Captions, tags and getting found
For creators writing a post — where hashtags actually belong, what the character limits are, and how a post reaches Discover.
Put hashtags in the Tags field, not in the caption. Tags are public on every post, gated or not. A caption is the post’s body, and on a gated post the body sits behind the lock — so a #word typed there is hidden from exactly the people a hashtag exists to reach.
The caption
The caption is optional. The publish gate is files, not words: a post with media and no caption publishes fine. The placeholder suggests the shape — “Tell them what this is. One line is enough.”
The caption toolbar’s # button inserts a # character into the caption. It does not create a tag.
Tags
The Tags field’s own note is the whole rule: “Public on every post, gated or not. Letters, numbers and _.”
- At most 10 tags per post. Beyond that: “A post carries at most 10 tags.”
- Each tag is at most 30 characters, using letters, numbers and underscores.
- A tag with anything else in it is refused rather than quietly cleaned up, and you are shown the word you typed: “cannot be a tag. Use letters, numbers and _, up to 30 characters.”
- Adding one you already have says “is already on this post.”
Tags are what a fan’s card shows and what travels with a post publicly, so they are the right place for the words you want a post found by.
Length limits
The older content manager’s Body field is plain text: “Plain text only. Formatting and media are not supported."
"Write for me”
The Write for me button next to the caption drafts a caption for you. What it writes is a starting point, not a final line — edit it as you like before you publish, and replace it outright if it is not the voice you want.
How a post reaches Discover
Leave Publish to Discover on and a published post is eligible for Discover. Turn it off and the post still goes to your page and to your fans’ feeds — it just does not appear in Discover.
What does decide who sees what is the audience you chose, which still applies wherever the post appears — a subscriber post shown to a fan who is not a subscriber is still locked to them. See Who can see your post.
The reach card alongside it reports your audience numbers, paid subscribers included. A dash on that card means not known — never zero.