With over one billion active users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. This number makes Instagram a valuable platform for businesses looking to expand their online presence. Instagram Guides, introduced in late 2020, offer a new way for businesses to share content and connect with their audience. Instagram Guides are collections of curated posts, photos, and videos that are grouped together around a specific theme or topic. These guides can be created by anyone, including businesses, and offer a new way to present content in a more organized and visually appealing format.
Instagram Guides have quickly become a popular tool for marketers to promote their products and services. By curating content around a specific topic or theme, businesses can provide value to their audience by showcasing their expertise and offering valuable insights. Creating Instagram Guides enables businesses to do more than just build brand awareness and establish authority in the industry; it also allows them to foster a deeper connection with their audience. These guides provide an immersive experience that encourages the audience to spend more time on the business's profile and engage more actively with its content.
In this guide, we will explore how to use Instagram Guides for marketing and provide tips and tricks for creating effective guides that resonate with your audience. We will also show you how to use Strikingly website builder to create a landing page that showcases your Instagram Guides and helps to drive traffic to your website.
What are Instagram Guides?
Instagram Guides are a versatile tool that allows users to share information and tell stories in a more curated way than traditional Instagram posts. Guides are essentially a collection of posts that follow a specific theme, such as "Top 10 Best Coffee Shops in New York City" or "How to Plan a Budget-Friendly Vacation." Each guide can include up to 30 posts, which can be a combination of photos and videos.
Types of Instagram Guides
Instagram Guides are a powerful tool for businesses and influencers looking to elevate their social media presence and connect with their audience in a meaningful way. There are three main types of Instagram Guides:
1. Places Guides
These guides are location-based and are typically used to showcase travel destinations, local businesses, or tourist attractions. Places guides can include posts from the user's own profile as well as those from other users who have tagged the location.
2. Product Guides
Product guides are designed to showcase a specific product or collection of products. These guides can include posts from the user's own profile as well as those from other users who have tagged the product.
3. Topic Guides
Topic guides are created around a specific theme or topic, such as mental health, fashion, or food. These guides can include posts from the user's own profile as well as those from other users who have used relevant hashtags.
Each of these guide types provides a unique way to share and organize content on Instagram. These types of content can showcase a business’s products or services, establish themselves as experts in their industry, and engage with their audience on a deeper level.
Benefits of using Instagram Guides for marketing and business
- Showcasing Products and Services
Instagram Guides can be used to showcase a business's products and services in a visually appealing and engaging way to highlight their best-selling products or showcase new product launches.
- Building Brand Awareness
Instagram Guides can help businesses build brand awareness by creating curated collections of posts that align with their brand values and messaging. In this way, businesses can position themselves as thought leaders in their industry and increase their reach on the platform.
- Driving Traffic to Websites
Instagram Guides can be used to drive traffic to a business's website or online store and make it easy for followers to explore their products and services.
- Showcasing User-Generated Content
Instagram Guides can be used to showcase user-generated content (UGC) related to a business's brand or product and foster a sense of community and engagement with their followers.
- Telling Brand Stories
Instagram Guides can be used to tell brand stories and create a narrative around a business's products or services to capture the attention of their followers and create a deeper connection with their audience.
- Highlighting Influencers and Partnerships
Instagram Guides can be used to highlight collaborations with influencers or partnerships with other businesses and increase their exposure and leverage the influence of their partners to reach new audiences.
- Providing Educational Resources
Instagram Guides can be used to provide educational resources related to a business's industry or product so they can position themselves as experts in their field and establish themselves as a go-to resource for their followers.
- Fostering Engagement and Interactivity
Instagram Guides can be used to foster engagement and interactivity with followers while subtly asking for feedback or encouraging followers to participate.
- Repurposing Old Content
Instagram Guides can be used to repurpose old content that might have been buried in a business's feed to breathe new life into old content and make it easily accessible to their followers.
- Showcasing Behind-the-Scenes Content
Instagram Guides can be used to showcase behind-the-scenes content related to a business's products or services and create a sense of transparency and authenticity that can help to build trust with their audience.
How to Use Instagram Guides for Marketing
Instagram Guides have become a popular tool for marketers to reach their target audience and showcase their products and services. One of the primary ways that Instagram Guides can be used for marketing is by showcasing products in a curated way. Brands can use Guides to showcase their latest product offerings, create a visual product guide, or even highlight their bestsellers. This can help increase product visibility, generate interest and ultimately lead to sales.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use Instagram Guides:
Step 1: Open the Instagram app and tap on the "+" icon in the top right corner of the screen.
Step 2: Select "Guide" from the options presented.
Step 3: Choose the type of guide you want to create (Places, Products, or Posts).
Step 4: Select the posts you want to include in your guide. You can choose posts from your own profile or from other users.
Step 5: Add a title and description to your guide. This will help your audience understand the theme of your guide.
Step 6: Add a cover image to your guide. This will be the main image that appears on your profile and in search results.
Step 7: Publish your guide. Once you've completed all the steps, you can publish your guide to your profile.
Step 8: Share your guide. You can share your guide on your Instagram Story or in a direct message to your followers.
Step 9: Monitor your guide's performance. You can track the performance of your guide by monitoring the number of views, likes, and shares.
Overall, Instagram Guides offer a creative way for brands to connect with their audience and promote their products and services. By utilizing this feature, brands can increase engagement, build brand awareness and ultimately drive sales.
How to Create an Instagram Guide
While creating an Instagram Guide is a straightforward process, there are some best practices to keep in mind to ensure that your guide is effective and engaging. Here are some tips on how to create an Instagram Guide:
1. Choose a relevant topic
The first step in creating an effective Instagram Guide is to choose a relevant topic that resonates with your audience. Consider what your audience is interested in and what type of content they engage with the most.
2. Choose a format
Instagram Guides can be created in three formats: Places, Products, and Posts. Choose the format that best suits the topic of your guide.
3. Curate your content
Once you have chosen your topic and format, it's time to curate your content. Select high-quality photos and videos that are relevant to your topic and that will capture your audience's attention.
4. Write a compelling title and description
Your title and description are crucial in attracting your audience to your guide. Make sure your title is catchy and accurately reflects the content of your guide. Write a description that provides a clear overview of what your guide is about and the value it provides.
5. Organize your content
Organize your content in a logical and visually appealing way. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break up your content and make it easy to read.
6. Promote your guide
Once you have published your guide, promote it on your other social media channels, website, or blog to reach a wider audience.
By following these tips, you can create a compelling Instagram Guide that engages your audience and promotes your brand.
Tips and Tricks for Creating Effective Instagram Guides
Creating effective Instagram Guides require careful planning and execution. Some tips and tricks for creating effective Instagram Guides include:
- Define your audience
Understanding your target audience is key to creating effective Instagram Guides. You should create guides that are relevant and interesting to your audience, and that will engage them with your content.
- Use high-quality images and videos
High-quality visuals are important for creating engaging Instagram Guides. Use images and videos that showcase your products or services in the best light, and that are visually appealing to your audience.
- Write engaging and informative descriptions
Your Instagram Guide descriptions should be engaging and informative, providing context for your content and helping your audience understand the purpose of your guide.
- Incorporate hashtags and keywords
Hashtags and keywords are important for increasing the visibility of your Instagram Guides. Use relevant hashtags and keywords that are related to your business and target audience to make your guides more discoverable.
- Share your guides on other social media platforms
Sharing your Instagram Guides on other social media platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, can help increase visibility and reach a wider audience. This can help you connect with new followers and potential customers.
Using Strikingly to Create a Landing Page for Your Instagram Guides
A landing page is a web page designed specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign. It's a standalone page created with the goal of converting visitors into customers or leads. By using Strikingly to create a landing page for your Instagram Guides for your business, you can effectively showcase your content and promote your business.
Strikingly offers a wide range of customizable templates that are optimized for different types of businesses and industries. You can choose a template that fits your brand and customize it to your liking, by adding your own colors, images, and fonts. Additionally, Strikingly offers drag-and-drop editing, making it easy to add your Instagram Guides to the page and arrange them in a visually appealing way.
One of the advantages of using Strikingly to create a landing page for your Instagram Guides is that you can easily track and analyze the performance of your page. Strikingly offers built-in analytics tools that allow you to track traffic, engagement, and conversion rates. By analyzing this data, you can gain valuable insights into how your Instagram Guides are performing and make adjustments to improve their effectiveness.
Moreover, Strikingly offers various features that can help you optimize your landing page for better user experience and SEO. For example, you can enable lazy loading, which ensures that images only load when they are visible on the user's screen. Additionally, you can enable compression, which reduces the size of files and helps pages load faster.
Using Strikingly to create a landing page for your Instagram Guides is a simple and effective way to showcase your content and promote your business. With its customizable templates, drag-and-drop editing, and built-in analytics, Strikingly is a powerful tool that can help you increase visibility, engagement, and conversion rates.
Conclusion
Instagram Guides offer a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with their audience and showcase their products and services in an engaging and informative way. By following the tips and tricks outlined in this guide, you can create effective Instagram Guides that resonate with your audience and build brand loyalty. Remember to define your audience, use high-quality visuals and descriptions, incorporate relevant hashtags and keywords, and share your guides on other social media platforms to increase visibility.
Finally, by using Strikingly to create a landing page for your Instagram Guides, you can maximize the impact of your content and drive traffic to your website. With these strategies in place, you can take your Instagram marketing to the next level and achieve greater success online.
