Innovative Ways To Use Instagram Highlights for Brand Storytelling

Are you seeing Instagram highlights added to almost every business’ profile on the platform? Well, when used right, highlights will help in brand storytelling on Instagram. 

However, if you are struggling to incorporate highlights effectively in your marketing strategy, stay on.

As we know, stories on Instagram last for only 24 hours, but through Instagram highlights, you can keep the same story on your Instagram profile for as long as you want. 

You can further use Instagram highlights to attract more viewers and convert them into customers, you need to add valuable content.

However, keeping them organized is the key. Let us find out more about Instagram highlights and effective Instagram storytelling techniques for businesses. 

What Are Instagram Highlights?

Instagram highlights are stories that you want to keep on your profile even after they surpass the 24 hours deadline. Many brands and individuals spend a lot of time creating attractive stories to communicate better with viewers. 

The highlight is a collection of stories that users can watch anytime on Instagram profile. Each Instagram highlight can be considered as a folder where you can easily add 100 videos or photos. You can add a name and custom cover to the highlights for users to know what that particular folder contains. 

So, do you want to add Instagram highlights on your profile with a color palette and design that easily blends with your brand and help people recognize your brand easily. 

Let’s have a look at some tips to create interesting Instagram highlights for your brand in the next section.  

3 Tips To Create Attractive Instagram Highlights

Attractive Instagram highlights will attract more eyeballs to your brand, followers to your Instagram profile, and more likes to your account. Thus, here are 3 tips to create stunning IG highlights to increase your profile’s visibility and engagement on the platform. Let’s have a look:

1. Define Your Goals

Just like any other effort you make for the social media profile of your brand, you should have a set goal for Instagram highlights, too. Align highlight creation with your goals to reach them faster. 

2. Add The “Wow” Element

You sometimes make a lot of effort to create an Instagram story, and it turns out to be amazing. Why let that story vanish after 24 hours? Add it to one of the highlights to feature the “wow” element at the top of your profile. 

3. Align Them With Your Brand 

Remember that highlights stay on your profile permanently. So, be creative with your stories, and ensure that they voice your brand perfectly well. Use attractive visuals that follow your brand’s guidelines. 

Now that we have all the essential information about Instagram highlights let us know how to make them attractive and worthwhile. 

Best Ways To Use Highlights For Brand Storytelling

Uncover the best ways in which you can use the highlight format for your brand and attract more customers. Keep your profile visitors engaged with some of the most informative and interesting highlights added to your Instagram profile. 

#1. User-Generated Content 

At times, no incentive is needed for customers to promote a product they love. Let your customers stand a chance to get featured on your brand page if they tell the audience about their love for your product. Ask them to use a particular hashtag in their content so that you can easily track and collect all user-generated content for your brand. 

For example, if you look at the WayFair’s Instagram profile, you will find a highlight in the name “#WayFairAtHome.” This is the hashtag that they ask their customers to use while posting about their product, and this shows their products at their consumer’s homes. 

#2. Customer Reviews And Testimonials

No doubt, you need to portray your brand as trustworthy on social media. When you have new profile visitors, they would like to see if your brand is trustworthy or not. 

Use the highlight section to show your customer reviews and testimonials to increase trust among your target audience. Word of mouth is highly effective these days. 

For instance, Buffer uses the hashtag #BufferLove to collect feedback from its customers. When users express their love towards the brand and its service, they use the hashtag, and Buffer adds it to the highlight named “#BufferLove.” 

#3. Product Offers and Promo Codes

You should have some promo codes and special offers for your customers to get attracted to your brand. For instance, first time buyers can have some exciting discounts, additional discounts for prepaid orders, etc. 

So, if you have special offers or Instagram-specific discounts for your visitors, let them know through the highlights section. 

For example, Azura is a home-drown lifestyle brand, and in their highlights section, they have one in the name “Price Dro.”. This highlight features the products that are on offer for visitors to easily access the sale. 

#4. Highlight Your Products And Unique Collection

What other section can be better than highlights at the top of your profile to display your product range? The catalog displayed in the highlights section gives easy access for the visitors to find the best fitting product for themselves. 

For instance, Mercedes Benz has created different highlights for different categories of their products, like G-class, AMG, and Maybach. It helps with brand storytelling on Instagram. 

#5. Commonly Asked Questions and Answers

Frequently asked questions are one of the significant content categories for all brands. Make it a part of your highlights sections, and anticipate all answers to the possible questions you can think of. 

For example, the shopping details, how to order, how to track the order, etc. It will also help you spare time that you would otherwise spend answering generic questions again and again. 

PrettyLittleThing has a “QnA” highlight added to their Instagram profile for their visitors to get answers to the generic questions. 

#6. Workplace Inclusiveness

Your employees are the face of your brand. Showcase your employees as one of the valuable assets, to create a sense of workplace inclusiveness. 

By showcasing your employees, you give life to your products, and your audience can resonate better. 

The Ring Concierge team does it the right way by showcasing their team in the “RC Team” highlight added to their profile. 

#7. Highlights From Attended Events

Why miss a chance to showcase all the networking events, trade shows, or exhibitions your business has visited? Consider adding a teaser or a post-event video to display the best moments. It will help your visitors stay tuned with the latest updates of your brand. 

For instance, SEMrush has a highlight named “AUAwards,” where it has added all the awards the brand was honored with, and the shows they attended to receive them. 

#8. Voice Company Values

Nowadays, the audience is paying more attention to the values of different brands. The story highlight section is the best way to display them in front of your target audience. Consumers usually tend to choose brands that share similar values as them.

I Love Linen is a sustainable brand, and they have a “Sustainability” highlight added to their profile where they talk about how they maintain their brand value. It is one of the most effective Instagram storytelling techniques for businesses. 

#9. Polls

Polls are the best ways that help engage your audience. Simply list out all the questions about your brand that you have always wanted to ask about your products. You will easily know the preferences and choices of your customers about your products. 

Visit Adobe's profile on Instagram, and there you will find a “Polls” highlight, which they use to inspire their audience. It also serves as a creative fuel for its users to be more creative with their work. 

#10. History 

Add the days of all the hustle your brand did when it was launched to the Instagram highlights section. Your customers will be interested in knowing how you started it and all the milestones you have achieved throughout. The history of your brand will make them feel more connected. 

The GoPro camera brand has a highlight, “History,” added where they have their early days of conceptualization. 

#11. DIY

There are a few product categories for which the customers want to recreate at their homes. If your business belongs to that category, the DIY highlight will be useful. Share the tips and tricks that customers can use to obtain the maximum benefits. 

Just like Freddy’s Steakburgers post recipes of the different simple dishes in their “DIY” highlight, their audience can enjoy it by recreating them at home. 

Final Thoughts 

Now that you have some incredible Instagram story highlight ideas, visit your profile and set up a few. Recreate the highlight cover to make it more attractive, and name them the way you like. The updated highlights section on your profile will also showcase that your brand is active on social media.

FAQs

1. How to use Instagram highlights for your business?

Instagram stories are a great way to engage your visitors and let them know more about your brand. Moreover, it is a way of permanently keeping your stories on your Instagram profile. Attract more visitors and give them easy accessibility to your brand with enticing highlights. 

2. How do you make Instagram highlights interesting?

There are several ways in which you can make the Instagram highlights on your profile interesting. Create an attractive custom cover, add valuable content to voice your brand, and also showcase some facts that your visitors should know about your brand. 

3. What are the best practices for Instagram story highlights?

Some of the best practices to add attractive Instagram highlights on your profile are keeping them simple, giving proper names to give the context of what is contained, not fearing from doing experiments using a branded color palette, and more. 

4. How does highlights help in telling the story of your business?

Instagram highlights can prove to be one of the best ways to tell the story of your brand. First, you need to determine the purpose of your brand to kick-start its storytelling. Knowing your audience will also help put your story in front of them in the right way. Strategize a storytelling framework and refine it to make it most suitable. 

5. What are the benefits of Instagram highlights?

Instagram highlights are beneficial for brands as their positioning makes them perfect to direct visitors. They get easy access to interesting and valuable content about your brand and can find any information they want to know.