Major opportunity to entice new potential followers? Hear us say: Instagram stories highlights! We would scream it from the rooftop if we could – but most probably, it’s smarter to discuss it here instead. This needs to be said – they organize your profile, make it appear much more PRO, and give a general great first impression. Your BIO has a length limit, so think about highlighted stories as a strategic way to include more key info. They can become a clever profile optimization and the most “easy to consume” way to introduce yourself and answer the crucial questions: who you are, what are you doing, what’s your business, what problems you solve, why did you choose your niche? Instagram stories highlights are at the top of everyone’s profiles, right under the BIO – and that’s what people see first.
Instagram stories highlights in a nutshell
Regular instastories disappear after 24 hours – they’re an incredible tool, and you definitely should use them regularly, but sometimes you can feel like you put SO MUCH time into polishing them, and then they’re just so quickly gone. Instagram introduced a highlighted stories feature in 2017, and we’re still in love with it because thanks to it, there’s a way to prolong the life of valuable instastories you wouldn’t like to disappear – because you’d prefer them to stay pinned right at the top.
Instagram highlights also give you an opportunity to categorize your instastories – new highlights sections work as folders, where you can save accurate content. You can name them and give them pretty covers – we mean it, just like they were folders.
Why is using Instagram highlights such a smart move?
Highlights are indispensable for:
- giving your stories longer life (when they deserve it)
- introducing yourself and the topics you discuss to new visitors
- answering FAQs (ugh, all those questions that keep coming back like a boomerang!)
- presenting your products or services
- creating content (guides, tutorials) library
Everyone taps on the icon that interests them, whether it’s a “FAQ”, “About me”, “My services”, or any different highlighted topic you put there. You can use this feature in so many ways – to show off yourself, showcase your products, share essential info and most valuable tutorials, drive traffic, and gain loyal followers.
How to create Instagram highlights?
There are two ways to do so. You can create new highlighted stories from an active story or from the ones that have been archived.
- Creating highlighted stories from an active stories – post new instastories, and manually save them in a highlight
- Creating highlighted stories from archived stories – your old stories are stored up in the Instagram stories archive – you can look through them and decide which stories to be visible in a highlights section. This way, you can make your old content accessible to new followers – such a time saver.
To wrap-up!
Business owners and content creators love this feature – no wonder it’s extremely practical! Whether you’re a freelancer running your Instagram profile like a portfolio, business owner, social media manager, or fashion blogger who would love to keep a day-by-day outfits compilation showcased for more than just 24 hours, Instagram stories highlights give you plenty of creative and entrepreneurial possibilities. If someone had only five seconds to form an opinion about your profile – would it be a surprisingly positive one?
Don’t underestimate the power your strategic stories have!
Have you added Instastories highlights to your profile yet? If so, are you happy with how they work and how they look like? Or is this something you plan to implement right now? You’ll thank yourself later 🙂 Now go and create epic highlighted stories! What holds you back from updating your Instagram highlights?
