Instagram Guides is one of the latest features to come to the popular platform in 2020. Guides allow brands to create easy-to-digest curated content their audience can quickly consume and share. Here’s everything you need to know about Instagram Guides, from creating them to adding them in your content strategy.
What are Instagram Guides?
Instagram Guides are a collection of posts about a specific topic or theme; kind of like a mix between Instagram carousels and blog posts. Instagram originally introduced Guides in May 2020 to a select group of health and wellness creators to provide resources for people during the COVID-19 pandemic. After gaining popularity, Instagram has now made this feature available to all users.
There are currently three categories to choose from:
- Places: Highlight locations and popular attractions in your area.
- Products: Select product listings from popular Instagram Shops.
- Posts: Showcase posts from your Instagram page or choose from your saved collection.
Where do you find Instagram Guides?
Guides can be found on a creator’s profile page on the feed tab. Any Guides the creator has made can be found under this tab, similar to the IGTV tab. Users can share Guides through Stories and direct messages (DMs) to others by tapping the paper plane icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. Guides can also be seen on the Instagram Explore Page.
How to Create an Instagram Guide
Guides can be created with just a few clicks.
Step 1: From your Instagram profile, tap on the + icon in the upper-right corner and select Guide from the menu.
Step 2: Choose the type of Guide you want to create and select your content. The category you choose will determine the types of content you can select for your Guide.
Post: Choose from a combination of your own posts, saved, or even public posts.
Places: Select a place from the location list, like a city, landmark, or storefront, and choose from publicly shared photos tagged with that location.
Products: Choose any products for sale that are currently listed in a seller’s Instagram shop.
Step 4: Once you’ve selected your content you can add the details. Start with a title (this is required) and a short description. Then you can edit each individual post. Since captions from the original post are not included, you will need to add a title and short description to provide context. You can add more posts by tapping on the + Add Posts option at the bottom of the screen. You can also reorder or remove posts by tapping the three-dot icon on the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 5: You are ready to publish your Guide! Select next in the lower right corner to either save as a draft for later or share your masterpiece.
How Builders Can use Instagram Guides
Instagram Guides is a great way to blend your long-form website content, like blog posts, with the quickness of an Instagram post. But how can builders use them to their advantage?
Builders can create a Guide for new communities to showcase their homes and highlight the experience of living in that neighborhood. Start by sharing the model homes and features, then share community amenities, and local attractions in the surrounding areas.
No new communities? No problem. Create a Guide of style ideas that highlight popular design trends. Home offices have exploded in popularity so a Guide focused on the home office spaces available in your homes and design inspiration is a great way to capitalize on that trend.
Guides are great for bringing additional attention to your blog posts. If you’ve been including blog posts in your Instagram strategy (which you should), you can create a roundup of all your blog posts surrounding a specific topic, like a first-time homebuyer guide or home care advice.
Builders can also use Guides to connect and engage with their audience as well. Create a FAQ Guide focused on answering the most common questions sales associates receive. Or highlight community and volunteer activities the company regularly engages in.
Instagram Guides are going to change how you market on Instagram and improve the way you deliver resources to your audience. This new feature is a great avenue for home builders to create quick and useful content to reach a wide audience. You’ll definitely impress your followers and future buyers with all the creative Guides you can make.
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