11 Smart Ways You Can Use Instagram Highlights For Your Business

Instagram has transformed itself into one of the most powerful marketing tools. In today’s world, you cannot think about social media marketing without it.

Instagram, over time, has adopted new and improved features for businesses to thrive. Instagram highlights are one of them. Today, we will go over 11 smart ways to use Instagram highlights for your business.

Keep reading, and when you finish, you will have a good idea about how to use IG highlights effectively for your business.

What are Instagram highlights?

Instagram highlights are a collection of Instagram stories that the users decide to keep on their profile. The stories disappear after 24 hours, but the highlights stay on. Create Instagram highlights to keep your viewers hooked on your brand campaigns.

Specialty of highlights

The highlights are at the top of your business account, just below the profile picture and bio. They remain embedded in those small circles. You can add multiple highlights, each of which can have a maximum of 100 images and videos. You can customize the cover image and the name of the highlight.

Businesses can showcase their resources, products, and content through highlight.

You can add external links, images, videos, and many more using highlights which you cannot do in a regular post. You can make highlights for different campaigns and remove them when you don’t need them anymore. For instance, giveaways, discounts, and sales have a limited period. You can showcase them for only a specific duration on your profile.

You can add polls, client testimonials, reviews, and Q/A sessions to create higher user engagement. Last but not the least, you can repurpose your brand’s old content with highlights.

You will be surprised to know that businesses handle one-third of the most-viewed Instagram stories on social media.

Why should you use Instagram highlights?

• When you ask someone “What was the highlight of your day?” or “What was your highlight for the tour?”, you hope to hear about the best parts of that person’s day or tour. Instagram named highlights perfectly, as they do exactly the same.

  Highlights are here to showcase the most important features of your brand and business.

• Instagram’s stories were a hit since its launching. But it has its own limitations. You cannot view it after 24 hours of posting. So, when they came up with Instagram highlights, the app dynamic shifted to a whole new level! 
• Highlights allow the stories to stay on your profile for forever. Why is it important? Well, suppose you post a story for your audience. It is highly unlikely that all of your target audience will view it in the first 24 hours. That means they cannot see it at all. With highlights, you can save that story so anyone can view it at a later time. This is very important when it comes to presenting the right information to the right people at the right time.
• Highlights let you arrange content according to your audience’s demand. Add user-generated content and increase customer engagement. 
• In a word, Instagram highlights have emerged as an indispensable marketing tool in the current digital era. It is high time we use it effectively in promoting our brand in social media.

Let’s dive into 11 smart ways to use Instagram highlight for your business -

1. Show off your product collection

Photo from Macy's IG

Highlights are one of the first things a user will see when they enter your account. So they are a great option to showcase your collection or content.

You can add the entire collection in the highlight along with a brief product description in each one with fun emojis and stickers. You can also follow them with reviews of previous customers or behind-the-scenes snippets during the production. We will get to these again later.

Make sure to add interesting covers and names to each highlight. Always keep it relevant.

You can add Instagram’s various features, like a countdown or product launches live to increase user engagement and excitement. Highlights play an important role in social media marketing.

2. Share tips and tutorials

Photo from nikerunning's IG

Your products are a major part of your brand. They help ease consumer’s problems. But audiences may not know how. Use highlights to get them on the learning curve about how your brand can help them.

Share useful tips, tricks and tutorials about your products to maximize the user experience. You can also put up educational content on how the products work best.

The content must not always be about your product directly. Suppose you are a custom shoemaker. You can have a highlight about tutorials on how to care for shoes. Your target audience will see your passion to give them great value instead of being interested in sales of own products only.

This way, you will create a more personalized relationship with your followers and customers.

3. Keep your audience informed about latest updates and deals

Photo from Collab.o.ration's IG

Instagram business account is the perfect platform for updating customers about offers, packages, and special deals.

Brands come up with special deals and discounts at various times of the year. You can use Instagram highlights to update customers about these. People check out stories; when you section them in your highlights, new customers can also know about them.

Temporary changes can often lead to miscommunication between customers and businesses. It is very difficult to keep customers updated on all the changes manually. You can maintain a separate highlight regarding the latest news about product collection, launches, store location changes, etc.

Keeping your contact information in the highlights is a great Instagram marketing strategy. Your account is a connecting point between you and your customers. So you must provide all the necessary information regarding your brand.

Keep all the details, like contact details, working hours, website, etc. in the highlights. This way, your followers can remain informed. 

4. Manifest customer reviews

Photo from Smashtess's IG

Customer reviews are one of the oldest and surest marketing tricks. Before buying, the customer always looks into feedback from previous users. This has transcended into the digital space through reviews, shoutouts, and posts.

Instagram doesn’t offer any separate section for reviews and testimonials. It is not possible for businesses to afford paid content partnerships at all times. In such case, having a highlight to boast client review comes handy.

Even though paid partnerships help businesses get more attention, real customer reviews have immense power. 

Customer testimonial and reviews help provide credibility to the brand.

5. Flaunt Collaboration with influencers and content creators

Photo from almahomevintage's IG

Influencers and content creators have become essential in Instagram marketing strategy. Adding their collaboration with you can help elevate your brand’s Instagram profile. 

Influencers have a trusted base of followers. These followers rely on them for product reviews, tips, and suggestions on various topics. You must consider influencers in your marketing plan if you have the budget. They usually charge based on their follower count.

You can highlight their mentions, posts, and shoutouts in your profile so that when people enter your account, they can see the collaboration.

Make sure to add clear highlights cover for Instagram, so people understand and enter the highlight. If you add a confusing generic name, potential customers may not view the highlight, thinking it’s another collection. As I mentioned earlier, customized direct covers and names are a part of the game.

You can appoint influencers as your brand ambassadors. They can have an exclusive highlight of your brand in their account and vice versa. This way, you both get more coverage.

6. Build up anticipation for events

Photo from Target's IG

Events are the latest trend in digital marketing. It is a great way to create user engagement too. But for an event to be successful, you need much effort beforehand. You need to build up enthusiasm and craze among your followers. You can use a dedicated highlight for a particular event.

Use countdowns, stories, follower made contents about the event, polls, giveaway etc. to create a buzz around your event. You can also involve influencers here. Keep all these campaign efforts in one highlight. So anyone can be a part of this journey even if they don’t start it with you.

7. Share behind the scenes

Photo from behindthescenegram's IG

Many stories and things go on behind the scenes to curate the product and the business. Particularly when creating ad campaigns or such, you can create interesting behind-the-scene stories to add a more personal connection with your followers and customers.

This way, you are not just another screen, but much more than that.

You can also add behind-the-scenes events you host, like fashion shows, fairs, giveaways, etc.

8. Boost quiz, poll, interviews

Photo from BigVoid149.6's IG

Instagram allows quizzes, polls, and interviews to create a more user-friendly experience.

You can add quizzes and polls about your products and highlight them. You can also interview customers and add them there.

This interactive content allows the audience to take part without too much investment from your side. And these can be a good way to understand and improve various aspects of your product.

9. Publish Q/A sessions and company values

Photo from Target's IG

Q&A sessions are questions/queries followers ask, and you, the brand or business, will answer them. These sessions help create a more user-friendly platform.

As a business owner, you should hold this session periodically and highlight the most important ones. Followers often compliment the brand; you can also highlight them.

Every brand has its own set of values that they follow. You can highlight them to connect your followers to your journey and experience. It helps create a more transparent brand image and helps followers trust you and your vision.

10. Organize content according to the user’s preference.

Highlights are uploaded stories that can be removed or added according to necessity. 

You can change the highlights according to audience preference. The consumer market, especially in social media, is volatile. Trends can shoot overnight and fall at the same speed. Highlights give you a chance to update contents from time to time.

11. Circulate job postings

You can circulate various job openings in your company or business. What better to have someone who used and loved your product work on it?

It is a great way to ensure user engagement.

Your followers will see you not just as a brand or business, but as something more with these postings and referrals.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to use Instagram highlights to increase your brand engagement. Highlights are a powerful marketing tool, and if used smartly, they can highlight your brand in a new light.