Using hashtags on Instagram can be one of the most effective ways for your business to organically reach a new audience online. Not only do they categorize your content to a very specific, niche audience and make it more discoverable by users, they are also an effective way to reach more followers and increase your overall engagement and brand awareness even as the Instagram algorithm changes over time.
This post will focus specifically on location-based hashtags which are often overlooked. However, they are one of the best ways to expand your posts’ reach and can give your e-commerce business an edge over others when reaching more people online.
What are location-based hashtags?
Location-based hashtags give businesses the opportunity to reach people around the globe by simply adding a location tag to a post. The benefits of hashtags are endless and while the amount of reach is great you may be wondering how you can become more specific with who you target. This is where location-based hashtags come into play.
How do I use location-based hashtags?
The key to Instagram hashtags is specificity. The more specific you can be about your hashtags, the greater the effect will be on Instagram when marketing your brand. Wherever you are, people are able to search for your location and that is where specific geotagging location hashtags come into the picture. These are a great way to get discovered on Instagram as they are highly searchable and targetable. Ultimately hashtags come down to being strategic and the more strategic you are, the more you will be leveraging specificity.
What’s really great about using multiple location-based hashtags is that they are an excellent way to build on local awareness by connecting you with your community. This is a tactic that can help you increase your online presence by putting you on the radar even if you weren’t there, to begin with! People love supporting local businesses and what better way than using location hashtags so that your communities can scout events and places close to them on the platform. If you are a local business in Durban, for example, you could use the following hashtag variations:
#durban #durbanite #durbanvibes #whatsondurban #durbansouthafrica #durbannorth #cityofdurban #durbanbusinesses
How many hashtags should I be using in my posts?
We suggest adding at least 3 location-based hashtags on each Instagram post; 5 branded hashtags that you would like your business to be associated with and, finally, an additional 3 that you can change based on the relevance of each post. You are more likely to reach different people in your target audience over time by diversifying the hashtags you use which puts your business at an advantage over others - especially amongst thousands of other content in your audience’s news feed.
Should my hashtags go in my caption, as a comment, or in my story?
Whilst this seems to be a debate amongst many, the truth is that it really doesn’t matter and it is completely up to you! There are pros and cons to each, of course, however, we have found that placing your hashtags as the first comment below your Instagram post looks less tacky than keeping hashtags in the caption amongst the various other text about your post. The disadvantage with doing so, however, is that you cannot copy and paste them into a new post at a later stage. This is why we suggest creating a hashtag list in the note app on your phone so that right before you post you are able to copy the list of niche hashtags and paste them as a comment within the first 3-5 seconds of the post being posted.
Using location-based hashtags in your post captions, stories and comments can be incredibly effective as long as they are specific and relevant to the audience that you are targeting. One of the best ways to incorporate hashtags into your posts and maximise your visibility on Instagram is by placing location-based hashtags in your Instagram story and hiding them by making the text the same colour as the background of your image or video. You can also move your list of hashtags to the corner of your story where they will not be visible to your audience however users who are following the hashtag will still be able to view your story and the best part is that you don’t have to look spammy at all!
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Guest Post Contributor
Rachel Hopley is a brand strategist at Digital Butter. They help businesses and non-profits create a clear message, connect with customers and grow their revenue.
