Instagram is undeniably the hardest platform to conquer, when you think you’ve cracked it – the algorithms throw a new curve ball at you. We often get asked how do you grow your Instagram follower count to people around you where you want the sales to come from. So here’s our top tips on how to grow engagement on Instagram locally.
Geo-tag your location
When posting content to Instagram always tag in your location. This can either be your business premises or the town you operate in, mixing it up often helps. This means you will be put into a ‘places’ tag where you can see other content tagged in that location. Many people will look up their local area and if you can make your content stand out, you will get noticed by those searching locally. To see your local area go to the magnifying glass, search at the top and type in your location.
Use local hashtags
The best way to get noticed locally is to tell people – naturally! So in your hashtags (and you can use up to 30 of them) make sure to use local hashtags. This can be as simple as #northampton, #northamptonshire or going specifically into #beautysalonnorthampton #hairdressernorthampton or #dentistnorthampton.
Users will search for these terms on Instagram more often than you think and its a great way to build your brand and industry influence in this way. If you end up being the only brand in the area using a specific hashtag in the location, you’ll stand out more when you do get searched.
Share local landmarks
Don’t just share images of your services, mix it up with some local landmarks. It helps your users to place you nationally as well as getting yourself on the map when geo-tagging. You can include some more relevant hashtags to the picture this way which can pick up new avenues of reach.
So for example, if you’re a dentist and your practice is near to the local market, a park or popular destination then share a snap from nearby, you can take a bank of these images and spread them throughout your content.
*Top tip to tag in local publications into your images and the local tourist board, you might be able to get your image featured on those.
Work with us!
As we specialise in SEO and digital marketing, we help local businesses to boost their following and engagement with content we create. Save the hassle and drama of an algorithm and let us help. Find out more here.
