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Instagram consistently launches new features, and keeping up with all of them might seem daunting. The Instagram Guide feature is one of the newest features, and it’s perfect for creatives and entrepreneurs.
Instagram Guides are basically a helpful new way to cultivate and share tips & recommendations. It’s easy to use and lets you create pieces of snackable content for your audience. It’s always a good idea to try out Instagram’s new features, and this feature might be super beneficial for your business!
Table of Contents
What Is The Instagram Guide Feature?
The Instagram Guide feature lets you cultivate content, tips, and recommendations for your audience on Instagram. Unlike Instagram’s other features, the basic goal is to curate content instead of creating new photos or videos.
If you create an Instagram Guide, you’re basically making a miniature resource with various pieces of content centered around one main topic. These Guides take a totally different format than posts or stories. Instead, they look like articles that your audience can scroll through.
Originally, the Instagram Guide feature was rolled out to a limited number of content creators. But now, everyone has access to this feature across various niches and industries!
You can cultivate educational content, products, tips, and more.
With the Instagram Guide feature, your audience can find pieces of content around one topic all in one place. This is super helpful if you consistently post recommendations—users no longer have to scroll through all of your old posts for individual recommendations or tips.
Related: 9 Creative Instagram Story Ideas To Boost Engagement and Build Community
Types of Instagram Guides You Can Create
There are actually three types of Instagram Guides you can create in the app. Let’s talk about those three types. But first, just note that you can pull content from your own account or other accounts!
- Posts Guides: This type of Guide features your own posts or posts you’ve saved from other profiles. If you’re considering creating a post guide, start saving posts you like from other users with the little bookmark icon on each post. You can include anywhere from 1-30 posts in a single post guide, so it’s a great opportunity to round up lots of content!
- Products Guides: For those of you with the Instagram Shop feature, you’ll be able to create this type. You can recommend products around specific themes or ideas. Pull product posts from your own shop or other shops you follow.
- Places Guides: Great this type of Instagram Guide with recommendations tailored to a specific location. If you’re traveling or creating lifestyle content, this is a great way to recommend things to your followers.
How To Create An Instagram Guide
The Instagram Guide feature is pretty easy and user-friendly! It’s really intuitive and simple to create these guides (here’s a full tutorial).
First, tap the “plus” icon in the upper-right corner of your screen like you normally would when creating a post or Reel. Under the list of options, click the last one, Guide (make sure your account is up-to-date).
Then, you’ll be able to choose one of the three Guide types we discussed above. All you have to do then is add content to your Guide and get ready to share.
How To Make The Most Of The Instagram Guide Feature
You can actually maximize your use of the Instagram Guide feature by sharing your guides! That’s right, these new Guides are totally shareable.
Share your Guides to your stories, via DM, or even link to them on other platforms. Even better, your audience will be able to share your Guides to their own stories or with friends. This is all amazing for your reach and engagement!
Since Instagram Guides are easy to create and powerful content pieces, they’re worth trying out in your business. No matter your niche, there are creative ways you can take advantage of Guides to connect with your audience and provide value.
Ideas To Use The Instagram Guide Feature
Now that you know what the Instagram Guide feature is and why you should use it, let’s think of some ideas for using it.
1. Provide Shoutouts for Other Businesses or Creators
You can create a guide that focuses on bringing other business owners or creatives into the spotlight. This is a great way to show your audience who you are and start building a genuine online community.
But in terms of marketing, this strategy has even more benefits.
Each account you feature in your Guide has the opportunity to share your content. That means you’ll be exposed to even more potential followers and customers! It’s a win-win.
2. Educate Your Audience About Something In Your Niche
First, create some educational graphic posts. The easiest way to do this is with branded templates in Canva!
Once you’ve created these posts, you can round them up into a Guide. This is the perfect educational, shareable content that genuinely serves your audience.
3. Create Gift Guides
If you’re a product-based business, the Instagram Guide feature offers you the perfect chance to showcase your best products. You can create gift guides around certain holidays or even themes, like “Moms” or “BFFs.”
This is another chance to pull in other business owners, as well. If you showcase other products in a slightly different niche, you’ll increase the chance of that brand sharing your content!
Taking on another type of content might seem overwhelming. But really, the Instagram Guide feature is easy to use and has so many benefits for your audience. Try this feature out and see how it goes in your business!
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