When creating Instagram Guides, you need to be aware of making them look aesthetically pleasing for your audience. There is not a massive amount of customization available when you create a Guide which means you will need to be creative.
First and foremost, you need to remember that the only photos that can be included in Guides are the ones that are already on Instagram. That means you cannot upload new pictures from your camera, and they have to have appeared on your feed on Instagram first. Thus, ensuring that the posts on your feed are of high quality will be the best option.
One thing you need to consider is your cover photo. The cover photo for the Instagram Guide is a 3:4 ratio photo (as opposed to the 1:1 found in most Instagram posts). You need to be aware that; you cannot upload your image, and it needs to come from a post that has been saved, so take the time to ensure that your cover photo is cropped in a way that makes sense.
Arrange posts in a way that makes sense. You can change the order of your posts at any time before you publish.
If you are only using your posts, it will be easy to ensure they can all be on the same and match your brand. When uploading your posts, ensuring that they look the same (fonts and colors if you are using text posts) and filters and item colors, if you are using pictures, are easy ways to make sure not your Guides will be professional and precise.
Using posts from other people can be more challenging to maintain a similar aesthetic; however, user-generated content can significantly benefit your business. If possible, try and choose posts that match your brand for aesthetics as well as you can; or if not, order them less noticeably.
Ensure that the text you write is on brand and talks to your audience appropriately: just as you would in the captain of a post.
Having your Instagram Guides consistent with your brand is a perfect way to add professionalism and make your content seem more reputable; it will also add to brand recognition and make your audience trust you.
The Art Of Knowing How To Back Up A Post With An Instagram Guide
When you make a regular post on Instagram, you are constrained by a certain number of slides and a certain number of characters in the caption. If you try to add a lot of words to your slides, there is a chance they could end up small and unreadable. If you try to say too much in the caption, you will have to break and reply in the comments, which is also not ideal.
Your feed posts will inform your Guides, and vice versa.
Stories are limited by only being available on the feed for 24 hours (although you can highlight them on your profile afterward). It is not an ideal way to convey large amounts of information, and a Guide is better for large quantities of data.
Guides are effectively a kind of blog post within the Instagram platform, making it the perfect way to expand on the information you’re providing in a bar in a clear and informative way.
You can collate all your posts around a specific topic or theme in one Guide, making it easy for your audience to find the information they need.
Some posts do not need to be backed up; standalone posts still find any do not need to include every single position within a Guide. However, they can be instrumental, especially if you are supplementing your posts with those of other users that verify and add to the value of your posts.
As it is with all forms of media, the key to Guides is finding the sweet spot. It may take some experimentation, but soon you will learn which posts require Guides that will best work for your audience; there is no unique solution to this.
Another method is analyzing what engagement is like. Finding the responses your audience has to your posts and stories is the best way to know which posts require supplementary information.
For example, if you are getting many questions on a particular thing, perhaps creating an FAQ Guide would be perfect for you or just a response to one post.
As for all social media, the beauty of Guides is that they can be customized to you and your audience based on your needs.
The Secret To Understanding Instagram Guides
Guides are the latest feature that Instagram has released to creators. As they are still new, there are a lot of advantages to being some of the first users to start to produce great content on this new form of a post. There are a few secrets to creating Instagram Guides, and they will help you understand the posting form better.
But first, what are Instagram Guides? Instagram Guides are effectively short-form blog posts or collections of posts centered around a particular idea or theme. They involve sharing posts from your Instagram feed and adding new headings and captions. This allows you to go into more detail than you can in post captions and collate all your posts on a single topic in one easy-to-find place for the audience.
When creating Guides, you need to consider your target audience. Think about the kind of content you already make for them (and how well that content does). Find ways to develop your ideas to become a voice of authority on your preferred topics.
Ensure that you are using the right kind of post. There are many different posts on Instagram; standard feed posts, stories, IGTV posts, and Reels. Make sure that you are using the most effective command for your content.
It would help if you built upon the posts you already have. A limitation of Instagram Guides is that you can only include posts already posted to your feed. Thus, before creating an abundance of new posts, try using the ones you already have while still finding your feet. Once you feel more confident, your audience has grown, and your ideas have developed, you should create your feed posts with ideas for Guides. But to begin with, work with what you already have!
This means that you should utilize the ability to share posts with other users. Do not be afraid to use ideas from other creators, and this can supplement your content and further your points—while building relationships, partnerships, and audiences.
To conclude, you will develop your distinct style and use of Guides. You will need to be creative and informative to reach your audience on a new level.