finding-instagram-creators-by-location

Finding Instagram Creators by Location

Identifies Instagram creators who actively post from a specific location — city, venue, or region. Creators with repeated location posts have genuine local presence and authentic ties to the place.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	Optional	[]	Instagram location page URLs
locationIds	array	Optional	[]	Instagram location IDs
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum posts to return
until	string	Optional	—	Date filter (YYYY-MM-DD)
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Resolve location ID
- [ ] Step 2: Run instagram-location-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Identify repeat creators
- [ ] Step 4: Score creator quality
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver local creator list

Step 1: Resolve Location ID

Instagram uses numeric location IDs. To find the ID:

1. Search for the location on Instagram (mobile or desktop)
2. Open the location page — URL format: instagram.com/explore/locations/[LOCATION_ID]/[name]/
3. Extract the numeric ID

If the user only provides a name, run a Google search: site:instagram.com/explore/locations "[LOCATION_NAME]"

Step 2: Run the Actor

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper"
Input:
{
  "locationIds": ["[LOCATION_ID]"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

REST API fallback:

curl -X POST   "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~instagram-location-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"locationIds": ["[LOCATION_ID]"], "maxItems": 100}'

Step 3: Score Creator Quality

From location posts, group by ownerUsername. For each creator:

local_score = min(post_count_at_location / 5, 1) * 0.30  # repeat presence
            + (avg_likes / 100) * 0.25  # engagement quality
            + (avg_comments / 10) * 0.20  # comment depth
            + (has_website ? 1 : 0) * 0.15  # professional creator signal
            + (follower_count > 1000 ? 1 : 0) * 0.10

Clamp to [0, 1]. Tier: A ≥ 0.70 | B 0.40–0.69 | C < 0.40

Step 4: Edge Cases

• Location ID not found for small venue: Try the city or neighborhood instead; scrape and filter by caption mentioning venue name
• Tourist accounts dominate results (one-time visitors): Filter by post_count_at_location = 1 being lower priority than repeat posters
• Business accounts posting from location: If is_business_account = true, flag separately — these are brand accounts, not creator UGC
• < 30 posts at location: Small or new venue — lower min_followers threshold to 500; include more results

Output Format

# Instagram Local Creators: [LOCATION_NAME]
Posts scraped: [N] | Unique creators: [N] | Repeat locals (2+ posts): [N] | Date: [DATE]

## TIER A — Established Local Creators (2+ Location Posts)
| Creator | @Handle | Location Posts | Avg Likes | Avg Comments | Content Theme | Score |
|---------|---------|---------------|-----------|--------------|---------------|-------|
| [name] | @[handle] | [N] | [N] | [N] | [food/lifestyle/travel] | [0.XX] |

## TIER B — Active Local Voices
| Creator | @Handle | Location Posts | Avg Likes | Last Post |
|---------|---------|---------------|-----------|----------|

## Niche Breakdown at [LOCATION]
| Content Theme | # Posts | Top Creator |
|--------------|---------|------------|
| [food] | [N] | @[handle] |
| [travel] | [N] | @[handle] |

Troubleshooting

Very few results for city: City-level location IDs return general "in [city]" tags. Look for neighborhood or landmark IDs for denser results. Results are mostly tourist accounts: Focus on the post_count_at_location >= 3 tier — locals post from the same location repeatedly. Wrong city matches location name: Some city names are duplicated globally. Verify the location page on Instagram before running.