<b>Caption keyword search now drives 3.2x more non-follower reach than hashtags</b>

<b>Caption keyword search now drives 3.2x more non-follower reach than hashtags</b>
We tagged impression sources across a matched-pair test. Hashtags are no longer the discovery lever.

— Search/keyword surface: ██████ 31% of non-follower reach
— Hashtags: ██ 9.6%
— Reels feed/Explore: ████████ 47%
— Audio page: ██ 12%

Accounts that moved their target terms from hashtag blocks into the first caption line and on-screen text saw a median +18% search reach within 21 days. Hashtags still help topical classification, not volume.

<i>n=240 accounts, paired A/B, 45-day window.</i>