Instagram 101: Stories Highlights

We all know the story…Instagram copied Snapchat with their Stories feature but we also know that Instagram are just doing it so much better. In late 2017, Instagram introduced another feature to the platform that is one of the reasons it continues to eclipse the little white ghost of Snapchat. Welcome, Instagram Stories Highlights.

“Instagram Stories has become a key part of how businesses stand out and inspire action on Instagram – but there hasn’t been an easy way of keeping them around for more than 24 hours. Now your business can more fully express itself by grouping stories that it’s shared into highlights and featuring them on its profile.” - Instagram

You will find Highlights directly underneath your bio on Instagram

How do I create a Highlight?

You’ll be happy to hear that Highlights are nice and simple to create but we’ll run through it for you in 7 easy steps. Got your Instagram at the ready? Let’s go…

Step 1: Tap the profile button in the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Step 2: Tap the + button to create a new Story Highlight.

Step 3: Scroll through your archive of past Stories posts and tap the circle in the bottom-right corner of each post you wish to add to the Highlight.

Step 4: When you’re done selecting posts, tap ‘Next’.

Step 5: Type a name for your Highlight.

Step 6: Tap ‘Edit Cover’ to change the Highlight’s cover image.

Step 7: Tap ‘Add’ to save the Highlight to your profile.

See? It’s super easy!

Why should I use Highlights?

You might be asking yourself, “what’s the point in keeping my Stories?” and it’s a valid question but let us tell you why you should be tapping into this underused feature…

• Show all sides of your business

• One stop shop for potential followers/customers

• Allows unlimited links in your bio

• Differentiate yourself from the crowd

• Grow your other social channels

Instagram Highlights in Practice

Glossier

New York based beauty and skincare brand, Glossier, make lovely use of Instagram Highlights. From product tutorials to showcasing UGC, they are providing their audience with useful content they can go back to time and time again. Saved to their profile, you will see a number of Highlights all with different themes/purposes. They make their following feel valued by using polls to let the audience decide which product to create a tutorial on next, share makeup tips, announce new products such as their perfume Glossier You can use the swipe-up feature to share downloadable phone wallpapers and take part in fun quizzes.

Mashable

The digital media news company use Instagram Highlights in a variety of different ways. They cover a lot of events in their Highlights such as SXSW, Toy Fair 2018 and SF Motors. These events may be run by them or just attended by them, but they are always of great interest to their audience. As Stories only last for 24 hours, the Instagram Highlights feature is perfect for giving extra life to these one-off events – their following can experience the event even if it was a few days ago. To position themselves as thought leaders, they also have a Tech Tuesday Instagram Highlight where they talk through the latest in tech. This can be added to as news breaks which keeps the Highlight relevant.

Airbnb

Airbnb haven’t used Instagram Highlights as much as the previous two examples but in this case, it’s quality over quantity. They tap into the Travel Tuesday theme using #TravelTuesday every week so that Highlight is constantly updated, showcasing the different locations you can stay in an Airbnb. Within this Highlight, they make nice use of ‘Tap to Reveal’ which encourages their following to tap their screen to reveal the secret location. Airbnb also like to share their news via Instagram Stories and then save this to a Highlight. This is very handy as it is pinned to your profile for as long as you like!

Has this inspired you to use Instagram Highlights? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Hydrogen to make those dreams come true.