Instagram GeoTags: Find out why to use them for your Business

In this article we look at what Instagram GeoTags are and why you should use them in your social strategy.

These are the geographic tags you can add to your posts on Instagram. Not all brands use them, yet they could give you benefits for your marketing strategy on Instagram.

Geotag what is

A geotag is a kind of digital “geographic label” that is associated with digital content, such as a photo, video, or social media post. Basically, it is like putting a pointer on a digital map and saying, “This content was created or relates to this specific place.”

We have already talked about three other aspects that are vitally important in order to best preside over social:

In this article we address the topic of geolocation.
The fact that there is so much to say on Social also makes one realize how complex it is to put together an effective social media marketing strategy (and how improvisation risks turning into a big waste of time and budget).

Even the use of GeoTags needs to be thought through to achieve goals. It sounds marginal, but depending on how you decide to use this tool you can, for example:

Getting more views;
Creating engagement for users;
Building trust, etc.

If you use Instagram to increase sales, then you should use geolocation to get more views, more followers, more engagement, and create some kind of word-of-mouth.

If, on the other hand, you are on Instagram for branding, geographic location can help you engage the community and build trust in you.

How? We tell in the next paragraph.

Instagram Geo Tags: how and why to use them in your Marketing Strategy on Instagram

What is the purpose of the geographic tag? In principle, it is used to tell users where you are.
But some brands use invented and imaginative locations to entertain followers or to communicate a certain worldview.

This is precisely where strategy comes in. When does it make sense to let people know where you are and when is it better to leave room for imagination?

The most obvious answer might be this:

Geolocate to your actual location to attract new customers and let them know where you are.
uses fictional locations, or from a distant place, to create ironic posts.

Nothing to object to, but it is an incomplete view of the issue.

In fact, the way in which to use geotags can vary significantly depending on different marketing strategies on Instagram, and the discriminator should always be the goal of your online presence.

Let’s try to clarify with use cases in the table below.

GOAL	REAL GEOTAG.	GEOTAG OF FANTASY/FAR AWAY
SELL	If you have a local business and want to bring in new customers; >If you have a physical store; if you have more than one store, but a particular promotion is only in one of them; if you are attending an industry trade show and want to be reached by leads and prospects, etc.	if you practice your profession remotely and want to make yourself visible in other geographic areas; if your country is little known, but by tagging the region you get more visibility; Whether the choice of a fantasy location is justified by a real time marketing trend, etc.
MAKING BRANDING	If you want to build trust by showing the community where you are; If your work is related to the local area; if you are away and want to let the community know that something is cooking, etc.	If you need to use irony to get more likes and comments; whether a particular business event is taking place in the place where you are located, and through the geotag you express your opinion about the events; if you want to geolocate to a location that is significant to your brand story, etc.

We think this summary has given you an idea of how complex it is to use localization well if you don’t already know where your Instagram strategy is going.

How to add GeoTags

GeoTags on Instagram how to use them and the benefits

To conclude, a little operational insight. We are about to describe the procedure for adding GeoTag on Instagram.

How to tag yourself in a place near you

In both stories and posts, you can tag yourself in a place near you by tapping the dedicated button.

When you publish a post, you find the Add Place button. In stories, on the other hand, you display the Place icon.

You have two options:

Search and select the location manually;
Activate geolocation to access a list of registered locations near you.

Click on the option you find most congenial and you are done.

GeoTag Marketing: How to geotag yourself in Honolulu.

If, on the other hand, you want to geotag yourself in Honolulu like Merlin the Wizard in Walt Disney’s famous cartoon, you have to follow the same procedure without activating geolocation.

Tap on Add Place-or the Place icon in the stories.

Type Honolulu and choose the option that suits you.

If Honolulu doesn’t appeal to you, but you’d rather tag yourself at the South Pole, under the Eiffel Tower or atop Kilimanjaro, the procedure doesn’t change 😉

How to create a custom place

You may have seen posts with an unlikely, ironic or fantastic geotag. For example, you want to tag yourself in Hogwarts School or the Chocolate Factory, or make up a location related to your brand.

It can be done.

However, Instagram does not allow you to add a fictitious location directly. You must first make a switch to Facebook.

Here, step by step, is what you need to do:

Activates localization
Open the Facebook app and create a new post
Tap on Register and scroll down
Tap on Add Place
Type in the name of your fantasy location
Tap on Finish and then on Save.

As you know, Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta. So updating the location listings will be automatic.

Close the Facebook post, even without saving, and return to Instagram.

Then all you have to do is repeat the procedure we have already described, tapping on Add Place below the post in the feed, or the Place icon in the stories.

We hope you found this article operationally useful, but more importantly it helps you understand how complex the world of social is and why the support of an experienced agency can really help you build your Instagram strategy.

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GeoTag Instagram for your Marketing Strategy