There are a ton of fun Instagram Features that are available to you if you have a Business or a Creator page that you might not even be aware of!
Give this blog a quick read if you’re looking for fun and exciting ways to showcase your business that doesn’t leave you bored and frustrated when developing your marketing plan. You also don’t have to spend a dime to make these happen!
Reels
Entering into the world of video generated content is overwhelming, to put it lightly! We all want to create video because it’s the preferred method of receiving information for most target audiences, but we know that if the quality and sound isn’t great, the likelihood of someone engaging with it is slim.
With Reels you can create short, engaging videos that can be found by others outside of your current following. You can either film it directly in the reels section OR upload a video from you phone. They can be 3-15 seconds long (so no stress if you aren’t able to create long videos), and you can even use text overlay if you’re nervous about speaking on film!
Some Ideas for Reels are: Quick tutorials, Step-by-steps (or How-To’s), Education, Meet the Team, Mini Brand Storytelling moments, etc.
IGTV
IGTV’s are the next step up from Reels. Not only can you create longer content, but this longer content allows you to capture and hold your audience’s attention longer. (It also is a great way to educate and inform on a deeper level). The great thing about IGTV is that it’s all on one section on your profile, which makes it easier for people to access and browse your content. As stated above, video is the preferred method of communication, so make sure you are using it to your advantage!
Some Ideas for IGTV are: Repurpose pre-existing content that you may have, Behind the Scenes, Sharing your business’ story, reviewing a product or service you offer, talking about something you’re passionate about, educate, Interview someone, Host a Q&A, Create a community with weekly or bi-weekly video content.
Guides
Instagram Guides are a great way to create a ‘catalogue’ of content or products. It is mean to be a way for consumers to find tips, tricks, how-to’s and more with ease. Not only can you create Instagram Guides for your own content, but you can also curate the content of other businesses that you love and recommend!
Some Ideas for Guides are: Places you love, products, posts with a particular theme (blog, inspirational quotes, etc), Gift Guides during the holidays, Collaborate with another creator, Step by Step Guides, Brand Storytelling, etc.
Highlights
Creating themed Highlights is not only a great way to keep your brand consistent on Insta (by way of creating branded cover photos), but it’s also a wonderful place to house your story content, which would otherwise be gone in 24 hours. We share most of our content to our story in case you don’t see it on your feed, and then carefully categorize each story into a Highlight. This helps new and old followers to peruse your content with ease. This is one of our favourite Instagram features.
Some Ideas for Highlights are: Your Favourite Places/Businesses/Products, Behind the Scenes, Our Team, Blogs, Giveaways, Etc. You can really get creative here!
Shop
This is a really great feature for all you product-based businesses reading this! Instagram can be tricky because you cannot link directly in your posts, nor can you insert a swipe-up link in your stories for products until you reach a certain number of followers. With Instagram Shop you can get more exposure and sales, and provides your customers with a complete shopping experience (virtually). Using the right product tags on your products can also really help you increase your reach aside from the traffic you have garnered locally. Plus, it’s a pretty neat way to highlight all your products on your profile!
Tips for an Engaging Instagram Shop: Use the right product tags, use clear, stunning product shots of each product, be concise and to the point when describing how your product fulfills a consumers needs, leverage your organic content to push consumers to the shop, etc.
Custom Filters
This is a really fun one! You can create a custom filter on Instagram for your followers to use. There is a specific process to creating one that you can easily find online, but encourage your following to use the filter in their own stories and photos to increase the exposure of your filter! This is just a fun idea to help encourage followers and those in your community to engage in your brand.
These are just some of the ways that you can further explore the available Instagram features and leverage them for your business. Which one are you most looking forward to using?