Being Successful on Instagram: Here is What Instagram Recommends for Guides

If you want your business to succeed on Instagram, it’s important to understand the different features of the platform. The better you understand how Instagram works, the more you can use the site to make your business stand out from the pack. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Instagram Guides.

Instagram launched Guides in May 2020 as a way for users to 'easily find reliable information and inspiration.' For businesses, guides are a great way to share recommendations and tips in a format that is easy to digest and to find, and that also stands out from other types of posts.

'When viewing a Guide, you can see posts and videos that the creator has curated, paired with helpful tips and advice. If you want to learn more about a specific post, you can tap on the image or video to view the original Instagram post.' – Instagram

Guides are different from Stories or feed posts in that they allow you to put together several posts and add commentary. It’s a clever way to streamline information. For instance, you could group together shopping recommendations for the holidays as a Guide. Or, you could create a helpful how-to-guide or tutorial for your followers.

Guides appear under a separate tab on your profile, which also makes it easier for followers to find in-depth information on a specific topic. So, if you want to share curated, scrollable content with your followers, Instagram Guides is the perfect outlet.

In this blog post, we will look at how you can use Guides on Instagram and go over Instagram’s recommendations for getting the most out of the format.

How brands can use Guides on Instagram

Instagram Guides are the perfect format for long-term content. Unlike Stories that disappear after 24 hours, or feed posts that get pushed to the bottom of your feed over time, Guides can always be found easily under the 'Guides' tab right above your feed. So, Guides are perfect for any information you want your followers to be able to find quickly.

Guides can also help you to re-direct users to older posts. If users tap on an individual post in your guide they will be directed to the original post. So, by simply reposting older content in a new guide, you can increase the reach and engagement of these posts, since more users will get the chance to interact with them.

Instagram users also enjoy looking at guides since they present more in-depth information in a visually appealing way. It makes it easy to pick up important information on the go and without having to leave the app.

Instagram Guides therefore not only offer a great way for your brand to revive old content and save time and effort but also help provide your followers with useful content.

Getting started with Instagram Guides

Creating a Guide is fairly easy and only requires a few steps.

To create your first Guide, tap the plus icon on your profile page and select 'Guide.'

You can now choose to create a Guide for 'Places', 'Products', or 'Posts'. 'Places' is ideal for travel-related content, 'Products' lets you create a shopping guide, and 'Posts' allows you to curate and present content you’ve already shared in a new way.

Now you can select different entries for your Guide and preview everything before you publish it.

Once you have posted your Guide, it will appear under the 'Guides' tab on your profile.

It is also possible to edit Guides after you have posted them or delete individual entries, which is helpful for keeping your them up to date.

Instagram’s recommendations for getting the most out of Guides

Instagram has put together several tips for businesses that can help you improve the quality of your Guides and increase engagement.

Consider your followers’ needs

While Guides can be a useful tool for your brand, it’s important to make sure each one offers real value to your followers. Don’t create a Guide just for the sake of posting. Instead, Instagram recommends thinking about your customers’ needs before you start.

What information would genuinely help them? Do your customers share common problems they need support with, or do they frequently ask similar questions about your products? The more useful your Guides are to your audience, the more likely people are to read them.

Be inspirational

Instagram users look at Guides to find inspiration. Therefore, Instagram stresses the importance of making them a source of inspiration for your community.

Think about creating a guide around current shopping trends, exciting travel destinations, or an important current social issue you care about.

Create product Guides

Instagram also recommends creating Guides for your products, as these can be featured in Instagram Shop. There, users can browse your product guides and shop the featured items at the same time. This makes Guides a great way to inspire purchases while also driving sales for your brand.

Share your Guides

When you create a new Guide, make sure to share it with your followers. Instagram recommends sharing Guides either via direct messages (DMs) or through Stories.

Sending a Guide via DM can be effective if it’s something users specifically requested or signed up for. However, avoid sharing every new Guide this way, as it can quickly feel intrusive or pushy.

If your goal is simply to raise awareness of a newly published Guide, sharing it in your Stories is usually the better option. Instagram Stories are ideal for announcements and allow you to reach more followers without cluttering their inboxes.

Schedule your stories

When cross-posting your content on Instagram, be very mindful of your timing. Depending on your marketing strategy and the time of day your followers are online, it might make sense to publish your Guide at one time and the related story at a different time.

A clever hack for posting Guides in your Stories at the perfect time is to schedule them in advance. With Storrito, you can upload, edit, and schedule Instagram Stories in just a few clicks. Storrito is a free web tool that you can use on any device, from any location. Storrito is a collaborative tool as well, so you can even work on Story posts together with other users. Storrito makes planning your content so much easier and a lot more convenient. Try it out now!