what-are-instagram-guides

In 2020, Instagram added an interesting feature called Instagram Guides. At first, this feature was limited to the health and wellness industry as it was initially introduced as a helpful tool to spread information during the pandemic. However, at the end of 2020, Instagram gave everyone the chance to experiment with the feature and create their own Guides.

Table of Contents

  1. What Are Instagram Guides?​
  2. How To Use Instagram Guides?
  3. How To Create Your First Guide?

What Are Instagram Guides?

Instagram Guides are a new way for creators and businesses to share long-form content with their audience. It is very similar to the way a blog article works – you collect relevant information into one section which makes it easier for users to read and discover helpful material within the same topic. It also encourages users to spend more time on the app compared to a typical post in the story or feed.

People can use Guides to curate and categorize posts from their own Instagram feed or use posts from other creators on the platform and display it in a new tab on their Instagram profile.

Related: Read next – Instagram 2020 Features & Updates

How To Use Instagram Guides?

Instagram users have three options to choose from when creating their guide – places, products, and posts.

Places

Places allow users to choose from a specific location listed on Instagram and curate a guide with up to five posts from the said location. Users can search for a specific location, use the location of their previous posts or choose a place they saved.

This option is an amazing opportunity for local businesses with a physical location to highlight user-generated content to increase the local reach of their business. Influencers can also benefit from this new feature – they use Places Guides to share their favorite restaurant, coffee shop, nail salon, or rank their favorite travel destinations.

Products

Product Guides let users add their favorite items in one place. In order to find the product they are looking for, users have to select the brand first before they can access the products. Instagram users have the ability to choose products from popular brands or directly from their Wishlist section.

Products Guide can be used by brands to promote their products. Users can choose to add guides based on products’ color, category, theme, etc. In addition, Product Guides can be used by brands to showcase one item with multiple photos. Influencers and creators can also benefit from this feature. They can use it to share their merch, share their wishlist or save their favorite products.

Posts

Posts is the last option of the three and it is my favorite one. Posts Guides allows users to curate information from their own Instagram content but also from the posts they have saved before (the ones from your Saved tab). They can choose up to 30 posts to add to a single guide.

Brands and personal profiles can use post guides to get creative and provide value to their audience. With post guides, Instagram users can curate educational material such as tips, industry secrets, and tutorials.

How To Create Your First Guide?

To create your first guide on the platform:

  1. Go to your Instagram profile
  2. Click the plus (+) button in the upper-right corner of your screen.
  3. From the ‘Create New’ pop up select ‘Guide’.
  4. Choose the type of guide you want to create – place, product, post.
  5. Once you have collected the posts you want, add a title and select a cover photo for your Guide
  6. Add a description & title to your posts
  7. You can share the guide right away or save it as a draft and share it at a later time. 

Instagram Guides is still a very new feature that provides a new way for users to curate and share meaningful information and change the way we consume content on Instagram. But we will have to wait and see how many people will actually discover and enjoy the feature.

Have you tried Instagram Guides?

If you want to learn EVERYTHING about Instagram, make sure to check out my Instagram Guide. I have recently updated it for 2021 and added a bunch of new topics and relevant tips.

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