Dubbed by some as Instagram’s foray into long-form content, Guides are definitely among the more interesting of the latest social media marketing tools.
At their simplest, they’re your basic scrollable list article full of actionable knowledge, like the how-to’s that pepper the Internet.
On Instagram, though, those list articles take the form of strung-together Instagram posts. Each post offers a tip or piece of knowledge relevant to the aim of the guide.
So, if you have a number of Instagram posts offering tips on how to de-stress, you could put together a Guide that strings them together.
Anyone reading the Guide can then click on each tip, which leads them to the original post for that tip.
This should already give you a tonne of ideas for how to make use of Guides for your brand.
But if you need a little more help to get started, try our top tips for using them in a marketing plan!
1. Use them to shorten your buyer’s journey.
Probably one of the best things about Guides is that they can be linked to an Instagram shop.
You can put together Guides that feed directly into your funnel. Try answering questions or addressing pain points from your target customers.
While doing that, you can have your answers link to the products that actually solve their problems.
Just remember to optimise your products’ descriptions and other content in your shop.
That way, you can maximise your conversions.
2. Take advantage of their shareability.
Because they’re already on a social media platform, these Guides are even easier to share than traditional listicles found on a unique website.
There are no social media sharing buttons, sign-ins, or other widgets to worry about. That’s why it makes sense to aim for highly shareable content.
Look for ones that answer common pain points or pressing concerns from your target audience.
Check out the news or trends, even, to see what content in your vertical is getting the most traction right now. This can help you promote your brand as well as build authority.
As a side note, don’t be afraid to share others’ Guides too.
This can help you build relationships within the community and possibly lead to later partnerships with influencers.
Moreover, it helps you establish your authority within your space. If you recognise good, authoritative content by sharing it, you clearly know your stuff!
3. Promote your most successful content.
It’s a truth that building on what you have is often easier - and in some cases, more productive - than creating new things.
In this case, you can use Guides to help you out.
Put together Guides on topics that let you string together your most successful posts. This can boost their visibility further, helping you reach those who didn’t see those posts the first time.
This saves you the trouble of creating fresh content that you’ll still have to test out in order to see how successful it is.
These old posts are already tried-and-tested - so milk them!
4. Spotlight others in the space to try and connect with them.
We already suggested something along these lines earlier, when we talked about sharing others’ Guides.
In this case, though, instead of sharing their Guides, try sharing others’ posts instead in your own Guide.
Put together Guides that include posts from influencers and other key content creators in your industry. This gives you more opportunities for reaching out and trying to build a relationship with key voices in your space.
It also invites people who follow them to check you out on Instagram too!
5. Connect with your customers through a message or story.
Guides also offer a chance to connect with your target audience.
You can use them to tell your brand’s story, for instance, in a series of posts explaining the way the company came to be.
You can do the same to send a personal or special message on holidays or particular occasions.
This can not only humanise your brand’s image but strengthen the connection your most loyal customers have with you.
Need more ideas for Instagram Guides and marketing?
That wraps up our list of top suggestions for those looking to use Instagram Guides for their marketing.
If you think you need more assistance or just want further ideas, though, contact us!
We’ve done our share of Instagram marketing over the years and can help you put together a full-on plan for using the platform to promote your brand.
Just leave us a note or schedule a consultation so we can talk about what you need.
Comments