While Instagram Guides are no longer directly available on the platform as of June 2023, understanding how they worked and the principles behind content curation remains valuable for boosting engagement on Instagram. This guide will provide you with a deep dive into how Instagram Guides functioned, the different types, and how you can apply the concepts to create engaging content in other formats.
Many creators spend a significant amount of time crafting their Instagram posts, strategizing, drafting, designing, and editing content. It can be frustrating when posts don’t perform as well as expected. Guides offered a way to maximize the impact of your posts and unlock their full engagement potential.
Instagram Guides, when available, were collections of published posts featured on your Instagram profile. They provided a way to offer valuable content and gain more likes, comments, and shares long after you initially created your post.
In 2020, Instagram introduced Guides as a way to easily discover recommendations, tips, and other content from your favorite creators, public figures, organizations, and publishers.
Similar to Stories Highlights, Guides let you repurpose and curate content from your brand, your partners, and your community. However, instead of using Stories, Guides used published posts.
Let’s explore the different types of Guides and how you can apply these concepts to drive fresh engagement with existing content.
Understanding the Different Types of Guides (and How to Apply the Concepts Today)
There were three main types of Instagram Guides: post, product, and place Guides. Each type breathed new life into existing posts and helped you reach people in new ways.
Here’s a breakdown of each Guide type and how you can adapt these approaches for current Instagram content formats:
1. Post Guides: Curating Content Around Themes
Post Guides allowed you to curate your posts – and posts from other accounts – around specific themes and events. You could use them to introduce the people behind your brand and share content from creators. They were also an excellent way to share helpful resources like how-to guides and curated listicles.
How to Apply Today:
- Carousel Posts: Create carousel posts that act as mini-guides on specific topics. Compile related posts into a cohesive sequence.
- Highlight Reels: Use Story Highlights to create themed collections of your posts, similar to how post guides worked.
- Collaborations: Partner with other creators to create collaborative content series that are posted across multiple accounts, linked together through mentions and tagged posts.
2. Product Guides: Showcasing Products on Instagram
Product Guides featured ecommerce products sold on Instagram. You could use them to highlight your products or products from a brand or creator you partnered with. Holiday product Guides were excellent examples of how you could position your products around an exciting moment.
How to Apply Today:
- Shopping Stickers: Use Shopping Stickers in Stories and Reels to directly link to product pages.
- Collections: Utilize the Collections feature in Instagram Shopping to group related products together.
- Influencer Marketing: Partner with influencers to create product-focused content, highlighting the benefits and features of your products.
3. Place Guides: Highlighting Locations
Place Guides were used to spotlight specific locations important to your community. They made it easy to curate a Guide using posts from certain geotags. You could highlight multiple places at a time, but make sure they shared a common theme.
How to Apply Today:
- Location Tags: Encourage users to tag your business location in their posts, then reshare that content in your Stories.
- Local Partnerships: Collaborate with other local businesses to create content that showcases your shared community.
- “Best of” Lists: Create posts and Stories that highlight the best places in a certain area related to your niche.
Creating a Guide (The Principles Still Apply)
Although the direct Guide feature is gone, the process of curating content and creating a cohesive narrative around a specific topic remains extremely valuable. Here’s how to adapt the steps to create engaging content on Instagram:
- Identify a Topic: Determine what kind of content would resonate with your community. Are they having conversations about an upcoming event or a popular product?
- Gather Existing Content: Take stock of your brand’s Instagram goals and existing posts. Identify posts that align with your chosen topic.
- Create a Narrative: Arrange your posts in a logical order to tell a story or provide information in a clear and engaging way.
- Add Context: Write compelling captions for each post, adding context and explaining why it’s relevant to the overall theme.
- Choose a Format: Decide whether to present your curated content as a carousel post, a Story Highlight, or a series of Reels.
- Promote Your Content: Share your curated content with your audience and encourage them to engage with it.
Examples of Successful Content Curation on Instagram
While we can’t showcase Guide examples directly, here are some examples of brands that successfully curate content on Instagram using other formats:
- Highlighting Community Members: Feature customers or followers in your Stories and Reels, showcasing their experiences with your brand.
- Addressing FAQs: Create a carousel post series that answers frequently asked questions from your audience.
- Product Tutorials: Produce Reels that demonstrate how to use your products in creative and effective ways.
Adapting Guide Concepts for Your Business
Even though Instagram Guides are no longer a feature, the underlying principles of content curation and providing value to your audience remain crucial. By adapting the concepts behind Guides and applying them to current Instagram formats, you can create engaging content that resonates with your community and helps you achieve your business goals. Consider what kind of content would resonate with your community. Are they having conversations on Instagram about an upcoming event or popular show? Or are they preparing to start traveling again and in need of a checklist? It’s important to meet your audience where they are. After you determine what your audience is looking for, take stock of your brand’s Instagram goals and existing posts. Which type of Guide could you create that would integrate your goals and your community’s needs? Refer back to the steps above once you’re ready to get started. By implementing these strategies, you can continue to provide valuable information and engage your audience effectively on Instagram.
