Instagram rolls out Maps to help people discover popular locations and businesses

Instagram has announced the global rollout of a new Maps experience that allows people to discover popularly tagged locations around them.

Among other things, the feature could boost the discovery of local small businesses on Instagram by allowing people to filter the locations by specific categories such as restaurants, cafes, and beauty salons. 

For businesses, this discovery could lead to more than just a connection point - it translates into business impact and sales.

Instagram made the announcement through a tweet from its official Twitter handle.

New map, who this? ??️

Now you can now find popular locations around you or filter by categories like cafes or beauty salons. pic.twitter.com/asQR4MfljC

— Instagram (@instagram) July 19, 2022

A Meta-commissioned online survey by GFK showed that 96% of the surveyed people said that they discover brands and products online. Of these, 83%, said they typically discover them on a Meta platform. 

The dynamic, searchable maps help people discover popular locations and see what’s happening nearby via tagged posts, stories, and guides shared by the Instagram community. People can also find relevant locations on the map when searching certain hashtags. The feature was launched in Japan a year ago, and has been globally rolled out today.

The new feature allows the audience to use IG Maps in a variety of ways: 

Find a place

• Discover a new place by tapping location tags in Feed or Stories content.
• Search the name of a city, neighbourhood, or place in Explore. Hashtag search is also available for local hashtags (e.g. #newdelhi).
• Previous stories you've posted that include a location sticker can also be viewed via map in the Stories archive.

Dig deeper

• Browse recent stories, top posts, and relevant guides of tagged locations to learn more.
• Filter by location categories to narrow your search.

Plan for later

• Save locations to a collection to revisit in the future.
• Share places via direct message to friends or groups.

Contribute

• Use location tags or stickers in your content and it will appear on the map (if your profile is public).

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