If you’re trying to start a coaching business and land your first clients, you’ve probably heard this advice:
Start posting on social media!
Here’s the thing. Just sharing your life coaching content on social media won’t automatically help you grow your following and build a sustainable life coaching business. It is what it is.
What you do need is a strategic social media plan to help you get in front of your dream potential clients at the right time. And hashtags are a huge part of building that strategy.
But how do hashtags work, exactly? And which ones should you be using as a life coach?
In this blog post, we’ll discuss:
- What are life coaching hashtags
- Why you should start using them
- Best life coaching hashtags on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and any platform
- How to find more hashtags that are perfect for your coaching business
What are Life Coaching Hashtags?
Hashtags are a type of metadata used on social media to cross-reference content by topic or theme.
In short, they let you group your social media posts with other posts about the same topic.
Life coaching hashtags are niche hashtags that are relevant not just to life coaches but to people looking to hire a coach as well.
For example, people looking for help with their mindset on TikTok may search for #mindsetshift or #winningmindset. Or someone who needs help with their anxiety may search on Instagram for #lettinggo, #detachment, or #anxiety.
(Image from Dr. Nitika Katyal)
Almost every social media platform uses hashtags in one way or another. But they’re particularly useful on Instagram, X, and TikTok.
Why Should Life Coaches Use Hashtags?
When you post on social media, your content won’t magically appear in front of your dream clients.
Most platforms use algorithms to match users with content they may be interested in. But how do they know what content matches your interests?
The specifics depend on the platform, but in many cases, the platform will determine what a post is about based on:
- Keywords found in the caption
- What comments are saying
- And yes, hashtags!
Plus, when users search for new content, you can appear in the search results if you’ve used a relevant hashtag.
For example, on TikTok, the algorithm allows any coach to show up on relevant feeds if enough people watch their videos long enough. But people also use the app as a search engine, where hashtags come into play as keywords.
When using the right hashtags, you’re not just expanding your reach to new people. You’re also positioning your content as the answer or the solution to what your potential life coaching clients are looking for.
So instead of chasing new clients, you’re meeting them exactly where they are!
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What to Know about Life Coaching Hashtags on Instagram
You might have heard that hashtags are no longer helpful on Instagram. There’s some truth to that, but it’s a bit more complicated.
Before 2024, Instagram users could follow specific hashtags. Now, this is no longer the case.
But that doesn’t mean they can no longer help you reach a wider audience of potential dream coaching clients. The latest statistics about hashtags state that:
- Accounts with 1000 or fewer followers can get a 79.5% increase in interactions when they use 11 or more hashtags
- Accounts with 1000 or fewer followers can also get 29% more interactions on average by using at least one hashtag
- Longer hashtags (21-24 characters) perform better than shorter hashtags
- Accounts with 5000 or fewer followers can increase reach for posts by adding hashtags by 36% on average
- This boosted reach drops to 20% for accounts with 5,000 to 10,000 followers
- Adding too many hashtags can reduce your reach
So, that’s the data. But what does that mean for coaches?
Here’s what I suggest:
- If you’re brand new to Instagram and have a small following, use 8-10 relevant hashtags
- As your account grows, keep testing hashtags, but don’t be afraid to reduce them if you see your reach shrinking as your follower count grows
- Prioritize engagement with your followers at all times
On Instagram, you’ll find nine types of hashtags:
- Niche hashtags – relevant to an industry or topic
- Hashtags for products or services
- Community hashtags – created to build a community around a topic
- Acronym hashtags
- Emoji hashtags
- Location hashtags – for people posting from specific locations
- Event-related (or seasonal) hashtags
- Daily hashtags – popular hashtags only on specific days of the week
- Hashtags for relevant phrases
But not all of the above are helpful for life coaches. For example, a life coach who works 100% remotely won’t get much use out of location hashtags, unless they live in a city with a high population.
Life coaches who don’t yet have a huge following won’t get much use out of products and services hashtags, either. But as your audience grows, you can leverage this type of hashtag to create your own and increase your brand awareness.
The same goes for acronym hashtags! For example, if you have a signature program, you can create an acronym from its name and let your clients spread awareness by using it in their own posts.
You can use hashtags on every post you publish on Instagram. Add them directly to your caption or as a comment below your post.
What to Know about Life Coaching Hashtags on X
Hashtags are used to search for content and look at trending topics on X, formerly known as Twitter. So if there’s a currently trending hashtag, consider using it if it makes sense with your content.
Using hashtags can increase your reach up to 100% if you’re using a regular personal account, and 50% for business accounts. And you’re 55% more likely to get retweeted if you use hashtags!
Because of the short nature of content on X, you should keep your hashtags to 1-3 per tweet, max.
But unlike Instagram, people often use hashtags as part of their sentences on X. You can use them to highlight important keywords in your content.
Alternatively, you can emphasize the topic of your tweet by putting it right at the start. You can also share it at the end to provide context.
What to Know about Life Coaching Hashtags on TikTok
You don’t always need hashtags for people to find you on TikTok. That’s because the algorithm can show your video to people who are likely to be interested in your life coaching content.
However, hashtags can help you amplify your reach, especially to target people who are searching for specific terms related to your life coaching niche. That’s because hashtags serve as keywords on TikTok.
TikTok only uses hashtags in video captions. Adding hashtags in a comment won’t help your video show up in search results for that hashtag.
The latest research suggests keeping your number of hashtags between 3 and 5 per video. You can also find trending hashtags by using the Discover section.
With that being said, the best thing to do is test it for yourself. For instance, this book marketing coach mentions getting better results with no hashtags at all:
Does this mean that it will be true in every case? Not necessarily. I’ve personally gotten better results with hashtags than without.
You’re better off testing what works for your account. Then, do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
58 Life Coaching Hashtags Across Any Platform
Now you know how to use hashtags for Instagram, X, and TikTok! Below are some popular subtopics and examples of life coaching hashtags from each:
General life coaching hashtags
- #lifecoach
- #lifecoaching
- #lifecoachforwomen
- #lifecoachformen
- #selfcare
- #personaldevelopment
- #motivationalquotes
- #lifecoachingtips
- #mentalhealth
- #selfdevelopment
- #nlp
- #transformation
- #selfgrowth
- #selfconfidence
Mindset hashtags
- #mindset
- #mindsetshift
- #growthmindset
- #loveyourself
- #motivation
- #motivational
- #selflove
- #intuitiondevelopment
- #innerwisdom
- #innerpeace
- #mindfulness
- #selfhealing
- #positivevibes
- #empowerment
- #selfawareness
- #gratitude
- #selfesteem
Goal-setting hashtags
- #2023goals
- #findyourfreedom
- #findyourpurpose
- #ambition
- #motivatedwomen
- #motivatedmen
- #successcoach
- #goals
- #careergoals
- #lifegoals
- #goalsetting
- #happiness
- #purpose
- #innerwork
- #alignment
Spiritual hashtags
- #higherfrequency
- #higherconsciousness
- #manifestation
- #spiritualgrowth
- #soulawakening
- #raiseyourvibration
- #lawofattraction
- #meditation
- #spiritjunkie
- #enlightenment
- #breathework
- #healing
How to Find More Life Coaching Hashtags
You’ve seen our 58 examples of life coaching hashtags. But the list doesn’t end there. You can expand your list by doing your own hashtag research.
The best way to find new life coaching hashtags is to see what your competitors are doing!
But don’t focus on any random competitors. Stay as close to your niche as possible.
For example, if you’re an executive life coach who helps single mothers crush it in their careers and home life, you shouldn’t research what a spiritual coach is doing.
To begin your search, you can use some of the above hashtags to find relevant posts. From there, see who the creators are behind the posts and make sure they’re in your niche!
If you believe they’re in the same niche as you, start looking through their posts to see examples of the hashtags they use.
By taking this extra research step, you’ll find much more relevant hashtags than any life coaching list could give you. And that’ll go a long way toward helping you get in front of your dream clients.
Master Life Coaching Hashtags on Any Platform
Remember to play around with the hashtags you use. If you don’t get any results with one specific group of hashtags, try switching them around to test other variations.
One final tip: don’t rely only on competitive, general hashtags like #mindset or #goals. These hashtags receive tons of search traffic, but they also have plenty of competition. By using a combination of general hashtags and more specific ones, you’ll increase your chances of landing in front of your ideal coaching clients at the right time.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2023 and has since been updated for accuracy.
