When posting on Instagram for your local business, be sure to promote your general location with local or community hashtags in your captions. Instagram users like to see what’s happening in their community. Tourists and travelers like to find things to do in specific locations.
Using local and community hashtags makes it easy for people to find your local business.
Local and community hashtags
It’s common for people to search for things in a community by hashtag, so make sure your post is indexed in that hashtag search.
- I use hashtags like #Petoskey or #HarborSprings, depending on where I’m posting from.
When you include a location hashtag in your post caption, it helps your business connect with new local traffic.
- If your business is downtown, you can try a more specific hashtag like #DowntownPetoskey in your caption.
Promote other businesses with hashtags
Using local hashtags is a great way to show support for your local community which helps them get found by new people!
If you’re giving a shout out to local events, charities you support, places you shop, and restaurants you recommend, include their brand hashtag.
- To help promote my client’s new event, I’ve been using the #locolocals in posts (and I mention or tag their account, too).
- When we’re working with the local animal shelter, we include #LTBHS in our posts.
- My husband and I like to meet friends at The Backlot in Petoskey so when we check-in, we include the #backlotpetoskey hashtag.
If you always include local hashtags in your posts, you could see a big boost in local traffic and engagement!
[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”How many hashtags can I use on an Instagram post?” answer-0=”The maximum number of hashtags you can use is up to 30 hashtags per Instagram post. Buffer did a study that showed posts with 11 hashtags had better engagement. Hashtags are search terms that help people find you so make sure your hashtags are relevant to that particular post. Do not use the same hashtags in every post – you need to mix it up and make sure the hashtags are relevant.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”When should I use hashtags on Instagram?” answer-1=”If the goal of your post is to find new followers and reach new people, include a few relevant hashtags in that particular post. Make sure you include a relevant location hashtag, too. Try testing a post without hashtags and see what happens.” image-1=”” count=”2″ html=”true” css_class=””]
