get mixed up constantly, but they do different jobs:

• Tag (account or location): links your post to a specific profile or place. Tag a brand in a product photo and it can appear on their tagged tab; tag a location and your post shows up in that place's feed
• Hashtag: a keyword prefixed with # (like #sourdough) that categorizes a post by topic and makes it discoverable in topic feeds and search. It's about subject, not a specific account
• Mention: typing @handle inside your caption or comment to name an account in the text. A mention notifies them too, but it's woven into the copy rather than attached as a formal tag

The short version: tag a person or place, hashtag a topic, mention someone in your writing.

How to use tags well

• Tag relevant accounts, not random big ones: tagging a brand you genuinely featured can earn a reshare; spam-tagging huge accounts just gets ignored or reported
• Use location tags for local reach: tagging a city, venue, or neighborhood helps nearby people find you
• Tag collaborators and credit creators: it notifies them and often prompts a like, comment, or reshare
• Don't over-tag: stuffing a post with irrelevant account tags reads as spam and can hurt how the algorithm treats it