Are you curious as to how Instagram Highlights work and why they’re useful on Instagram? Or perhaps you created cover photos for them when the feature came out and haven’t updated since!
When you post to Instagram Stories, your content is only available for 24 hours. Highlights give you the opportunity to re-share previous IG Stories you select to live on your feed forever.
All you have to do is click on your Settings button, click on Archive, select a Story and hit on the “Highlight” option at the bottom. You can then choose which Highlight topic to add the Story to.
Think of your Highlights like a mini business card or window into your business! They give you the power to select which IG Stories you want to share and have live on your feed.
If you’re wondering which Highlight topics you should have on your profile, here’s my best tips to encourage engagement.
TIP * Creating your Highlight covers
Canva has a fantastic tool to create your own icons and branding colours using their Highlight templates. You can also use solid block colours or photos related to the subject as your Highlight cover photo.
All you have to do is search for the Instagram Story Highlight Cover and you’ll see a huge variety of templates to use.
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1 | Testimonials
Creating a Highlight or two for testimonials is an amazing way for your prospective clients to get immediate feedback on results your clients have got from you. It helps to build that like, know, trust factor and showcase your best testimonials.
2 | Before and after results
Before and after Highlights are similar to testimonials, but you can use real examples and images from where your clients were before and after your services.
Using screenshots from DMs, e-mails or communication from your clients or audience that shows their results is another way to show social proof for your services.
3 | Your content buckets
Content buckets or pillars are the key foundation to building your brand authority and expertise in your industry.
Create individual highlights for each of your content buckets or pillars.
For example, if you are a VA your service packages might be graphic design, content creation and blogging and these are also your content pillars. You can create individual Highlights on your profile and each time you create a Story around these buckets you can add to it.
4 | Tips, tricks and hacks
Sharing hot tips, mini tutorials or advice can be sorted into a tip, tricks and hacks Highlight.
Make sure these tips are your best valued-content to share in your Highlight. Look at previous Stories that your audience has commented or loved in the past and add them to this Highlight.
5 | Service packages
Sort your Highlights into each of your service offerings promoting what’s included, the benefits, pricing and transformation.
For example, if you were a brand designer, you may have packages including logo creation, branding redesign and web design. You can create individual Highlights for those services and add your Stories to it.
This also warms up your audience and gives them an immediate view into your packages.
6 | Behind the scenes
People are nosy and people LOVE seeing behind the scenes footage.
Take Stories of you doing personal things throughout the day, creating a new product, a screenshot of a meeting with a client, at a photoshoot, you and your team meetings, your morning routine etc. Add the fun ones to a behind the scenes Highlight. This gives your audience a glimpse into who you are and builds trust.
Keep your Highlights updated and relevant
One hack I encourage my clients and do myself is to update your Highlights once a month to keep them up to date and relevant. If you post a lot on Stories, maybe doing it twice a month is more beneficial.
Delete old Stories from your Highlights that are no longer the same offerings or pricing information.
Want to know if your Highlights are working for your profile? Book a 1:1 with me for an Instagram Audit!
