Instagram Highlights are collections of Stories that you curate, located at the top of your Instagram personal or business profile in the form of tappable circles. They are a great way to group and categorize your Instagram Stories by theme. Instagram introduced them in 2017 as a way for users to keep their favorite or most relevant Stories around for more than 24 hours.
Story Highlights appear directly below your bio and right above the photo grid, so they are one of the first things your followers see when they go onto your profile. Brands have used their Instagram Highlights to present important information (e.g., upcoming events, restaurant menus, product lists, etc.) upfront.
iFundWomen, Sass & Belle, and Pineapple Collaborative all use Instagram Highlights cover images to create a consistent look across their Highlights.
There are two ways to create Instagram Highlights; one way is to create them from your active Stories, and the other is from your Archived ones. Here's how to add active Instagram Stories to your Highlights:
Instagram Stories remain active on your profile for only 24 hours, but if you use the Archiving feature, you can store expired content for later use. Here's how to add Archived Instagram Stories to Highlights:
People often find small businesses via social media, so Instagram business accounts should showcase many of the same resources they would on their website, including on their Instagram Highlights. Here are some of the best ways businesses can use Instagram Highlights:
Sass & Belle frequently adds free phone wallpapers to their Wallpapers Instagram Highlights.
You can add Instagram Highlight covers by either uploading a premade cover from your device's album or selecting an already published Story for your cover. Here's how:
If you'd like to elevate your Instagram Highlights further, you can create brand-specific covers for a consistent look across all your Instagram Highlights. Highlight covers give your profile a neat, professional look while also displaying your business's branding and style.
You can create Instagram Highlights covers using Instagram's built-in text on Instagram Stories or take it a step further with free image tools such as Canva. To make an image the cover photo, add the image to the new Highlight as your first image.
If you're designing your own Instragm Highlights covers, the dimensions should be 1080 pixels x by 1920 pixels tall with a 9:16 aspect ratio. It would help if you also centered all the elements so that your cover looks great when cropped.
According to a Facebook survey, 62% of people have "become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories." With Instagram Highlights, you can extend the life of your best Stories beyond 24 hours and give potential customers more chances to see the content you worked so hard to create.
Instagram Highlights also act as a 'homepage,' thus shaping visitors' first impressions and offering easy access to your business's most important information.
Stories have become essential to brand awareness and should be included in your Instagram marketing strategy. Buffer's Instagram Stories scheduling feature lets you plan and schedule your stories in advance—without the need to manually publish when the time comes.
Unlike regular Stories that disappear after 24hrs, Stories Highlights can live on your Instagram profile permanently. Highlights offer a great opportunity to drive attention to important content and details about your brand.
In order to get the attention of the massive audience for Stories, you’ll need to get creative. We’ve put together some great uses we’ve come across that you can apply to your next Story.
Everything you need to know about using Instagram Stories. From posting and scheduling stories, using stickers, and everything in-between.
