How to Create a Geotag on Instagram

A custom geotag on Instagram can turn a simple location marker into a powerful branding tool, helping you gather user-generated content, build community, and claim your digital real estate. While the process has changed over the years, creating your own unique location is still absolutely possible. This guide will walk you through exactly why a custom geotag matters and the current, step-by-step method for creating one for your business, event, or personal brand.

Why a Custom Instagram Geotag is Worth the Effort

Before getting into the how-to, it's important to understand why this is a smart move for your social media strategy. A geotag isn't just about showing people where you are, it's about creating a hub for your community's content.

• Brand Building and Consolidation: A custom geotag like "The Wanderlust Cafe HQ" or "Main Street Makers Market" looks far more professional than a generic street address. It reinforces your brand name every time you or someone else posts from your location, creating a consistent brand experience.
• Increased Discoverability: When users tap on a location tag, they are taken to a location page that aggregates all public posts and Stories tagged with that geotag. For a local business, this is a treasure trove of hyperlocal exposure. A potential customer looking for a cool coffee shop in your area might stumble upon your custom geotag and see dozens of photos from happy patrons.
• User-Generated Content (UGC) Goldmine: This is arguably the biggest benefit. By creating a unique and easily searchable geotag, you encourage your customers, attendees, and fans to tag their own content at your location. The location page becomes a living gallery of authentic testimonials and content you can reshare (with permission, of course). This is powerful social proof.
• Community Engagement Hub: Imagine hosting a special event. By creating a custom geotag for "AquaFest 2024," you give every attendee a single place to tag their photos and videos. It connects everyone at the event and allows you to look back at all the amazing content created during that time.

In short, a custom geotag transforms a passive location marker into an active, community-driven marketing asset.

The Old Method Is Gone: Understanding the Change

If you've searched for this topic before, you might have seen older tutorials that suggest creating a location by "checking in" on Facebook and creating a "new place" on the spot. For a long time, this was the go-to method and it worked beautifully.

However, Meta (Facebook and Instagram's parent company) has since removed this straightforward functionality. You can no longer reliably create a brand new, custom place directly from a Facebook check-in on a personal profile. This change has caused a lot of confusion, as many now believe it's impossible to create custom locations. That's not entirely true, the method has just become less direct and requires a more "official" approach through Facebook's broader ecosystem.

Today, Instagram pulls its location data from Facebook's Places database, along with other mapping services. To get your location to appear on Instagram, you first need to get it registered and recognized within Facebook's system. Let's cover the most effective way to do that now.

How to Create a Geotag: The Facebook Business Page Method

The most reliable and current way to create a lasting, custom geotag for Instagram is by tying it to a Facebook Business Page with a physical address. This signals to Meta that your location is a legitimate entity. If you already have a Facebook Business Page, you're halfway there. If not, creating one is free and provides numerous business benefits beyond just getting your geotag.

Step 1: Create or Update Your Facebook Business Page

You need a "Page," not a personal "Profile." For the geotag feature to work, your Page needs to be categorized as a "Local Business or Place."

1. Log into your Facebook account and navigate to the "Pages" section.
2. Click "Create new Page."
3. Enter your Page name (this will ideally be your desired geotag name, like "Brooklyn Art Collective").
4. This is the most important step: Under "Category," choose a category that implies a physical location. Something like "Coffee Shop," "Retail Company," "Art Gallery," or "Community Organization" works well. Avoid generic categories like "Just a Business" or "Website."
5. Fill out your Bio and other information, then click "Create Page."

Step 2: Add Your Physical Address

Once your page is created, you need to add and verify your address. A geotag is, after all, tied to a geographic location.

1. On your new Page, go to "Edit Page Info" or "About."
2. Find the "Location" section.
3. Enter your full, accurate street address, city, state, and zip code. A map will appear, drag the pin to ensure it's pointing to the correct spot on the map. This precision is important.
4. Save your changes!

Once you've added the address, your location is now officially in Facebook's database. However, it won't appear on Instagram immediately.

Step 3: Wait and Engage

Now comes the part that requires a little patience. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks for Meta's systems to sync and for your newly created location to become searchable on Instagram. There's no magic button to speed this up.

To potentially help the process along, here are a few things you can do:

• Check In Physically at the Location: Using your personal Facebook profile, go to the location and create a post. When you click "Check In," search for your new Page name. It should appear in the list. Check in there.
• Encourage Others to Check In: Ask friends, employees, or early customers to check in at your location on Facebook. Increased activity signals to the algorithm that this is a real and active place.
• Publish Content to Your FB Page: Keep your new Facebook Business Page active by posting content. An active page is treated as more legitimate than an empty one.

Step 4: Check for Your Geotag on Instagram

After a few days (or sometimes longer), it's time to check if your work has paid off.

1. Open the Instagram app and create a new post (a photo or Reel).
2. On the final screen before you share, tap "Add Location."
3. In the search bar, start typing the name of your Facebook Business Page.
4. If all worked correctly, your custom geotag should appear in the search results! Tap to select it.

Once you've used it once, it will often appear as a suggested location when you are physically nearby, making it easier for you and your visitors to tag in the future.

Best Practices for Launching and Using Your New Geotag

Creating the tag is only half the battle. Now, you need to put it to work. An unused geotag provides little value.

1. Announce Your New Geotag

Don't just start using it quietly. Make an announcement! Create a dedicated Instagram post, Story, and Reel letting your followers know about your new, official brand location. Encourage them to use it next time they visit.

Example post caption: "Big news! We're officially on the map. Now you can tag your coffee creations at our official brand location: 'The Daily Grind Flagship.' We can't wait to see your posts!"

2. Run a Contest or Promotion

Incentivize its use from day one. Run a contest to jumpstart the User-Generated Content on your location page. The rules can be simple:

• Post a photo from our location.
• Tag us in the photo (@YourBrand).
• Use our new geotag, 'The Daily Grind Flagship.'

Offer a prize like a gift card or free merchandise. This will instantly populate your location page with authentic content and teach your followers how to use the tag.

3. Consistently Use It Yourself

Lead by example. Use your new geotag on every single relevant post, from feed photos to Reels and Stories. Consistency reinforces the existence of the tag and keeps it top-of-mind for your audience.

4. Monitor Your Location Page

Your geotag page is now your real-time feedback and content stream. Check it regularly to see what people are posting. Leave comments, thank customers for visiting, and ask for permission to reshare their best photos on your own profile. This makes your customers feel seen and appreciated, strengthening their brand loyalty.

Final Thoughts

Creating a custom geotag on Instagram is a fantastic way to elevate your brand's presence, foster a community, and collect valuable user-generated content. While the method has shifted away from a simple Facebook check-in, using a properly configured Facebook Business Page is a reliable strategy that cements your location in Meta's ecosystem for lasting success.

Building this kind of detailed brand experience on social media is all about consistency. At Postbase, we built our tool around the idea of making that consistency easy to manage. Launching a new geotag, for example, is the start of a small campaign - and having a visual calendar to plan your announcement post, your follow-up Stories, and your contest Reels lets you see your entire strategy in one place instead of just hoping you remember what to post next.