Instagram Guides
To access a PDF version of this brief please follow this link: Instagram Guides
Introduction:
According to the Young Entrepreneur Council Expert Panel (2020), “social media is constantly evolving, as are the ways people use it. What was once primarily used for connecting with old friends and family has morphed into a platform for sharing perspectives”. In May of 2020, Instagram introduced a new feature: Guides. When it was first launched, Instagram primarily worked “with experts and creators to create guides focused on well-being tips” (Instagram b, 2020). This was because most people were sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instagram saw the reaction that many people had in relation to Guides and decided to make them available to everyone. Since Guides is so new to the platform, not many users are aware of it and how to use them.
Overview the trend:
Instagram’s reasoning for creating guides was to make Instagram “a place where you can easily find reliable information and inspiration from your favorite accounts” (Instagram a, 2020). @afspnational, @heads_together, @vitaalere, @klicksafe, @headspace_aus, @deepikapadukone, @sudahdong and @eenfance were the first creators and organizations to use Guides. All of these accounts focus on mental health and well being, which is what Instagram wanted to focus on due to the pandemic. But due to the overwhelming interest in creating Guides, Instagram decided in November of 2020 to expand Guides for everyone to use.
Currently, Guides can be accessed directly on a user’s profile, but they are able to be shared via story. “When viewing a Guide, you can see posts and videos that the creator has curated, paired with helpful tips and advice” (Instagram a, 2020). If the viewer wants to learn more about a specific post they are able to reach it within the Guide. Creators have the opportunity to share content exclusives within the Guide itself.
To create a Guide, “tap the plus icon on the top-right of your profile page and select “Guide”, from here, you can choose from 3 different Guide formats” (Warren, 2020). The three options that users have are places, products, and posts. Due to Guides being such a “versatile format [it] can be used to share inspirations, tell stories, and provide advice or guidance” (Warrn, 2020). There are many Guides that have been popular to check out this past year that focus on other content than mental health and well being such as: Condé Nast Traveller’s “Guide on the best travel recommendations”, [and] Lush’s “Guide To Cruelty‑Free Shopping” (Aquino, 2020).
Core characteristics:
Many organizations are paying attention to Guides because it “allows users to scroll through a curated flow of interactive content - similar to a blog post (except without leaving Instagram!)” (Worb, 2020). Guides is something that other social media platforms do not have. Snapchat was the first social media platform to have stories but then Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have hopped on the trend and have incorporated stories onto their platforms. With Guides, Instagram is the platform that has coined the trend and is so far the only one to have it. With Guides, organizations are able to group many different posts from not only themselves but also those who are relevant to them.
Benefits and challenges:
A benefit to using Guides is keeping the audience focused on your organization. With Guides, audiences will still be in the Instagram app, but they will not have the other distractions of content from other creators. Another benefit to using guides is that this will allow for partnerships between those who are connected to your organization. As previously mentioned, creators will be able to bring in content from others. This opens the door for partnerships with influencers and for spotlights of those who are supporting your brand. An opportunity is the different forms of Guides. With these different types there is an opportunity for variability so that the audience can see your organization in different forms.
Some of the challenges include: not reaching audiences, it being too niche, and not having content to post. Guides are currently only featured on user’s profiles so it will be difficult reaching target audiences without being proactive. Instagram has a lot of different features to manage already, this could be a reason that some organizations might shy away from Guides. Some companies may want to just focus on one of the features. Since Guides only allows content from posts that have been already posted, it could be difficult for organizations to know what to post so they do not seem too repetitive.
Case studies:
@afspnational (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) was one of the first organizations who was allowed access to Guides. One Guide is: Together, We #KeepGoing. In this Guide, there are a variety of different posts within it; there are posts from AFSP, Seize the Awkward, and a variety of influencers. At the top of this Guide, there is an introduction about COVID-19 and mental health. Then, there is a custom feed with posts viewers can click to see more information. Above each of the posts in the Guide, there is a snippet about the posts and on some there are calls to action that entice the audience to interact with the post itself. The main takeaway can be to understand that there are multiple ways to bring in content for Guides, including content from others accounts that may be relevant to your Guide.
@lushcosmetics currently has 32 different Guides on their page. Each of their Guides is focused primarily on products that they have to offer and that are currently available to purchase in the Instagram Lush Store. By using Guides in this way, Lush and other companies are able to highlight specific products and group them with similar ones. The products are featured in a feed within the Guide that includes a sentence about each one. Once a user views this item in the Instagram Lush Store, they are also given other items that might interest them. This is a great use of Instagram Guides, because it draws the user away from the normal feed and allows them to strictly focus on the product that the organization is selling.
Recommendations:
If a user is creating Guides, this will set them apart from other organizations or competitors on Instagram; due to Guides, their content will be able to reach a larger audience. When creating a Guide, keep in mind that the content within the Guide must be content that is already published. For example, if someone is wanting to create a Guide with different photos in a places Guide, these photos need to already be posted on Instagram to group them within the Guide. In a Hootsuite article titled 10 Unique Ways to Use Instagram Guides for Marketing, there are many recommendations on what to use Guides for. Ideas include: pulling together themes, showcasing best sellers, top posts, sharing a story, step-by-step instructions, shoutouts, providing resources. With a variety of different ways to use Guides, there are options for all types of profiles.
Creators need to be well-versed on how to use Guides. Organizations should bring together their social media team to learn about what Guides are. The group should establish a purpose and work together to create a variety of content to post. In the article titled Instagram Guides: 5 things Creators Need to know BEFORE Diving In, it provides helpful information to know before getting started with Guides. The article is linked in the appendix, but the biggest take away is to use a custom link-shortening service like bit.ly/ to make your links short, and easy to type into their browser”, because instagram does not allow hyperlinks (Beckford, 2020).
One of the most important things to note about guides is that they “are not automatically shared to feeds. They are only saved in the Guide’s tab of individual accounts” (Neon, 2020). This may seem like a major buzzkill, however, users are able to share them through direct messes and directly to their story. People who are viewers of the Guide are also able to repost the Guide to their story. Sharing Guides through stories is one of the most crucial things to do to ensure that it is able to reach audience members.
References:
Aquino, A. (2020, December 4). 8 brands who use Instagram guides the best. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/instagram-guides-examples
Beckford, G. (2020, November 20). Instagram guides: 5 things creators need to know before diving in. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://www.packslight.com/instagram-guides-for-influencers-need-to-know-tips/
Instagram a. (2020, May 18). Supporting well-being with guides on Instagram. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/supporting-well-being-with-instagram-guides
Instagram b. (2020, November 16). Expanding guides on Instagram. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/expanding-guides-on-instagram
Neon. (2021, April 09). How to use Instagram Guides. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://www.goneon.lu/how-to-instagram-guides/
Sehl, K. (2021, January 04). 10 unique ways to use Instagram guides for marketing. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-guides/
Warren, J. (2020, November 18). Instagram guides: Everything you need to know about the new feature. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/instagram-guides/
Worb, J. (2020, December 17). 7 creative ways brands can use Instagram Guides. Retrieved April 26, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/instagram-guides-for-business/#:~:text=Instagram%20Guides%20allow%20users%20to,your%20own%20shop%20or%20others
Young Entrepreneur Council Expert Panel. (2020, August 19). 10 smart ways businesses can keep up with Ever-Changing social media functions. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2020/08/20/10-smart-ways-businesses-can-keep-up-with-ever-changing-social-media-functions/?sh=711649b672b1