Increasing your engagement on social media can be tough, especially when you don’t know where to start. When used in a genuine and organic way, hashtags and geotags can help bring people to your page and, more importantly, get them to follow you. Start building up your brand by integrating more hashtags and geotags into the mix.

Hashtag tips:

Include both local and general topics.

Hashtags should reflect the area you live in and the community you want to engage with, as well as more generic hashtags that relate to your business. This will help build more awareness within your community, as well as with the general public.

Keep them specific.

A hashtag that works well for a competitor may not be one that makes sense for you. Your hashtags should be created with your brand in mind. Maybe you like to give advice on a particular day of the week, or you go live at a certain time each week. Make a hashtag that showcases the specific things you do that no one else is doing. This will make it easier to stand out amongst the competition. Find your niche, and create hashtags that reflect that.

Know your audience.

The hashtags you use should reflect who your audience is (or who you want it to be). They should relate to your brand, as mentioned above, but hashtags should also really speak to the people who follow you and the content they want to see. This is how people will find you.

Geotag tips:

Use them in Stories

Using location stickers in your Stories is a great way for people to connect with you in real time. While you may not be posting geotag-appropriate content every single day to your main feed, your Stories can be a place where this “extra” content goes. Meals at local restaurants, sports game outings, and community events are prime experiences to document. Of course, you can post on your Story and on your feed as well, but be mindful to not overdo it.

Make them as local as possible

Using geotags relevant to your current location is a surefire way to connect with local influencers. This can help you build relationships within your community, which is a great strategy for boosting business. Using geotags can increase engagement by 79 percent, making that one of the best things you could do for your social media strategy.

Implement these tips when using social media to effectively grow your brand, so you can attract more people to your business and connect with prospects on a more personal level.