Last spring, Instagram released a new feature called Guides, which gave select accounts a way to create content centered around recommendations and tips for well-being. Since then, Instagram has expanded Guides across the platform, opening them up to all users and making it easier for brands and businesses to use them as a part of their social media and content strategies. Here’s everything you need to know about getting started with Instagram Guides!
- What Are Instagram Guides?
- Types of Instagram Guides
- Benefits of Using Instagram Guides
- How to Create Instagram Guides
What Are Instagram Guides?
Instagram Guides are a new feature that allows users to easily discover and share recommendations, tips, and other content from individual creators, small businesses, or brands. Using a combination of text and visuals, Instagram Guides resemble list-style blog posts and help you create in-depth content for your followers. While they appear in their own tab separate from your main feed, they can be discovered on the Explore Page or through Instagram Stories and direct messages.
Types of Guides
Instagram offers three different types of Instagram Guides that you can create. Whether you want to group your content together, promote products you sell, share an in-depth travel guide, or something else, here are the types of Instagram Guides you can choose from and how to decide which one is best for your brand.
Posts
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An easy way to get started with creating Instagram Guides is with existing posts. Think of an Instagram Posts Guide as an umbrella topic you want to cover. You can connect specific posts you have already created to make curated content for your audience, and you can utilize this feature in many ways. You can create a how-to post from DIY posts, answer frequently asked questions, or simply provide your audience with additional information on a topic you enjoy. Once you’ve selected the posts for your guide, you should add catchy titles and descriptions to give your followers more context and keep them around for the entire guide.
Products
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Product guides are great for promoting your favorite products, announcing a new collection, or creating gift guides. This type of Instagram guide allows you to search for a brand, small business, or influencer merch and select specific products to highlight. Users can only feature items that are listed in the Instagram Shop, so you should set one up for your business if you haven’t already. That way, you can be featured in posts that other users make! Remember to use interesting products and dynamic pictures to keep your audience reading.
Places
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A places guide allows you to choose specific locations and public photos from users at a tagged location. This is a good option if you want to highlight your favorite places in a neighborhood, recommend popular local bars and restaurants, share vacation travel ideas, and more. These guides help you show love for places in your community and give your followers a look into the places you care about most. Users can also increase visibility for local businesses by featuring them on places guides. Once you’ve made your selections, you can add interesting headers and descriptions to give your followers more context as to why you chose each place.
Benefits of Using Instagram Guides
It’s fairly quick and easy to add Instagram Guides to your social media marketing strategy, especially if you’re already on the platform. Here are a few reasons to start using Instagram Guides!
Boost Brand Loyalty
Creating guides is another way for you to give your audience valuable content they enjoy. By creating an Instagram Guide that shares your brand’s story or promotes a cause you’re passionate about, you can work to make an impact on your followers and build brand loyalty. It’s important to stand out among the faceless Instagram business accounts, so don’t be afraid to get personal and make those connections with your followers.
Keep Users Engaged
Similar to Instagram Reels, Guides are a type of long-form content that can keep users engaged for longer. Instead of seeing your post on their feed and scrolling by, a guide can help users learn more about your brand’s story, discover new products, learn information from your tips, and even look at similar posts you’ve shared that you can now group in one place. Plus, they can get all the information they need from your guide instead of having to click away to get more information if it’s curated correctly. Engagement can also come from users liking, sharing, commenting, and making purchases directly from an Instagram Guide.
Take Advantage of Keywords
Instagram has recently updated its search function, allowing users to search for content by broad keywords in addition to profiles, hashtags, and location. This gives you an opportunity to include relevant keywords in your guides to help increase your chances of showing up in Instagram searches, as well as on a user’s Explore Page.
Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer marketing is a major part of Instagram, and creating Instagram Guides is one way to collaborate with influencers to help promote your products and share your content. One way to partner with Influencers is with Instagram product guides. They can help promote your products by sharing your guides on their stories, as well as feature your items on in-feed posts.
More Chances to Make a Sale
Product guides are a great way for e-commerce businesses and local shops to promote their products and potentially increase your chances of making a sale. Whether it’s highlighting your bestsellers or creating a gift guide, you can expand your reach when selling on Instagram by pairing Instagram Shop and Instagram Guides together.
Bring Awareness to Causes You Care About
People love to learn they care about the same causes as the brands they follow, as well as how businesses make an impact in their community. Try using Instagram Guides to showcase a movement that you care about or highlight businesses that are promoting a good cause. If there’s something that you care deeply about, chances are your followers may also share that passion!
How to Create Instagram Guides
Instagram Guides are an easy way to create more social content because they are quick to make. Follow these steps to start making Instagram Guides!
- Start by going to your profile page, NOT your feed page.
- Tap the plus icon in the top-right corner.
- From the options, select “Guide.”
- Choose from one of the three guide types: posts, products, or places.
- Begin building out your guide by adding photos, titles, and descriptions.
- Once you’re finished, tap “Next” in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Share.”
Once you publish your Instagram Guide, make your followers aware by posting it on your story. This will encourage them to read, like, and share the guide on their stories. Need help creating Instagram Guides or other social media posts? Hurrdat Marketing can help you create a custom social media strategy designed to reach your target audience. Learn more about our social media marketing services!
