In this day and age of social media being used as a form of social currency, it can be hard to keep up with all the new and various platforms being created. It can be especially daunting as a content creator when you need to learn how to most effectively promote your content and/or services on a new app. In this blog post, I'll share how you can properly use hashtags, how hashtags can help you grow your account, and how hashtags can be used to improve your overall experience on Bluesky. Keep reading for a basic breakdown of hashtags on Bluesky, as well as some pro-tips for creators.

⟢ How to: Use Hashtags Properly

Hashtags are used to categorize and track content. They are also used by many feedbuilders when creating custom feeds. Therefore, you want to use hashtags that accurately describe the content in your post. For example, if you're posting your hottest titty pic, you want to use hashtags like #Boobs, #BigTits, #IBTC (itty bitty titty committee), and/or #BustyBrunette as opposed to hashtags like #Ass or #ThighThursday. Improperly using tags that are not applicable to your post can get you blocked by potential fans, added to blocklists by your fellow creators, and/or removed from custom feeds by feedbuilders.

⟢ How to: Use Hashtags to Grow

Adding hashtags to your posts will push your post into specific custom feeds as well as into the hashtag landing page, which is separated into 'Top' and 'Recent' posts. These tabs will be the most helpful when deciding which hashtags to use for your posts.

If you're new to the site or haven't built up a large following yet, using popular hashtags might not benefit you as much in terms of discoverability. Therefore, you may want to find alternative or niche hashtags to use. Think about it this way: if your media posts average around 50 likes within 24 hours, you want to find a hashtag where the top posts are close to 50 likes. This way, you will be displayed as the top post on the landing page.

If you're not sure where to start, long press (press and hold) on any hashtag! This brings up the option to:

↳ See all posts using that hashtag (this will bring you to that same landing page we discussed earlier).

↳ See all posts using that hashtag by the creator who's post you're clicking in (this is a great opportunity to discover hashtags you wouldn't have previously thought to use).

↳ Mute all posts using that hashtag (this option is really helpful for moderating your own timeline).

⟢ Pro-tip: You WILL NOT be shadowbanned for using hashtags. Personally, I limit how many I use on a post for aesthetic purposes, but, this is not necessarily a requirement.

Speaking of aesthetics, if you hate how hashtags look on a post but you still want to use them, there is a way to do so!

By utilizing third-party apps built on Bluesky's API, you're able to access features that are not currently available on the native app! For example, you can use deck.blue to include up to eight hashtags on your post, without them showing in the caption.

⟢ How to: Use Hashtags to Curate Your Timeline

If you're not a creator or sex worker, but rather a friend/supporter/buyer, hashtags can be useful for keeping track of your favorite creators as well as finding new creators to follow and support!

For example, if you're looking for your #BigTittyGothGF, you can find or create a feed that pulls posts using that hashtag. If you love a specific creator’s #FantasyToy videos, long press that hashtag on one of their posts and click “Search user’s posts with tag” to see all the posts they have on Bluesky that are tagged using the same hashtag!

As previously mentioned, long pressing a hashtag can also be helpful for muting specific hashtags. If #findom isn't your cup of tea, simply long press the hashtag when you see it on a post and mute it. This will hide all posts that are tagged with the findom hashtag and prevent them from appearing on your timeline.

As a supporter, make sure to always like a creator's post to help them get to the top posts for that hashtag and also to train your timeline on what content you want to see more of!

To summarize,hashtags are a useful tool with many functions on Bluesky such as:

⟢ expanding creator reach

⟢ sorting posts into feeds

⟢ connecting compatible buyers and sellers together

⟢ finding new creators to support

For these reasons, you'll want to test out different hashtags to see what works best for you as a creator. If a hashtag is working really well for you, use it as often as you can until you've grown as much as you can from it! It also helps to use a combination of 'safe' hashtags (hashtags where your average likes are well above the top post), 'competitive' hashtags (hashtags where your average likes are close/the same as the top post), and 'aspirational' hashtags (hashtags where your average likes aren't quite at the top post yet).

Stay posted for our blog on custom feeds and so much more!