SocialInstagram Content Trends 2026
A data study based on 55,203 captions from 2,792 public Instagram accounts — the most-used hashtags and emoji, content themes and caption habits.
Updated: August 14, 2026 · Sample: 55,203 captions
Key findings
- Across 55,203 captions from 2,792 public accounts, 76.90% of captions use at least one emoji and 48.70% use at least one hashtag.
- The most common content theme is Fashion & style, appearing in 41.60% of captions.
- The most-used hashtag among the accounts we track is #اکسپلور (in 987 captions).
- The average caption is about 338 characters with 2.4 hashtags and 3.3 emoji; only 23.10% of captions ask the audience a question.
Top content themes
Share of captions that mention each theme. Click a theme to see accounts in that niche.
Most-used hashtags
Top 20 hashtags among the accounts we track (the number is how many captions used it).
Most-used emoji
The emoji used most often in captions.
Caption habits
These are averages/percentages across the whole sample. Only aggregate stats are reported — no caption text is republished.
Example accounts in this study
Methodology
Hashtags, emoji and theme keywords were counted across the recent public post captions of 2,792 accounts (55,203 captions). A caption's "theme" is assigned when it contains that niche's keywords, and one caption can belong to more than one theme. See the methodology page for how engagement rate is computed, and the benchmarks study for engagement figures.
You are welcome to cite these figures with attribution to Social Media Loyalty.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most-used Instagram hashtag in Iran?
In our dataset #اکسپلور is the most frequent hashtag. See the full hashtag and emoji lists on this page, and each account's engagement rate in the accounts directory.
Do emoji and hashtags affect engagement?
The data shows most accounts use emoji and hashtags, but what really matters is the actual engagement rate. Check yours with the engagement rate calculator and compare it to the 2026 benchmarks.
How was this data collected?
From the captions of recent public posts of the accounts we track. We report aggregate stats only (hashtags, emoji, themes), never any caption text. See how engagement rate is computed on the methodology page.
How do I see accounts in a specific niche?
Click any theme in the table above to open that category hub in the directory and see its accounts and their engagement rates.
Check your own account with the calculator, see the most engaging accounts per niche in our best-of lists, browse accounts in the directory, or see the 2026 benchmarks study.