How to Add a Location on Instagram That Doesn’t Exist?
Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Sep 14, 2024
Adding a location on Instagram that doesn't exist requires creating a custom location via Facebook. First, ensure your Facebook app is updated and location services are enabled. Open the Facebook app and check in by creating a new location with your desired name. This location syncs with Instagram, allowing you to tag your photos and stories with a unique, personalized place. This process ensures your custom location appears on both platforms seamlessly.
Table of Contents
- Why Location Tags Matter on Instagram?
- How Does Instagram Source Its Location Data?
- Steps to Add a Location on Instagram That Doesn’t Exist
- What to Do If Added Location Doesn’t Appear on Instagram?
- Creative Ways to Use Custom Locations for Branding on Instagram
- How to Verify Your Custom Location on Instagram
- How to Leverage Geo-tags for Greater Reach on Instagram
- FAQs How to Add a Location on Instagram That Doesn’t Exist
Why Location Tags Matter on Instagram?
Location tags matter on Instagram because they significantly influence the discoverability and engagement of your posts. When you add a location, especially your own custom location that doesn't already exist on Instagram, you carve out a unique niche for your content. This not only makes your posts stand out but also attracts a specific audience searching for particular locales or related content. Moreover, custom location tags enhance the storytelling aspect of your posts, providing a distinctive context and adding a creative edge that generic tags can’t match.
Furthermore, using precise exact location tags can optimize the marketing efforts of businesses and influencers alike. For local businesses, a new custom location tag on their Facebook business page can ensure that their posts surface when users search for that locale, thereby increasing foot traffic and potential customer interactions. For influencers, these custom location tags can become part of their brand identity, making their content easily recognizable and more searchable, which is crucial for collaboration opportunities with brands. Additionally, to make this feature work effectively, it's essential to enable location services to accurately display your business location or physical location on the map. Moreover, understanding privacy concerns related to location services is vital, such as whether Instagram notifies when you screenshot a DM.
Reach a Targeted Audience
Adding a specific location tag on Instagram helps pinpoint your audience, directing your content toward users interested in that particular area or type of location. This specificity increases your content’s visibility among users actively looking up or frequenting that place, thus enhancing the likelihood of your posts being seen by an audience that is genuinely interested. Location tags enable users to filter content based on places, making it a powerful tool for targeting content and attracting genuine engagement from a dedicated audience base. For those looking to expand their engagement strategies further, exploring how to find memories on Snapchat can offer additional insights into repurposing content effectively.'
Enhance Engagement
Location tags are known to boost engagement rates significantly, as they tap into local and contextual interests. Users often utilize location tags to explore content related to specific places, whether for planning visits or virtual exploration. This localized tagging leads to increased interactions—likes, comments, and shares—from users who feel a connection to or curiosity about the tagged location. Furthermore, posts tagged with specific locations tend to perform better, as they provide a relatable and tangible context to the audience, encouraging them to engage more deeply with the content.
Strengthen Local SEO
For businesses, especially local or location-based ones, custom location tags are instrumental in enhancing local search engine optimization (SEO). By making their content discoverable when users search for a specific area, businesses increase their visibility and relevance in local search results, which is pivotal for attracting local clientele. This strategy not only helps in appearing in more searches but also improves the overall online presence of a business within its community, thereby driving organic growth and local engagement.
Build Brand Identity
For influencers and brands, custom location tags offer a strategic tool to reinforce brand identity. By consistently associating their posts with specific locations, brands and influencers can create a recognizable and memorable presence on Instagram. This consistency helps in building a narrative around their brand, associating it with certain locales or lifestyles, which can be a significant differentiator in the crowded market of social media. Custom locations thus serve not just as geographical indicators but as integral parts of a brand’s storytelling and identity shaping efforts.
How Does Instagram Source Its Location Data?
Instagram sources its location data primarily through integration with mapping services that provide extensive geographical information. When users create a new location on Instagram, they are tapping into a vast network of mapped data that allows them to pinpoint virtually any locale. This system ensures accuracy and a wide variety of location options, which is vital for users who want to tag a specific and sometimes unique place that may not be widely recognized otherwise. Additionally, Instagram's flexibility in managing user identities, including the ability to view former usernames, enhances user experience by allowing more personalized interactions.
This process begins with established GPS coordinates and information pulled from third-party services such as Google Maps or Apple Maps. These platforms have their mapping data enriched by user-generated content and commercial data providers, which means they are continually updated and refined. Instagram utilizes this robust database to offer location suggestions or to allow users to add new, custom locations when the existing ones don’t suffice.
Data Integration: Instagram integrates with external mapping services like Google Maps to obtain comprehensive and precise location data.
User Contributions: Users can contribute to the location database by creating and naming new locations if they do not already exist in the Instagram system.
Verification Process: Each new location added by users undergoes a verification process to ensure that it is a valid and real location, preventing the addition of fictitious places.
After a user adds a new location, Instagram stores this information for future use, making it available to other users. This not only enriches the Instagram location database but also enhances user engagement by allowing people to connect and share experiences over specific places. Over time, this user-generated content becomes a self-sustaining cycle that continuously enriches Instagram’s location data.
Moreover, the ability to add custom locations is crucial for businesses and influencers who wish to promote unique venues and events that might not have a significant digital footprint. This feature enhances the platform’s utility and user engagement, fostering a more interconnected and detailed mapping system that benefits all Instagram users.
Steps to Add a Location on Instagram That Doesn’t Exist
To add a location on Instagram that doesn’t exist, you must first create the location on Facebook, as Instagram pulls its location data from Facebook's Places. This process involves using the Check-In feature on Facebook to establish a new location that can then be used on Instagram posts.
Once the location is established on Facebook, you can easily tag it in your Instagram posts by searching for the newly created place in Instagram’s location search bar. This allows you to accurately represent the location in your Instagram content, enhancing the authenticity and specificity of your posts.
Step 1: Use Facebook Check-In Feature
Open Facebook and go to the Check-In tab. Here, you can add a new location by entering the desired location name and address. Ensure the information is accurate as it will appear on both Facebook and Instagram.
Step 2: Name the Location
Choose a unique and relevant name for your new location. This name will be used to identify the place on Instagram, so make it specific and descriptive to ensure it stands out and is easy to find.
Step 3: Tagging on Instagram
Once your location is created and named on Facebook, open Instagram, and start creating a post. Tap the "Add Location" option and type in the name of your new location. Select it from the list, and your custom location will now be tagged in your Instagram post.
What to Do If Added Location Doesn’t Appear on Instagram?
First, ensure the location services on your device are enabled and Instagram has the necessary permissions to access them. Sometimes, refreshing the app or restarting your device can prompt the location to appear. If these steps don't resolve the issue, it might be due to a delay in the geolocation database update. In this case, wait a few hours and try adding the location again. Additionally, verify that the custom location was created correctly through Facebook, as Instagram pulls location data directly from its parent company’s platform. If the problem persists, contacting Instagram’s support for a more tailored solution is recommended.
Creative Ways to Use Custom Locations for Branding on Instagram
Creative Ways to Use Custom Locations for Branding on Instagram offer unique opportunities to promote your brand identity and engage with your audience creatively. By strategically using custom locations, you can highlight specific campaigns, tagline-based locations, or event-based locations that directly reflect your brand’s theme or ongoing promotions. This method not only enhances your post’s visibility but also strengthens your brand’s narrative in a fun and innovative way.
Promote Special Events
Craft unique geotags for specific events like pop-up shops, exhibitions, or product launches. This allows you to curate a special feed on your profile where all posts tagged at the event are collected. It's an effective way to generate buzz and keep a digital diary of the event that followers can visit anytime.
Highlight Brand Taglines
Incorporate your brand’s slogans or mottos as custom locations to keep your messaging consistent and memorable. Every post with this location becomes a reinforcement of your brand’s values and unique selling proposition, making it easier for followers to remember and identify your brand’s voice and message.
Showcase Collaborations
When teaming up with influencers or other brands, create a custom location that highlights the collaboration. This can help differentiate collaboration posts from regular content, making them stand out more. It’s also a great way to track engagement specific to the collaborative efforts.
Drive Local Engagement
Develop custom locations for different cities or neighborhoods where your target audience is concentrated. Tailoring content to specific locales can increase engagement rates and make your content more relevant to those communities, fostering a stronger connection with local followers.
Enhance Themed Campaigns
For campaigns centered around specific themes, such as seasonal promotions or product lines, create thematic custom locations. This can make the campaign feel more immersive and comprehensive, allowing followers to feel like they are part of a larger story. Each location tag can act as a chapter in the narrative, adding depth to your marketing efforts.
How to Verify Your Custom Location on Instagram
To verify your custom location on Instagram after adding it, follow a clear set of steps to create custom locations. Instagram relies on a combination of information sources, including map services and user-generated content, to validate locations. Ensuring that your location appears authentic and verifiable to Instagram and other users is crucial. Accuracy in your location’s title and consistency across other social platforms can help expedite the verification process.
Check your Instagram app for any updates to ensure all new features are accessible.
Post a new photo and tag the custom location you've created.
Encourage friends or followers to use and check in at this new location.
Monitor the tagged posts to ensure the location is being correctly displayed and used.
After completing these steps, Instagram algorithms will often recognize and maintain the new location as a valid tag. Regular activity and multiple user interactions are key in reinforcing the legitimacy of your custom location. If your location does not appear or faces issues, consider revising the details and encouraging more interaction at that spot.
How to Leverage Geo-tags for Greater Reach on Instagram
To leverage geo-tags for greater reach on Instagram, it's essential to understand the strategic placement of locations. Adding a custom location not only attracts specific audiences but also enhances visibility through location-based searches. This tactic can be crucial for boosting engagement by making your posts discoverable to a broader audience who follow or search for that particular location.
Here's how to effectively use geo-tags:
Create a Custom Location: Use Facebook’s 'Check-In' feature to create a new location.
Geo-tag Your Posts: Always add the new location to your Instagram posts.
Consistency is Key: Regularly use the same geo-tag to strengthen its association with your content.
Encourage Interaction: Prompt your followers to use the same geo-tag, increasing its popularity and visibility.
After setting up a custom location, monitor the performance of your posts. Check insights regularly to see how much traffic the geo-tag brings in. This practice not only helps in refining your tagging strategy but also in understanding audience preferences, leading to more tailored content that resonates with your followers.
FAQs How to Add a Location on Instagram That Doesn’t Exist
1. How do you add a location on Instagram that doesn’t exist?
To add a location on Instagram that doesn’t exist, link your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Create the location on Facebook by checking in and typing the new location’s name. After sharing it on Facebook, the location will be available on Instagram.
2. Why can’t I see my new location on Instagram immediately?
If your new location isn't visible on Instagram right away, wait a few minutes and refresh the app. Instagram may take some time to sync new locations from Facebook.
3. Can you add a custom location on Instagram without using Facebook?
No, you cannot add a custom location directly on Instagram without using Facebook, as Instagram relies on Facebook’s location database for location services.
4. Is it possible to edit an existing location’s name on Instagram?
You cannot edit an existing location’s name on Instagram. You need to create a new location with the desired name on Facebook, and then use it on Instagram.
5. What are the steps to ensure my new location shows up in Instagram searches?
To ensure your new location shows up in Instagram searches, first share the location on Facebook by creating a check-in post. Make sure your Facebook post is public for the location to be accessible on Instagram. After some time, search for the location on Instagram to confirm its availability.