Instagram is one of the most popular social networks which is being tapped by social marketers for promoting products. They have devised various creative uses of Instagram highlights and other features for brand promotions. Business owners looking to hire WordPress developers or other professionals must know about using social media for their benefit. The large user base and wide reach of these networks across all society segments make them an ideal marketing platform. The majority of Instagram users belong to the younger age groups who are active on other social channels as well. They have the potential to make content go viral quickly. Let’s see how Instagram highlights can be used for social media marketing.
1. Showcase The Product Collection
One of the best ways to use story highlights is to showcase a new product collection. Brands can create a story about a new item and highlight it on their feed. Users will tap it to see images or short clips of the new offering. Earlier a story used to disappear after 24 hours but now they get saved as archives after the time limit. Story highlights, however, are available under the user’s bio in the form of circular icons. Businesses can create different stories for their range of products and name them accordingly.
2. Communicate News About The Brand
The visual nature of Instagram with minimal text content does not limit its marketing capabilities. Story highlights can be used to communicate the latest news about a brand. The tactic can come handy not only for new product launches but also for other things. You can use it to announce a new celebrity endorser or the latest happening in the industry. The content can be enhanced with Instagram stickers by using them to add date and location with a news item. Including a clickable hashtag sticker of the brand which will direct users to the hashtag’s feed will also be helpful.
3. Use Highlights For Answering FAQs
Another innovative use of the feature for marketing a product is to use it for answering Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Most companies provide FAQs on their websites but users may have additional questions about their products. Brands can choose the most frequent queries from their email and messaging app inboxes. They can provide replies to these questions in a story highlight on the photo-sharing application. Businesses with a wide range of offerings can create different FAQ highlights for their products. This is an easy way to provide answers to users and reducing the workload on the customer care department.
4. Include Industry-related Tips Or Hacks
One of the most creative uses of Instagram highlights is to provide tips through the feature. Companies can use their account to highlight useful suggestions about their industry and not just the products. They can include easy hacks to common problems or do-it-yourself tips which will be found helpful by visitors. You can insert pictures as well as small clips for demonstrating the hacks. It is an effective strategy as people are attracted by easy solutions to day to day problems. This will also create a dependable image of the brand.
5. Mention Your Business Partners
Businesses can use not only their own account but also other Instagram users’ profiles to promote their products. They can ask their business partners or other associates to post highlights on their accounts. This will open the way for getting featured on the partners’ accounts in return. You can choose to give shoutouts to other brands so that they can return the favor. This helps to strengthen the relationship with your associates as well as increases your brand’s visibility on the platform.
6. Add A Poll To Boost Engagement
Another Instagram feature can be combined with highlights to devise a new marketing strategy. People use the polls feature to ask questions to their followers in a story. Brands are already using it to drive engagement. Simple queries like whether users have seen a new product or do they like it are posted to get vital feedback. These polls can be collected in a highlight to optimize their use. Companies can also use the feature for A/B testing. They can post-split images with two choices for a new ad campaign or product packaging. A poll sticker can be added to the picture with relevant text options. This will help in knowing which is the better option.
7. Provide A Preview Of The Company Blog
The photo-sharing app can be used to drive more traffic to the company website. You can provide a preview of a blog post along with the link in the highlight. Interested users who want to read the whole content will visit the interface to do so. If they find the article interesting, they will return to the website in future hoping to discover more such content.
Conclusion
The social network is a good platform to connect with the target audience and increase their engagement. These are just a few innovative uses of Instagram highlights and business owners can find more ways to leverage the feature for promoting their brand.
Author Bio
Jacob Graves is a Sr. WordPress Developer at HireWPGeeks Ltd, a company that provides wordpress website development in a convenient manner. He is a passionate writer and loves to share WordPress and SEO related tutorials.
