Instagram Guides is one of the latest new features on Instagram that businesses can use to promote their products and services. Instagram continually introduces innovative features to enhance user experience and facilitate digital marketing. Understanding how Instagram Guides work can provide businesses and marketers with the up-to-date knowledge they need to identify new ways to sell their products and services. 

Instagram Guides: The Latest Feature on Instagram

In this blog, we’ll take you through what Instagram Guides are, how to set up an Instagram Guide, and how you can utilise this new feature to promote your products and services effectively.

What are Instagram Guides?

Instagram Guides are a group of posts that are collated together to help provide the user with guided information about a certain topic or aspect of the business. In essence, Instagram Guides are a way for businesses to categorise several posts to help the user discover content based on a particular topic, product, or service that they want to learn more about.

When a business wants to save and categorise their Instagram Stories, they can create highlights to guide the user towards content that will appeal to their interests and needs. Similarly, Instagram Guides allow businesses to group posts so that the user can discover posts related to certain topics or products. This is incredibly useful as it means that users can discover content that they want to consume while saving them time scrolling through your grid posts to identify content. To enhance the visibility and engagement of your guides, you can consider buying Instagram story views, ensuring more users see and engage with your valuable content.

Overall, Instagram Guides allow users to create more in-depth shareable and discoverable content in a straightforward, user-friendly format. From product recommendations and tips to educational resources, Instagram Guides provide a fresh, immersive approach to content presentation on Instagram. Therefore, it is Instagram’s version of a digital blog or guide filled with relevant posts and content that will appeal to social media users!

How To Create an Instagram Guide

Now that we’ve learned what Instagram Guides are, let’s break down how to set up Guides:

1. To get started, go to your Profile on Instagram and click on the plus symbol at the top-right-hand corner.
2. At this stage, you should see all of the content creation options available on Instagram. Select ‘Guide’.
3. Next, a prompt will appear asking if you want to include Places, Products, or Posts in your Guide:
   1. The Places option will allow you to recommend places in your city to social media users.
   2. The Products option allows you to recommend your favourite products. 
   3. The Posts option allows you to include posts that you have created in your Guide as well as posts created by other accounts that you have saved.
   4. Select the most relevant option for your Guide and choose the places, products, or posts that you want to add to your Guide.
4. Once these have been selected, you then can rearrange the order of your posts in your Guide, add a title to your Guide, and select a cover photo.
5. You can also add titles and descriptions to each of your posts in the Instagram Guide to give your audience a bit of background into what each post offers to the user. 
6. Once you’re happy with your Guide, click on ‘Next’.
7. Finally, select ‘Share’ when you’re ready to post your Instagram Guide. You can also select ‘Save as draft’ if you need to continue editing your Guide at a later stage.

Once you have posted your Instagram Guide, you will be able to see a ‘Guides’ filter on your profile that users can click into to view all of your Guides.

How To Utilise Instagram Guides For Business

Instagram Guides are an excellent feature on Instagram for collating your posts and offering your followers and customers guidance on your products and services. 

So, what are some of the best ways to utilise Instagram Guides for business? Here are some recommendations when putting together your Instagram Guides:

• Create Guides based on product types: Outline the different types of products or services that you offer and create an Instagram Guide for each one. This will help the consumer when they want to discover more information about a particular product or service.
• Create a Guide for your brand awareness content: A great way to promote your brand awareness is by creating a Guide that includes posts explaining who you are as a brand. For example, this could be introduction posts, behind-the-scenes content, or a ‘Meet The Team’ series.
• Create a Guide for FAQs: If you have posts created that answers some frequently asked questions that you often get asked by customers, group these together in a Guide. This will help your target audience discover important information that they need to know and saves them time scrolling through all of your posts on your main grid.
• Share your Instagram Guide to your Stories: When you click into your Guide once it’s created, there will be a Share icon at the bottom of your screen. This allows you to share your Guide as an Instagram Story. This is a great way to bring your followers’ attention to your new engaging and shareable content!

Benefits of Using Instagram Guides

Instagram Guides offer businesses a unique way to engage with their audience, enhance brand storytelling, and drive conversions.

Increased Engagement

• Deeper Connection: Guides allow you to add personal commentary to your posts, providing a more intimate connection with your audience. This fosters a sense of authenticity and encourages deeper engagement.
• Enhanced Storytelling: By curating a collection of posts into a cohesive narrative, you can create compelling stories that resonate with your audience. This immersive experience can lead to increased likes, comments, and shares.
• Improved User Experience: Guides offer a streamlined way for users to consume content, making it easier for them to discover and enjoy your posts. This positive experience can boost engagement metrics.

Improved Brand Storytelling

• Cohesive Brand Voice: Guides provide a platform to consistently showcase your brand’s personality and values across multiple posts. This helps reinforce your brand identity and messaging.
• Showcase Expertise: By sharing valuable insights and information, you position your brand as an authority in your industry. This builds trust and credibility with your audience.
• Visual Storytelling: Instagram is a visual platform, and Guides allow you to leverage this strength by creating visually appealing and engaging narratives.

Driving Traffic to Your Website

• Increased Click-Through Rates: By including links to your website within your Guide, you can drive traffic to specific landing pages or products.
• Improved Conversion Rates: Guides can be used to highlight your best-selling products or services, making it easier for customers to make a purchase.
• Better Lead Generation: By offering valuable content and incentives within your Guide, you can encourage users to provide their contact information in exchange for exclusive offers or resources.

Ultimately, Instagram Guides offer a versatile tool for businesses to enhance their presence on the platform and achieve their marketing goals. By understanding the benefits and effectively utilizing this feature, you can create engaging content that drives results.

Types of Instagram Guides

Instagram offers three primary types of Guides, each serving a distinct purpose:

1. Places Guides

• Purpose: To recommend locations, such as restaurants, hotels, or tourist attractions.
• Ideal Use Cases:
  • Travel bloggers and influencers sharing their favorite destinations
  • Local businesses promoting nearby points of interest
  • Food enthusiasts creating curated lists of eateries
  • Creating city guides for visitors

2. Product Guides

• Purpose: To showcase and recommend products, either your own or from other brands.
• Ideal Use Cases:
  • E-commerce businesses highlighting their product lines
  • Influencers promoting affiliate products or favorites
  • Creating gift guides for various occasions
  • Curating product comparisons or recommendations

3. Post Guides

• Purpose: To curate a collection of existing Instagram posts around a specific theme or topic.
• Ideal Use Cases:
  • Sharing educational content or tutorials
  • Creating behind-the-scenes looks at a business or process
  • Compiling user-generated content around a campaign
  • Curating inspirational or motivational content

By understanding the distinct characteristics of each guide type, you can effectively leverage Instagram Guides to achieve your marketing objectives and provide value to your audience.

Analytics and Tracking Instagram Guides

To measure the effectiveness of your Instagram Guides, you can leverage Instagram Insights. While it doesn’t provide specific metrics for Guides yet, you can track the performance of individual posts included in your Guides and gain insights into overall Guide performance by analyzing these metrics collectively.

Here’s what you can track:

Individual Post Performance:

• Impressions: Number of times your posts were seen.
• Reach: Number of unique accounts that saw your posts.
• Likes: Number of likes your posts received.
• Comments: Number of comments on your posts.
• Saves: Number of times your posts were saved.
• Shares: Number of times your posts were shared.
• Profile visits: Number of profile visits generated by your posts.
• Website clicks: Number of clicks on links in your bio or posts.

Overall Guide Performance (Inferred):

• Guide Shares: While Instagram doesn’t provide direct metrics for Guide shares, you can track the number of times your Guide is shared as a Story by monitoring your Story Insights.
• Engagement Rate: Calculate the average engagement rate of the posts included in your Guide to estimate its overall performance.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): If you’ve included links in your Guide posts, track the CTR to measure how effectively you’re driving traffic to your website.

Additional Tips:

• Set Clear Goals: Define specific objectives for your Guides, such as increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or generating leads.
• Experiment with Different Content: Test various types of content and formats to see what resonates best with your audience.
• Use Relevant Hashtags: Incorporate relevant hashtags in your Guide posts to increase discoverability.
• Encourage User-Generated Content: Encourage your audience to share their experiences related to your Guide, which can help boost visibility.
• Regularly Review and Optimize: Continuously analyze your performance metrics and make adjustments to improve your Guides over time.

While Instagram Insights may not offer granular data specifically for Guides, tracking the performance of individual posts and combining these metrics can provide valuable insights into the overall effectiveness of your Guides. By closely monitoring these metrics and making data-driven decisions, you can optimize your Guide strategy to achieve your desired outcomes.

FAQ

What is the difference between Instagram Guides and Highlights?

While both Instagram Guides and Highlights are ways to organize your content, they serve different purposes. Highlights are collections of Instagram Stories, while Guides are curated collections of posts. Guides offer more flexibility in terms of content selection and can include posts from other accounts.

Can I edit an Instagram Guide after it’s published?

Yes, you can edit an Instagram Guide after it’s published. To do this, go to your Guide, click on the three dots in the top right corner, and select “Edit Guide.”

Can I delete an Instagram Guide?

Yes, you can delete an Instagram Guide. To do this, go to your Guide, click on the three dots in the top right corner, and select “Delete Guide.”

How many posts can I include in an Instagram Guide?

There is no official limit to the number of posts you can include in an Instagram Guide. However, for optimal user experience, it’s recommended to keep your Guides concise and focused on a specific topic.

Can I promote my Instagram Guide?

Yes, you can promote your Instagram Guide by sharing it in your Instagram Stories, using relevant hashtags, and engaging with your audience. You can also collaborate with other accounts to cross-promote your Guides.

Conclusion

Instagram Guides offer a powerful tool for businesses to engage with their audience, enhance brand storytelling, and drive results. By understanding the different types of Guides, creating compelling content, and utilizing analytics, you can effectively leverage this feature to achieve your marketing goals. Remember to experiment, track your performance, and adapt your strategy based on insights to maximize the impact of your Instagram Guides.

By incorporating Instagram Guides into your overall social media strategy, you can elevate your brand’s presence on the platform and build stronger connections with your target audience.

Want to learn more about how you can utilise Instagram Guides for business? Get in touch with ProfileTree today to develop your digital strategy!