Instagram Maps: How to set up your business location and attract local users in 2023

Setting up an Instagram location for your brands, business is now available on Maps, the recent feature from the visual platform. Turning on your Instagram Maps can help your business be more visible for nearby discoveries. In this article, I will guide you to launch your business location and gain more customers from local users.

Do you plan on expanding your Instagram business in some local markets?

If you aren’t native to the area, this mission can be quite hard to achieve.

But with this newest feature from Instagram, your business expansion can be executed easily.

It’s the Instagram Maps feature that enables users to find popular places in the area.

Plus, help businesses to showcase their content in a searchable way.

This way, Instagram Maps can be a great bridge

That brings products or services from businesses into users’ consideration.

From restaurants to live events, Instagram Maps enable beyond-location tagging for its users.

Basically, Instagram Maps is the perfect way to attract more local users for businesses.

Let’s check out how to set up a location using the new Instagram Maps feature.

And grow your business with some good visits from local searches.

What is Instagram Maps?

Recently, Instagram comes with an updated, more dynamic experience: Instagram Maps.

It is a searchable map that enables users to find nearby places, restaurants, cafes, and more around certain areas on Instagram.

Basically, Instagram Maps is Google Maps and Instagram combined.

Just type the location you want to check, choose the “Places” menu, and “Search this area”.

Voila! You will find a bunch of nearby popular businesses & locations popping up and crowding your zone.

This new feature functions as a business search tool on Instagram

To show some relevant queries of popular posts, Stories, and guides made by the Instagram Community.

Instagram Maps is a great feature for businesses to be discovered by local users.

Read further and see how brands & companies can do to leverage Instagram Maps for their businesses.

How does Instagram Maps work?

When you type a keyword location on Instagram,

It will show a map of an area you are visiting along with pop-up avatars of several nearby businesses and destinations.

Note that the queries are about the most popular places.

The ones with the most tagged & liked by other users.

When you click on one business location,

You can see how many posts tagging the location & the number of related guides, and the distance from your current position.

Further infos like category, address, open hours, website, or business contacts are also visible if you see the full information.

The brief information is helpful for users to decide whether they want to visit the place or not.

Visible businesses can also change the information about their contact to a strong call to action.

What users can do with Instagram Maps?

There is more activity the users can do than just inserting keywords on the Instagram search bar.

Did you realize you only found an interesting noodle bar near your place?

Use Instagram Maps and save the location.

Or share with your friends so they remember you mentioning the place.

You are in a different country where English is not the main language?

And you need to find a good pizza restaurant to fill your empty stomach & tongue?

Just input the keywords and the results show up just fine.

Here is the complete list of what you can do on Instagram Maps.

• Help users discover recent stories, top posts, and relevant guides of tagged locations to learn more
• Instagram Maps supports searches using keywords
• Users can filter results by location categories to do more specific searches
• Users can also save locations on their collections
• Users can share the places they search with friends or groups via Direct Messages

How Instagram Maps can help local businesses?

Being more visible means increasing brand awareness.

Not only that, but it can also share users’ genuine & authentic experiences.

That’s such a great selling point for businesses.

Check out these benefits of using Instagram Maps for any brand & company.

Instagram Maps helps businesses to be more searchable

When a business has good discoverability, it thrives and the sales number is no joke.

Instagram Maps is one way to increase brand awareness,

even if the reach is kind of limited.

As more and more people use Instagram as a search engine,

the possibility of getting found on Instagram Maps is very high.

This will be perfect when you optimize your IG post with Instagram SEO and master the algorithm.

Instagram Maps can help businesses target local consumers

If you want to expand your business and target more local customers,

Leveraging Instagram Maps is the best way to start.

It’s easy, free, and effective to gather interest from locals.

With only a few keywords, locals can find your business easily.

And when you present your business so enticingly,

There is no doubt that most searchers or locals will be curious or more, want to try your products or services.

Instagram Maps keep business profiles up to date

Utilizing Instagram Maps also forces (in a way) you to update any information regarding your business.

Imagine your business appears on a discovery result and your last content is in January.

As a visitor, they can’t make sure your last promo is still valid.

I bet they don’t even know whether your restaurant is still open or not 🙂

The thing is, when you are not active on Instagram, your visitors won’t be encouraged to post and tag your brand.

While user-generated content is the most important thing here.

From now on, start building a brand persona that encourages people to post & tag you whenever they use or visit your business.

You can start by optimizing your bio or giving creative touch by leveraging free Instagram font generators.

How to use Instagram Maps and find a business or location?

It’s important to note that this feature is powered by Apple Maps,

And is available on the latest version of Instagram on both iPhone & Android.

However, apparently, Instagram Maps looks different on some users’ devices.

Some have the Map icon visible on their Explore Page.

Like this.

Some must go through the “Places” tab menu to access the Maps.

Follow these steps if you don’t have the Maps icon on your Instagram.

Open Instagram Explore Tab

Instagram Maps is basically a search engine,

So you must open the Explore Page to type the location keyword.

In case you don’t know the Explore Tab,

it’s the magnifying glass icon beside your home timeline.

Type the location on the Instagram search bar and tap the “Places” menu

Next thing, go to the search bar and type which place, region, district, or else you want to search.

After that, move to the “Places” tab because Instagram Maps is installed there.

When the results are out, choose which one you want to explore.

Click “Search this area” to find popular places nearby through Instagram

After the Instagram Maps page appears, you will find some photo avatars roaming around the area.

In this section, you can do 2 things:

Search manually or ask for Instagram recommendations.

Manually means you select a business by yourself by peeping at the information one by one.
If you need Instagram recommendations, click “Search this area” at top of the page.

Then, Instagram will give you a list of popular spots & zones for you.

Take a look at this.

The list is diverse, from cafes, boutiques, footwear stores, and many more.

You can also filter want you to want to see on the list by clicking the upper categories.

How to set up your business location to be visible for nearby searches on Instagram Maps

Now for brands & companies, let’s do the location setup process.

Basically, you will go through more processes on Facebook (as the two are integrated into each other)

Then you can add your location on Instagram.

Here are the simple steps to setup business location on Instagram Maps:

1. Sign in to Facebook
2. Activate your business location
3. Write your business name and select the category
4. Pinpoint the geolocation of your business
5. Claim your location to be searchable on Instagram Maps

It’s a bit longer than using the feature guide, so let’s do it step by step.

1. Sign in to your Facebook account to set up your Instagram business location

Since Instagram and Facebook are intertwined,

Certain business tools on Instagram need Facebook Business Page permission first,

Including geotags creation.

Make sure your Facebook Page is active when you are doing this process.

2. Activate your Location Services on Facebook to turn on Instagram location

Once you signed in on Facebook, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy
2. Open Settings
3. Choose Privacy
4. Then select “Location”
5. Right under “Device Settings”, choose “Location Services”
6. Then select “Location” and grant Facebook permission access, either Always or While using the app. You can choose either option since both can turn your location on.

Done!

Your location is set up on your Facebook. Let’s continue creating your location.

3. Tap “Check In” on your Facebook post for Instagram Maps installation

It’s time to create your business location.

To start, make a post on your Facebook account in the “What’s on your mind” box,

then select the “Check In” feature in the status box.

This feature indicates that your business exists on Maps.

4. Write your business name and add your location for Instagram Maps

Next, you will be autogenerated to places nearby, indicating your current position.

Ignore it since you are inserting your own business location.

Now, input your brand name. Be very specific and unique.

If someone else has taken the name of your business,

create another name to differentiate their business and yours.

You can add “Official” to your name, or the city name where your business is located.

When done, scroll down until you find the “Add” button to claim your spot.

Important note: double-check the spelling as you can’t edit or change it once it’s created.

5. Choose your business category to generate a specific Instagram Location

Don’t forget to select your category.

The next page after adding your location is the category page.

Select which one describes your business area & offerings the most.

This is essential as the right category on Instagram Maps can help people find your business.

When many want to find restaurants, and you run one, but you picked the cafe category,

You just lost the chance of getting visible to potential, targeted customers.

Select physical geolocation for your Instagram Location

Now is the confirmation time, to make sure where precisely your business location is.

You can get past this step easier if you are in your office while doing the process.

Just tick the “I’m currently here” option, to pinpoint your exact spot easily.

Add further information about your Instagram location

But if you’re not, type again your business address

And other information in the “Create a Place” section,

Then select “Create” when everything is done.

Claim your business location to be searchable on Instagram Maps

The business location is added, and so does the geophysical.

But you must claim it before using it, both on Facebook and Instagram.

To do so, go to the Facebook search bar

And select the corresponding place page of your business in the results.

Below the cover photo, click “Is this your business?”

And claim the location on the pop-up prompt.

Finished! Your business location is ready to use everywhere and is visible on Instagram Maps.

Tips for using Instagram Maps for your local marketing strategy

Aside from encouraging users to tag your business,

What can possibly help increase the brand’s visibility on Instagram Maps?

Here are the answers.

Encourage more Instagram user-generated content

This is very important.

The more people feature your brand or company in their posts, the more visibility you get.

So, create a strong brand online persona that can drive people

Not only to buy your products but also to invite them to share their experiences with your brand.

You can also run brand campaigns or giveaways and ask them to tag your business.

Trust me, it will give you a visibility boost on Instagram Maps.

Create “Instagrammable” set-ups for your content to attract more visitors

Another pro tip: make your Instagram appearance visually appealing for visitors.

Instagram users are all about visuals, so make them impressed and press the share button.

Imagine how many shares you get by “only” enhancing the aesthetic part of your Instagram business.

High-quality content is more recognized and generates more results

Than those low-quality content.

My Final Advice: Improve your business by taking advantage of Instagram Maps in 2023

Instagram Maps is a somewhat new visual app, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be utilized.

The newness is precisely what can encourage brands & companies to take advantage of it immediately.

Instagram Maps is extremely useful for businesses to increase discoverability to local users.

It can also work for tourists, both domestic & international, visiting the location

And find businesses that appeal to them.

Even with a keyword, outsiders still can leverage Instagram Maps and discover local businesses.

My very last take: create a business location ASAP on Instagram Maps before everyone else.

To raise more awareness, drive more real results from Instagram, and improve your overall business.

Did you, by any chance, already know this?

Do you have another pro tip to attract more local users using Instagram Maps?

Tell us your idea in the comment section below and let others get inspired 🙂

Note: Contact us here and contribute your thoughts if you think we miss something to talk about.

Answering Questions about Instagram Maps