Instagram Story Highlights are a wildly popular Instagram tool. Over 500 million accounts take advantage of them daily.
Nextdoor’s cheerful and useful Highlights are a great example!
And it’s easy to see why! Story Highlights offer an enjoyable way to make your Instagram presence more engaging, breathing new life into some of your best Story content.
This article will explore how to leverage Instagram Highlights to market your business and connect with customers. We’ll start by understanding this feature and its usage, then delve into nine ways it can benefit your business.
Table of Contents
- What are Instagram Highlights?
- How to create and add Instagram Highlights
- 9 ways to use Instagram Highlights
- Instagram Highlights FAQs
What are Instagram Highlights?
Instagram Highlights, or Instagram Story Highlights, are curated selections of images, videos, and content previously shared on your Instagram Story. These collections, often called “albums,” are typically organized by themes.
Unlike ephemeral Instagram Stories, Highlights remain on your profile indefinitely, allowing you to adjust content at any time. They’re positioned just below your bio and above your regular feed.
Real Estate Pro Shea Hicks knows how to use Highlight covers for branding.
Instagram Story Highlights are a fantastic way to connect with new clients. Let’s keep this momentum going with 30 tips to promote your business!
How to create and add Instagram Highlights
Before sharing incredible content via Highlights, you need to know how to make them! Firstly, ensure Instagram’s auto-archiving is enabled. This automatically saves every Story you post to the cloud, preventing content loss. With this feature on, you can share and repost content even after it vanishes from your Stories. To find this setting:
1. Go to your Instagram account settings
2. Click the “Story” button
3. Ensure “Save to Archive” is toggled on
4. Create an Instagram Highlight
Once “Save to Archive” is enabled, you can create a Highlight! From your profile, tap the “Story Highlights” button below your username and bio.
Tap “New” and choose the Stories for your Highlight.
5. Add a cover and title
Lastly, select a cover image and title for your Highlight.
Tap “Done” or “Add” – you’re all set!
9 ways to use Instagram Highlights to grow your business
Simply lumping all your Instagram Stories into a single Highlight isn’t appealing and won’t encourage interaction. This feature shines with multiple highlights showcasing the different kinds of Stories you create. Here are nine ideas to engage your followers and customers:
1. Showcase your products
Highlighting your products or services is a fantastic way to promote your business and engage customers.
Instagram reports that 75% of users take an action, such as visiting websites or making purchases, after seeing ads on their platform. Regardless of past interactions with your business, active Instagram users browsing your profile might be more enticed by a dedicated “Products” highlight than scrolling through your entire feed.
This highlight becomes a quick and easy way for them to find information, and you can direct them to your website, newsletter signup, or ideally, to make a purchase directly through Instagram. Tagging products in your highlights using Instagram Stories stickers (interactive elements for engagement) allows for creative and less sales-y showcasing.
Let’s see how Letterfolk, a home decor company selling unique paper goods and gifts, showcases their products.
Letterfolk organizes their Story Highlights to display various products like tile mats, calendars, ABC prints, and more. This helps users find specific information, and it’s a great approach for separate highlights focused on seasonal collections, new releases, promotions, and more. Depending on the scale of your offerings, you might consolidate all product-related Stories into one album.
Using the “See More” link in these Stories is a great way to incorporate a CTA, engaging followers and leading them to your website for more information.
Letterfolk uses the “See More” link on their “New” Highlight.
2. Promote events
Social media is undeniably effective for event promotion and brand building, as users actively seek information there. Utilize Stories to showcase past events, promote upcoming ones, and generate buzz. This allows followers to experience your events vicariously, boosting interest in future ones!
Boston Business Women has a highlight dedicated to showcasing events they’ve organized.
If your business hosts events, workshops, or training (virtual or in-person), a dedicated Highlight for event promotion is a strategic, fun, and creative way to showcase your brand personality while increasing awareness.
Don’t forget to include your holiday events too!
3. Show what you’ve been up to
Transparency is key in business, and offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your operations makes for a compelling Highlight.
Chobani highlights creative ways to reuse their containers.
Such Stories humanize your brand by letting followers connect with the people and initiatives within your company.
Here are some ideas:
- Offer sneak peeks of new products.
- Share glimpses of company meetings through photos, videos, or screenshots.
- Showcase recent employee work locations.
4. Interact with customers using interactive polls
Interactive polls in your Stories not only foster customer engagement but also facilitate collaboration. They provide valuable audience insights, pain points, and opportunities for fun, diverse interactions with your brand.
Furthermore, poll results can inform and refine your marketing and advertising strategies. A Highlight featuring all your past polls demonstrates to followers that their opinions and feedback are valued.
5. Answer your followers’ questions
A Highlight dedicated to answering common questions is another excellent interactive strategy.
Remote Year’s Q&A Instagram Story Highlight.
Start with FAQs about business hours, new offerings, features, or location. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and consider what they’d want to know when exploring your Q&A. A restaurant might ask, “What dish would you like to see on our menu?” An agency could ask, “What’s your favorite social ad we’ve created for you?” A realtor could inquire, “Is proximity to public transport important to you?” Users can also provide answers instead of just asking questions.
6. Feature product tutorials
An album showcasing tips and tutorials for using your products or services establishes credibility and builds trust. Include actual customer testimonials demonstrating product ease of use.
Tagwalk has a dedicated “How to Guides” Highlight.
This offers a deeper dive into product functionality, giving potential customers valuable insights before they commit to a purchase, especially useful for higher-priced items or lesser-known brands.
7. Highlight your customer testimonials
Sharing customer reviews is crucial, so why not showcase reviews from satisfied customers? A dedicated Highlight for customer experiences, using screenshots or testimonials, effectively communicates customer satisfaction. These testimonials highlight the benefits customers have gained from your offerings.
Supply House boasts a highlight showcasing their rave reviews.
Leverage the “See More” button here to direct followers to purchase the praised product.
Always request permission before featuring customers on your profile. Ideally, your existing relationship should foster trust and willingness.
8. Share sales and discounts
Discounts and giveaways are a surefire way to boost sales and engagement on Instagram. Offering these promotions increases brand visibility, potentially leading to higher sales, lead generation, and increased website traffic.
A dedicated Highlight for current sales, discounts, and promotions is a strategic move. These naturally attract prospects, encouraging them to engage with your Story and ultimately make a purchase.
Sales promotions can significantly boost your business. Download this guide for 15 incredibly effective sales promotion examples to win more customers.
9. Start a series
Beyond promoting products, events, and discounts, consider a Highlight dedicated to fun, relatable content. This could relate to your company’s offerings, mission, or even broader themes unrelated to your specific industry.
Califa Farms has a “Smile” Story Highlight dedicated to sharing daily doses of happiness.
Think motivational quotes (business-related or general), jumping on trending topics, or showcasing your own content like blogs or video series.
Curds & Co. features their website blog in a dedicated Story Highlight.
You can also share general motivational or humorous quotes (humor is a powerful engagement tool).
Consistency is key! Post regularly for the duration of your campaign or with every new blog/video release to keep your audience coming back for more.
Instagram Highlights frequently asked questions
Let’s address some common queries about Instagram Story Highlights.
1. Can someone see if I view their Instagram Story Highlight?
Yes, but only for the first 48 hours after the Story was initially posted.
2. How do Instagram Story Highlights work?
To create one, go to your profile, tap “Story highlights," and choose a Story to add. To view a Highlight, visit an account’s profile and click on one of the Story Highlight icons.
3. What is the difference between a Story and a Story Highlight on Instagram?
A Story appears at the top of an Instagram user’s feed and lasts for 24 hours. A Story Highlight, however, is a Story added to a profile and remains visible until manually removed by the account owner.
4. Can I add an Instagram Highlight without sharing it as a Story first?
There’s a workaround. Make your account private, block all users from seeing your Stories in the settings, post your Story, and add it to your Highlights. After 24 hours, once the Story disappears, revert your account to its previous privacy settings.
Put these Instagram Highlight tips into practice today!
Social media is constantly evolving, and Instagram, with its ever-expanding features, is no exception. Hopefully, this article has sparked ideas for leveraging Story Highlights to elevate your business’s interactions with followers. If you’re looking to grow, experimenting with this unique feature is a great place to start!
To recap, here are nine ways to utilize your Instagram Highlights:
- Showcase your products
- Promote events
- Show what you’ve been up to
- Interact with customers using interactive polls
- Answer your followers’ questions
- Feature product tutorials
- Highlight your customers testimonials
- Share sales and discounts
- Start a series