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Instagram’s Geostickers Makes Sharing Photos So Much Cooler
Instagram has just gotten a whole lot cooler. Their new offering called Geostickers adds a new and better dimension to a user’s posts. Initially available in selected cities, this feature is designed to reflect the ambiance of the area you’re in.
Geostickers is available for iOS and Android users. Local business owners, more particularly web hosting or design enterprises, might want to check out how this cool new feature can promote their products or services.
An Overview
Snapchat was the first to introduce an app similar to Geostickers. Just like what its name suggests, Geostickers is a special sticker-like addition to your photos to boost the story that you would like to share. These stickers are location-based, which means your followers will immediately know where in the world you currently are.
However, Geostickers is not yet available in all cities. Right now, only users in New York and Jakarta in Indonesia can enjoy the feature. Geostickers was included in Instagram’s 10.11 update. You may take advantage of the feature by simply upgrading to the newest Instagram version.
How to Use Geostickers
Adding Geostickers to your Instagram posts is pretty straightforward. You’ll need just the basics – an Instagram account and your smartphone’s camera. If you know how to use Instagram, it’s basically the same thing. There are just a couple of steps that you have to do, which is adding your choice of stickers to your post. Below are the detailed steps on how to use Geostickers:
- Snap a photo or take a selfie.
- Tap on the Geostickers icon on the upper right corner of the screen.
- Pick the sticker that you would like to add to your post.
- Move and resize the sticker as you wish.
- Share your cool image.
Geostickers acts like customizable location stickers that can be clicked by your followers. If they do, the app will show the actual location where the photo was taken, along with other information. It can also be used on the videos shared. There’s a repository of Geostickers in Instagram Stories.
Instagram vs Snapchat
As stated earlier, the idea of adding stickers related to one’s geolocation started with Snapchat. However, the popularity of the feature was mainly Instagram’s doing. People on Snapchat have been using Geostickers since 2014. However, the do experience limitations like their stickers cannot be resized or rearranged. This may be there reason why it failed to enjoy the popularity it is currently enjoying with Instagram.
Instagram also made their stickers tap activated. When users tap them, they will see more information about that particular location on the map. They will be redirected to Instagram Stories where they can see more exciting photos of that particular place. This cool, new Instagram feature is definitely exciting, if only it will be made available to more places.
Instagram does promise that it will add more areas to New York and Jakarta. But right now, they are making sure that are more than enough stickers users in these two locations can use. Instagram Stories has soared to popularity since the addition of this new feature. It currently has 150 million daily users to boot. Snapchat’s users, on the other hand, went down to 82%.
Other Applications of Geostickers
- Tourism
Geostickers can effectively promote the place you are at. For New York based users, their sticker options include Manhattan, Times Square, Soho, Central Park, the Bronx, Harlem, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Madison Square Garden. These stickers can definitely promote tourism.
- Local Business Promotion
On the other hand, small business owners in these locations can take advantage of the stickers to make their next few Instagram posts more informative. These stickers can easily capture the attention of their target markets. So that’s an advantage on its own. Clicking the stickers will take you to the map. Customers will immediately see the location of your business. If you are proud to serve your area, use these stickers to say as much. Local web hosting companies can definitely take advantage of this feature.
- Patriotism
Are you one patriotic person? If you are, then you will enjoy adding these stickers to your posts. Showing reverence to the place that you call home is now very simple, thanks to these stickers. By adding Geostickers, you’re actually educating your followers from different places what it looks and feels like to be where you are.
More Features on Instagram
With the addition of this Snapchat feature on Instagram, users are wondering what else they will be cloning next. But more than that, users would like to see more cities being added to the roll soon enough.
The location page on Instagram Stories is yet another unique feature that Snapchat doesn’t have. This page features all the top shots of the area. But users need not worry about their stories being added to Instagram stories, because it won’t. Also, clicking on the sticker will redirect users to the map. The map, in turn, will pinpoint the exact location where the shot was taken.
Creating videos with Geostickers is very exciting too. These stickers can effectively customize your video to your taste. Because of it, your videos have just gotten more interactive. It is also possible to add as many stickers as you wish.
Users can also add temperature, seasonal, time of day, and emoji tags to their posts. All of these are what makes Instagram’s Geostickers a bigger hit than that of Snapchat’s. To take advantage of these, all users have to do is to download to the latest Instagram version. Of course, they have to be in one of the two locations that the Geostickers is currently activated for.
So go out there and play with these stickers. Share your New York or Jakarta experience like you never have before. Take a snapshot of the food you ate and the places you’ve seen. Sharing travel posts has just gotten more wonderful. Engage your family members, friends, and followers in your next adventure!