Instagram Guides: what are they and how do I use them?

Instagram’s been busy. Hot off the back of introducing Reels earlier this year, we now have Instagram Guides.

Guides are “a way to more easily discover recommendations, tips and other content from your favorite creators, public figures, organizations and publishers on Instagram.”

We’ve answered a few questions below, but our main tip is not to forget Instagram is very good at keeping people in the app. It offers a great way to grow your audience, but don’t forget you don’t own that audience. They can be taken away from you as quickly as they’re given through changes to the algorithm, or if some of your content is deemed offensive. So, you need to have a strategy to get people onto your blog and into your newsletter.

What are Instagram Guides?

Instagram Guides are curated, scrollable content. They’re essentially mini blogs which allow you to collect your favourite images – of products or destinations for example – and showcase these in a longer-form post.

There are three types of Guide available:

1. Places – these can be within one city or around the world
2. Products – either your own or someone else’s products, but they must be shoppable on Instagram
3. Posts – recommend and collate posts you’ve created or saved. This is a great way to bring popular previous posts back to life

When will I have access to Instagram Guides? 

Access to Instagram Guides began with wellness brands and creators, to back the platform’s aim of supporting users through the Coronavirus pandemic.

They’re now being rolled out to everyone, and you should be able to use the feature very soon.

Where do I find Instagram Guides in the app?

Instagram Guides can be found on a user’s profile, at the top of their gallery. The icon appears along with Gallery, Reels, IGTV, Products, and Tagged Posts.

Not all users have access yet, but the platform aims to roll them out to everyone as soon as possible.

How do I create an Instagram Guide?

To create an Instagram Guide, just follow the steps below:

(Please note – if you don’t have access yet you won’t be able to create them, but it won’t be long until the feature’s rolled out to all users.)

1. Tap the plus button at the top right of your profile
2. Under ‘Create New’ select ‘Guide’
3. Choose the type of Guide you want to use (Places, Products or Posts)

How do I create an Instagram Places Guide?

Begin with the three steps above, making sure you select ‘Places’ and then:

1. Make sure location is allowed for Instagram
2. Choose the location you’re recommending
3. Select the image you want to use, then ‘Next’. The first image you select will become the Guide’s cover photo
4. Create a title and description (we recommend 1-2 sentences per description)
5. Click ‘Add Place’ to add another
6. Tap ‘Next’ to see how your Instagram Guide will look
7. Tap ‘Share’ when you’re happy
8. The Guide will appear above your gallery, along with Reels, IGTV, Products and Tagged

Instagram Guides for Travel Brands

You can add your content to mini country guides, so users don’t need to scroll through your posts looking for where they’re going.

How do I create an Instagram Products Guide?

Begin with the three steps above, making sure you select ‘Products’ and then:

1. Search for the Product you want to add (this can be any Product on Instagram, it doesn’t need to be your own)
2. Select the image you want to use, then ‘Next’. The first image you select will become the Guide’s cover photo
3. Create a title and description (we recommend 1-2 sentences per description)
4. Click ‘Add Product’ to add another
5. Tap ‘Next’ to see how your Instagram Guide will look
6. Tap ‘Share’ when you’re happy
7. The Guide will appear above your gallery, along with Reels, IGTV, Products and Tagged

Instagram Guides for Brands with Products

Curate all of your favourite products in one simple post and promote people buying your items as a bundle. You can also show the difference between different products, and which one’s best for your customer.

How do I create an Instagram Posts Guide?

Begin with the three steps above, making sure you select ‘Posts’ and then:

1. Choose the image you want to add (this can be one of your own images, or it can be one from your Saved posts)
2. Select the image you want to use, then ‘Next’. The first image you select will become the Guide’s cover photo
3. Create a title and description (we recommend 1-2 sentences per description)
4. Click ‘Add Posts’ to add another
5. Tap ‘Next’ to see how your Instagram Guide will look
6. Tap ‘Share’ when you’re happy
7. The Guide will appear above your gallery, along with Reels, IGTV, Products and Tagged

Instagram Guides for Content Creators

Instagram Posts Guides are a great way to collect all of your best posts. They can revive old posts which have stopped getting attention, create links between different posts which users may have missed and encourage people to engage with your writing instead of just the images you create.

 

What do you think? Will you be using Instagram Guides? Have we missed any important uses for Instagram Guides?