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Why Does Location Tagging Matter for Social Media?

One of the benefits of social media is the ability it earns you to reach out to a global audience. When your business shares a photo online, it has the potential to be seen by users in Singapore to New York and everywhere in between.

 

While the amount of reach is great, getting your business to appear on the top results for social media searches is an ongoing challenge in your industry and let alone your locale.

 

So, how do you increase your chances to be seen by a wider audience nearby? Hiring a reliable social media management company is a good start. Another is to give your social media channels a boost by utilising the location tagging of the platforms you’re in.

 

In this article, we look into why location tagging matters on social media and how it will come in handy when you want to target audiences in specific regions.

 

What is Location Tagging?

In search engines, location tagging or geotagging is the process of adding specific global position data, such as the latitude and longitude to websites, images, and videos available online.

 

In the age where Internet users are becoming more specific with their web searches, geotagging helps narrow down thousands of web search results with search engines factoring in the user’s location into the results they deliver.

 

Geotagging isn’t new. In fact, it has been around for over a decade, however, it’s only now that businesses are realising its benefits in terms of targeting an audience nearby.

 

Geotagging on Social Media

The use of geotagging goes the same for social media. It can be used to add location information to tweets and status updates on many other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

 

For users, location tagging gives them the option to check-in at a location, similar to what you can do on Facebook. But, for businesses, it proves an opportunity to be discovered further online. In fact, studies show that posts that are geotagged can increase your engagement rate to as much as 79%.

 

 

So, how do you go about geotagging? Today, we zeroed in on the trifecta of social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat:

 

1. Facebook

When you’re posting an update, you’re probably seeing the little map pin icon on Facebook. This tool is what allows users to check in to a location. A tagged location will be in the form of a clickable link and if a user clicks it, they’ll be redirected to either a map of the location or directly to a Facebook business page. Thus, having your location or business page tagged on Facebook is a great way to increase your visibility.

 

2. Instagram

Geotagging on Instagram is easy as well. When uploading a photo, users are prompted to add a location, where they will be provided with a list of places near where the photo was taken. Similar to Facebook, the tagged location will also be visible. Thus, if your business is used as a location, you are likely to earn additional exposure through user-generated content. To maximise the potential, be sure to tag your location in your own posts as well.

 

 

  • Instagram Stories – In addition to the location tagging on Instagram itself, users can also add location stickers to Instagram stories. When these stickers are tapped on, users will be redirected to the search results page where all the posts that have been tagged with the location will appear. As a business, it provides you with yet another opportunity to reach out to your audience.

 

3. Snapchat

Snapchat, on the other hand, also offers geofilters which are fun and decorative geotags that users can place on their photos to indicate their location. You can opt to create and design your own geofilters to represent your brand. Your followers can start using the geofilter in their photos which can be a great way to build interest and awareness for your business. But, keep in mind that this option costs money.

 

 

ALSO READ: Which Social Media Should You Be At?

 

The Benefits of Geotagging on Social Media

Over the years, people have started using social media in a similar way to search engines – that is, to search for local brands and businesses. Instead of turning to Google, they search on Facebook and even on Instagram to look for businesses that match their needs.

 

Although there are not statistics recording the number of social media searches, there is a wealth of success stories about businesses who’ve been located on social media and generated revenue because of it.

 

If that’s not enough to convince you, if users were to click on the location tagging – which could be the name of your brand – then they would be able to view all posts that have been tagged with your location. Here, we’re not exclusively talking about the posts you’ve published but the photos and videos other users shared as well when they’ve engaged with your business.

 

In summary, geotagging is a way to let your followers where your business is. Users who tag your location and your business basically give you free advertising so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of the opportunities location tagging presents for your business!

 

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