🕹️ Use Mentions, Tags, And Hashtags Effectively Across Social Platforms

Mentions (@username), tags, and hashtags (#hashtag) help boost engagement and visibility across social platforms, but each platform has its own rules and limitations. Knowing how mentions work, when you can tag other accounts directly on your media, and where hashtags are supported ensures your posts are formatted correctly and reach the right audience.

📌 In This Article

What's The Difference Between Mentions, Tags, And Hashtags?

Mentions, tags, and hashtags are all ways to connect your content with other social media users or topics, but they work differently:

  • Mentions (@username): Reference another social media profile in your post's caption or text. Depending on the platform, mentions can become clickable links to that profile.
  • Tags: Identify another account directly on an image or post, rather than mentioning them in your caption. In SmarterQueue, tagging is currently supported for Instagram.
  • Hashtags (#hashtag): Help organize your content around specific topics, making it easier for people to discover related posts.

For example, if you're sharing an Instagram photo featuring another business, you could mention their account in the caption, tag their account in the photo, and add relevant hashtags to help people discover your post.

📝 Note: Mentions, tags, and hashtags have different requirements and limitations depending on the social platform. See the guidelines below for details.

Mentions And Hashtags: Platform Comparison

Before diving into platform-specific details, use this table to quickly check which platforms support mentions and hashtags, and any limitations to keep in mind.

Platform

Mentions Supported?

How to Mention

Hashtags Supported?

Limitations
Instagram ✅ Yes @username ✅ Yes No username search
Facebook

✅ Yes 

(Pages only)

 @PageName ✅ Yes Username search with a selection from a dropdown
LinkedIn

✅ Yes 

(Company Pages only)

 @PageID ✅ Yes

No username search

Full Page ID works with a selection from a dropdown
TikTok ✅ Yes @username ✅ Yes No username search
X (Twitter) ✅ Yes @username ✅ Yes No username search
Pinterest 🚫 No N/A 🚫 No No mentions supported

Note: Tags are only available for Instagram.

Instagram Guidelines

Instagram supports mentions, hashtags, and tagging other Instagram accounts. However, mentions and tags work differently.

Mentioning Instagram Profiles

You can mention Instagram Profiles in your post's caption by typing @username.

Instagram does not allow username searches when mentioning, so you'll need to know the exact handle. Mentions will only become clickable once the post is published.

Tagging Instagram Profiles

Unlike mentions, which appear in your post's caption, Instagram tags let you identify other accounts directly on your images or videos.

You can tag people in Instagram Feed posts, Reels, and Stories, including posts containing multiple images.

How To Tag Instagram Profiles

  1. Upload or select your image or video in the Post Editor.
  2. Click "Edit Media Properties" in the bottom-right corner of your media.
  3. Click anywhere on the media preview to choose where you'd like to place a tag.
  4. Start typing the Instagram username of the person you'd like to tag. SmarterQueue will search for matching accounts and display suggestions.
  5. Select the correct account from the dropdown to add the tag.
  6. Repeat these steps to tag additional accounts, then click "Done" to save your changes.

You can see where each tag is positioned on your media, along with a list of tagged accounts on the right side of the editor.

Instagram Tagging Requirements And Limitations

  • Direct Publishing: Tags are only supported for Instagram posts with Direct Publishing enabled. Your post must also have "Attempt Direct Publishing" selected in the Post Editor. Tags aren't supported when publishing through mobile notifications.
  • Supported Posts: Single-image posts, multi-image posts, videos, Reels, and Stories (single-image or single-video).
  • Maximum Tags: Up to 20 tags per image post and 30 tags per video post.
  • Private Or Invalid Accounts: Tags for private accounts or invalid usernames will be skipped when your post is published.
  • Product Tags: Only people tagging is currently supported. Product tagging isn't available yet.

📝 Note: If your Instagram post is published through the mobile notification workflow instead of Direct Publishing, your tags won't be included.

Using Instagram Hashtags

You can add hashtags to your Instagram captions by typing # followed by your chosen keyword or phrase.

Hashtags are fully supported and will become actionable once the post is published.

Facebook Guidelines

You can mention Facebook Pages by typing @PageName. A dropdown will appear, at which time you must select the correct Page for the mention to work.

📝 Note: Sometimes when you type in or paste a mention, we won't be able to detect it. To solve this, you can press the left arrow key to trigger the detection.

Facebook does not support mentions for personal profiles or groups.

Hashtags are fully supported. 

LinkedIn Guidelines

You can mention Company Pages by typing @PageID (the unique ID in the page URL). You must enter the exact Page ID, as SmarterQueue is unable to search for pages by name, due to API limitations.

📝 Note: Sometimes when you type in or paste a mention, we won't be able to detect it. To solve this, you can press the left arrow key to trigger the detection.

LinkedIn does does not allow tagging personal profiles.

Hashtags are fully supported.

TikTok Guidelines

You can mention TikTok users by typing @username.

TikTok does not support username search when mentioning, so you must know the exact handle. Mentions will only become clickable once the post is published.

Hashtags are fully supported and will become actionable once the post is live. 

X (Twitter) Guidelines

You can mention any X user by typing @username.

X does not support username search when mentioning, so you must know the exact handle. Mentions will only become clickable once the post is published.

Hashtags are fully supported. X does not offer hashtag lookups, so they will become actionable once the post is published.

Pinterest Guidelines

At this time, neither mentions nor hashtags are supported for Pinterest posts. 

Common Questions

1. Is there a difference between mentioning and tagging?

Yes, there is! You can mention a profile/page in the text of a post on SmarterQueue, but tagging them in a picture is currently an API limitation for any third-party tools.

2. Why isn’t my Facebook Page mention appearing?

If the correct Facebook Page doesn’t appear when typing @PageName, try these troubleshooting steps:

  • Reverse the word order: If the Page name is SmarterQueue, try searching for @QueueSmarter.
  • Use the Page ID: Find the Page ID in the URL (e.g., for facebook.com/smexaminer, the Page ID is smexaminer). Also try mentioning the Page using variations like @Social Media Examiner, @SocialMediaExaminer, or @smexaminer.
  • Check Page restrictions: If the Page has privacy, age, or location restrictions, Facebook may not return it in search results.

If none of these work, you may need to tag the Page directly on Facebook after publishing your post.

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