How To Get Local Followers on Instagram to Boost Sales

Are you interested in learning how to get local followers on Instagram? This strategy is vital if you want to sell products and services to people in specific geographic locations. With local followers, you can launch a highly targeted marketing campaign.

We’ll share the best practices you need to follow to uncover local Instagram followers. You’ll see that this marketing strategy can provide a high return on your investment. 

You’ll also learn the top ways to avoid losing your customers over the long term. This ensures you can repeatedly market to the same followers. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

What Are Local Instagram Followers? 

Local Instagram followers are users who reside within a specific geographic location, such as a city, region, or country. These followers typically have an interest in Instagram content related to their local area. This includes events, businesses, landmarks, and community news.

Businesses that target a specific location will find local followers valuable. That’s because they represent potential customers, clients, or supporters. This is especially true for businesses that sell products or services primarily to an Instagram target audience in a geographic location. 

Top Business Benefits of Targeting Local Followers

Now, let’s focus on some of the top reasons you may want to target local followers as a business. You’ll see that it can be a game changer for how you spend marketing dollars. Here are some top benefits to consider:

• Increased engagement rates: Local followers are more likely to engage with local content relevant to their area. This can result in higher likes, comments, and shares on posts. Using analytics tools like Instagram Insights to monitor your engagement metrics is a good idea. 
• Build local brand awareness: The effort made to target local followers can increase brand visibility within their community. This makes it easier for potential customers to discover and recognize their brand.
• Increase foot traffic: Engaging with local followers can increase foot traffic to physical locations like stores, restaurants, or event venues. Therefore, you can increase the number of customers who buy your products and services. 
• Geotargeted advertising: Instagram’s advertising platform allows businesses to target ads to specific geographic locations. This enables them to reach local followers with tailored messages and promotions.

How To Increase Local Followers on Instagram

Do you want to discover how to increase local followers on Instagram? Let’s look at some of the top strategies you can implement to attract a relevant audience for your content. This is an excellent strategy for businesses that want to sell products to specific audiences. 

1. Post Content for Local Audiences

You should post relevant content to people you want to target on Instagram. This ensures that you provide value to new potential followers and engage them with your Instagram account. The platform gives you a number of ways to post content, and here are some of the top options. 

• Instagram Stories: You can post Instagram Stories to update your followers. These might be new product releases or funny Stories. This is a short-form content type that automatically deletes within 24 hours. 
• Instagram TV (IGTV): IGTV is a platform within Instagram that allows users to share longer-form videos. Content creators can upload videos up to 60 minutes in length and engage with their audience through likes and comments. This allows you to give product demonstrations for presentations. 
• Instagram Reels: This type of content is similar to Stories in format, but it reaches a wider audience. Make sure to add relevant hashtags to ensure that you can target local followers. It’s possible to generate a large number of new followers with Instagram Reels, so make sure to post often. 
• Live videos: Instagram Live allows users to broadcast live video content to their followers in real-time. Therefore, viewers can engage with the broadcaster through comments and reactions. This is a highly engaging content form that helps showcase local events. 
• Photos: Regular photos are the backbone of Instagram, so it’s vital to incorporate them. However, you also need to add good-quality captions alongside your photos. This improves the quality of the experience for your users. 

2. Use Local Hashtags

It’s a great idea to use popular hashtags in your local area. That’s because local users search for content with these hashtags and have a chance to find your content. This is a vital strategy when learning how to get more local followers on Instagram. 

However, don’t overload your content with too many hashtags, as this detracts from its overall quality. Ideally, you’ll want 4-7 hashtags that preserve the visual quality of the content. 

Furthermore, you’ll need to use analytical tools like Instagram Insights to determine the best hashtags. This feature is free and requires a professional Instagram account. 

Also, you can use branded hashtags to turn followers into customers. It’s an excellent way to market your brand and products for more sales. This can dramatically improve the success of your business on Instagram.

3. Geo-Tag Your Posts

Make sure that you geo-tag your Instagram posts so the right followers can find them. Here are some of the top tips to consider when using this feature: 

• Be specific: Choose a precise location for your post. For example, if you’re at a restaurant, tag the restaurant rather than just the city. It’s vital to use specific locations to help your post appear in searches that attract the right users. 
• Use popular locations: To increase the visibility of your post, consider tagging well-known landmarks, popular tourist spots, or trendy locations. These locations often have a high volume of searches and can attract more engagement. However, the availability of popular locations depends on what geographic area you want to target. 
• Interact with local communities: Geo-tagging can help you connect with local communities and businesses. Therefore, engage with other users who tag the same location, follow local accounts, and leave meaningful comments. Building relationships with local users can expand your reach and influence the right audience. Also, it’s a good idea to encourage user-generated content (UGC). 
• Monitor insights: Keep track of the performance of your geo-tagged posts using Instagram Insights. Therefore, analyze metrics such as reach, impressions, and engagement. This will help you understand which locations resonate the most with your audience. Additionally, use this data to refine your geo-tagging strategy and optimize future posts.
• Create location-specific content: Use geo-tagging to showcase different aspects of a location. For example, if you’re traveling, tag various attractions, restaurants, and scenic spots you visit. This not only adds variety to your content but also provides useful information to your followers.

4. Optimize Your Profile for Local Followers

It’s a good idea to optimize your Instagram profile. You can adapt it so that it resonates with local followers. For example, you can take a profile picture next to a landmark in your target location. This instantly creates a connection with local audiences. 

You can also use location-specific hashtags on your Instagram profile to help users make the connection. This increases your account’s discoverability for local audiences. The Instagram algorithm takes into account the use of hashtags with content recommendations. 

5. Utilize Instagram Ads

Target your Instagram ads to users within a specific geographic area. You can create ads that specifically target people in your city or region. This increases the likelihood of attracting local followers.

Here are some top tips for improving the quality of your Instagram ads: 

• Consistent branding: To reinforce brand recognition and identity, maintain consistent branding across all your ads. Furthermore, use consistent colors, fonts, and visual elements that align with your brand guidelines.
• Compelling copy: Craft persuasive ad copy that resonates with your target audience and clearly communicates your product or service’s value proposition. Additionally, keep your messaging concise, compelling, and action-oriented.
• A/B split testing: Conduct A/B split testing to experiment with different ad creatives, copy variations, CTAs, and audience targeting options. Make sure to test various elements of your ads to identify what resonates best with your audience. 
• Mobile optimization: Since most Instagram users access the platform on mobile devices, optimize your ads for mobile viewing. Ensure that your ads are mobile-friendly, load quickly, and are easy to interact with on smaller screens.
• High-quality visuals: Use captivating images or videos that are visually appealing and attention-grabbing. Also, ensure that your visuals are high-resolution, well-lit, and properly composed. This helps avoid cluttered or low-quality visuals that can detract from your message.

How Does Hyperlocal Social Media Marketing Work?

Hyperlocal social media marketing works by bringing users together in specific locations. For example, you can target users within a particular country, city, or neighborhood. However, the platform you use for marketing must have the features to do this. 

Instagram allows you to target users within an area. However, you can get even better targeting by linking your Instagram and Facebook accounts. This gives you access to the full suite of features to ensure your targeting is on point. 

Furthermore, it’s possible to use geofencing technology to target users. This feature allows you to set a virtual boundary for where you target the audience. This is a good strategy if you know exactly where to send marketing offers. However, you must ensure that geofencing is available with your chosen platform. 

Typically, when users enter and leave the target area, they will receive marketing messages you craft. This can provide promotions or top reasons your physical store is worth visiting. 

How To Boost Engagement on Instagram in Your Local Area

Do you want to learn how to boost engagement on Instagram? You’ll need to develop a content strategy that helps you attract more potential followers in your local area. 

However, generating engagement is difficult without a proven approach. After all, many companies are trying to get the attention of potential customers. 

Here are some of the top ideas to consider when trying to boost engagement in your local area:

1. Attend local events: Participate in local events, festivals, or community gatherings and share your experiences on Instagram. Furthermore, use location tags and relevant hashtags to connect with others attending the event. You can also promote your products and services at this local event with a partnership. This can create a lot of buzz and recognition in local communities. 
2. Host local giveaways and contests: Organize giveaways or contests exclusive to residents of your city or region. Also, don’t forget to encourage participants to engage with your content. This can include liking, commenting, or sharing the post for a chance to win a prize.
3. Collaborate with local businesses or influencers: You can partner with companies or influencers in your area to cross-promote each other’s content. This can help you reach new audiences within your local community and increase engagement through mutual promotion. Influencer marketing typically has a high return on investment (ROI), which is ideal if you’re on a tight budget. 
4. Share UGC: Feature UGC from your local followers on your Instagram account. This acknowledges your community and encourages others to engage with your brand.

How To Get Local Followers on Instagram Without Breaking the Rules

Follow the rules of the social media platform to ensure that you can continue marketing. This means you must follow the Instagram community guidelines and adhere to the terms of service (ToS). 

Don’t use the data you gather about users for malicious purposes. Instead, use the location data responsibly and don’t share it with others. 

Learning how to get local followers on Instagram without breaking the rules is simple. Apply the insights in this article, and you can grow followers quickly. This will help you meet business objectives and elevate your account to new heights. 

However, growing an Instagram account is tricky, and Plixi is here to help every step of the way. With our in-house algorithm and extensive influencer network, we can help you target local followers. This means you can grow your account organically and improve your business. 

So what are you waiting for? Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.