How to Use Instagram Guides for Video Marketing
Social Media
Even if you’re regularly tuned in to the latest and greatest social media news, it’s possible that a cool Instagram update slipped right by you. Last year, Instagram introduced a new format called Instagram Guides… and it’s a great feature to use in video marketing.
But what are Instagram Guides? And how can you use them for video marketing? As video production and marketing experts, we’re here with all of the details you need to know!
We want to show you exactly how you can incorporate this new feature into your video marketing strategy. But first, we all need to know — what exactly are Instagram Guides and how can you access them?
When Instagram first rolled out Instagram Guides in mid-2020, the feature was only available to a handful of influencers in the health and wellness industry. But a few months later Instagram opened the feature to all users. Instagram describes guides as “a way to more easily discover recommendations, tips and other content from your favorite creators, public figures, organizations and publishers on Instagram.”
With Guides, you can share your own content and curated content from other accounts in a scrollable, digestible format. In the simplest terms, Guides are essentially individual albums or groups of content gathered into a single resource.
To create your first Instagram Guide, simply go to your profile tab on Instagram. From there, tap on the + icon in the upper-right corner.
When you select Guide from the Create pop-up menu, you’ll be able to pick the type of Instagram Guide you want to create and curate your content. You can choose from three options: Places, Products, or Posts. If you’re using Guides as part of your video marketing strategy, then you’ll want to select the Posts option.
When it comes to video marketing, there are two major benefits of Instagram Guides that you should be taking advantage of.
The first benefit is the ability to share long-form content. As we all know, Instagram is notoriously stingy with its link-sharing space. You’ve only got one chance to share a clickable link on Instagram, and that’s in your bio. And that’s why Instagram Guides is such a game-changer.
Instead of having to direct your followers to a link that will lead them off-app, you can now create long-form content that’s very similar to a blog post in Instagram Guides. With this feature, you have the ability to combine pictures, text, and… you guessed it… videos! Just like blog posts, sharing video content on Instagram Guides is a great way to get more engagement from your audience and share a more personal, memorable look at your brand.
The other benefits of Instagram Guides? In the same way that you can use highlights on Instagram to showcase old Stories, Guides is a perfect way to maximize your Instagram content’s shelf life — especially videos!
When you spend time and money creating video content for your business, you probably want to get the most mileage possible out of those videos. And that’s why compiling a few videos into an Instagram Guide is such a great idea. Instead of leaving valuable videos on your feed for your followers to (hopefully) stumble upon, you can make it easier to find by putting them in a Guide.
Try this: if you have some customer testimonial videos on your grid, create an Instagram Guide about your business and include those videos, along with some compelling copy about your products/services and some images from your grid that complement that message. When followers view your Guide and click on any of those images or videos, they’ll be automatically directed back to the original post.
We can help! Studio Nine 13 is all about getting to the heart of your story and telling it in a way that’s compelling and actionable. For more information about our services or to get a free proposal contact us today.
