In a sneaky post to his Instagram Story, Mark Zuckerberg (the Co-Founder and CEO of Meta) revealed that a brand new searchable map feature is launching on Instagram today. This new feature offers huge opportunities for local businesses or anyone wanting to attract a location-specific audience. Let’s dive into how this searchable map works and how you can leverage it as a local business on Instagram.
Introducing Instagram’s searchable map experience
In a nutshell, Instagram has just rolled out a new way for users to discover local businesses. Rather than simply searching for business names and keywords in the Instagram search bar, users can now use the Map Search option to explore popular tagged locations. Plus, this new map feature allows users to filter locations by specific categories (such as restaurants, cafes, beauty salons and more). To access this new map feature, you’ll need to tap the location tags used in posts on either Feed or Stories. Plus, you can search for the name of a city on the Explore page to open this map view or even search by location-specific hashtags (such as #Sydney). If you find a location you’d like to visit, you can easily save it for later within the app. Plus, you can share places via DMs with your friends or family, too.
How to leverage Instagram’s new searchable map feature
As a local business, this new map feature is a gamechanger when it comes to gaining visibility from local customers. It allows relevant, local users or visitors to find your business, browse user-generated content and even access directions and your opening (without leaving the Instagram app). Ready to tap into this powerful new Instagram feature? Here’s what you need to know:
Make sure your business’s contact information is up to date, particularly your address, phone number and opening hours.
Create a location tag specific to your local business on Instagram and ensure you’re tagging all of your posts with this geo-tag.
Use Location stickers on your Instagram Story to boost the chance of your business appearing on the map.
Along with regularly sharing high-quality content to your Instagram profile, leveraging Instagram’s new location and map features will help you boost foot traffic and in-store customers too!
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