Grow On Instagram With Instagram Guides

Introduction

Once the new features on social media platforms get announced, social

media marketers often try to determine the cost and the benefits of using

particular features for their business. They need to decide whether the cost of

learning how to use a new feature will be worth it, and whether or not it would

translate into extra engagement and sales.

The Instagram Guides feature is a new way to share information and

recommendations with your followers. Effectively, when creating a Guide, you

are creating a blog post that is comprised of other Instagram Posts but is built

into the Instagram platform.

Growth can look different for different businesses. The goals of growth

depend on the aims of the brand and the purpose of the content strategy is.

When trying to grow your brand, it is important to set tangible goals. This will

ensure that you are on track and posting effectively. It is not enough to simply

post; you must post effectively.

Growth on Instagram can look like many things. One of the most common

growth metrics is follower growth. So, perhaps you want to increase your

overall follower count. When doing this, you need to remember the difference

between the number of followers, and engaged followers. What this means is

ensuring that your followers actually care about your business and interact

with your content—uses Guides effectively is a great way to target interested

users.

Growth with Instagram Guides is similar to growth in other areas and post

types. The principles and basic theoretical understandings of growth are the

same.

There are three types of Instagram Guides: places, products, and posts.

1: Set the rules and stand out

Naturally, as Instagram Guides are a new feature there are no conventions or

expected posts. This means that you get to make the rules. Once your

audience has an expectation of a kind of post the standards increase

exponentially. This is why there are so many elements of posts that are

consistently replicated across many accounts; because those are the things

that work. When users view a feed post, in particular a brand post, they have

certain expectations that need to be met, or they will disengage.

But, with Guides, however, you can be a part of the revolutionary users who

get to decide the rules. Conventions and expected formats do not exist as of

yet meaning that you can be as creative and exciting as you want.

It is also important to note that audiences may not be receptive to

undertaking new features and forms of posts. This means you get to entice

them. You got to be the entry into the world of Instagram Guides for them.

Nevertheless, being one of the first people to use a new feature, and use it

well, is central to a growing audience. It will show that you are on-trend and

relevant--given how fast we are used to receiving information and how

accustomed we are to instant gratification we only want to be receiving do

you find relevant information.

2: Promoting your content

Being able to promote your content is the best way to grow your audience.

Promotion runs two ways; first promoting your content through Instagram

Guides, and second, promoting your Guide.

Using the product Guide, you will be able to create insights into the product

that you are selling on Instagram. Often people do want to know more about

a product before committing to buying, see creating a Guide to your products

is a great way to show your audience more. It could be the difference

between a sale and not. Anything you do to help make your products is good

and will help you grow your audience. It will also assist in the growth of your

business, and translating views into sales.

If your business has a physical location using the place Guide is a great way

to show it off. You can create a Guide into many different elements of your

business; it can be an effective way of communicating to your audience what

your brand is all about. You can share informative content about elements of

your business, and create an easy way for your audience to share your brand

with their friends and family.

By including your post in the “posts” Guide, you are effectively promoting that

content, too. Whether your Guides are comprised entirely of your own posts,

or you are creating a compilation of many user’s posts; having your own post

in there is a promotion of your content. The same goes for if your post is

included in another user’s Guide—it is an easy promotion of your content.

These three kinds of Guides; products, places, and posts, all have different,

yet effective implications for growing your audience and business.

As for the promotion of the Instagram Guide itself, there are several avenues

you can take.

Primarily, though, you will be relying on shares. You should share your posts

to your story and also encourage your audience to do the same. Eventually,

Instagram Guides will show up on the explore page, but until then you need

to promote them organically.

Promoting your general content, too, will also subsequently promote your

Guides. Using hashtags add location geotags on your standard feed post is a

fantastic way to do this. Leave a reference in your caption to your Guide to

direct your audience over to your profile and onto the Guide.

For example, implementing sponsored posts is a great way to reach new

audience members. Instagram ads are going to be particularly useful if you

either have a shop on Instagram or a business with a physical location.

In essence, you need to be able to promote your content and that means all

kinds of your content. Getting people to your profile should be the first step,

and then having such high-quality content that your audience cannot resist

hitting the follow button. It should be easy and clear on your profile to see

exactly what your business is all about, which leads us into branding.

3: Expert branding

Creating Instagram Guides is a great way to further your branding which will

help you to grow your business. Branding is essential to growth.

Effectively, branding is the perception that your audience has of your

business. Your brand needs to consider the needs and wants of your target

audience and it needs to be appropriate for your content. Branding strategies

usually involve raising brand awareness, gaining brand recognition, and,

finally, achieving brand loyalty. Instagram Guides will add a new dimension to

your brand.

Instagram Guides are a way to market yourself as an expert; one of the

fundamental pillars of marketing and branding. Your audience needs to trust

you and they need to believe that you are a credible source of information.

Given all the scam and spam accounts that are out there, you need to do

anything you can to ensure that your audience believes that you are real and

relevant.

You should also ensure that your account is set up as a business profile. This

adds a level of professionalism. In social media, appearances are everything,

so you should take all opportunities to showcase your brand.

This will help you grow because only brands succeed. Random business

accounts get lost in the clutter and forgotten about. Branding is pivotal to

growth; it helps with clarity and professionalism.

4: Depth to your posts

Instagram Guides are a great way to add a level of depth to your posts. You

are able to expand on your content and add more detail to themes that you

have already shared on your feed.

Grouping your posts by subject or theme in a Guide is a great way to direct

your audience to a particular element of your expertise. Building Guides

around certain ideas and concepts is a fantastic way to show your audience

what you can offer them, beyond just simple feed content.

This will help you grow because audiences do not want surface-level content.

They want to know who they are supporting, and they want to feel like they

are a part of it. there are thousands of brands that users are exposed to on a

daily level, but they want to build a connection, instead.

The reason that Instagram implemented Guides was to make it easier for

users to give and get recommendations, tips, and information. This gives you

the opportunity to create a deeper connection with your audience. To be able

to share additional information, whether it be about products, places, or posts,

is a fantastic way to improve your branding.

Irrespective of whether you choose to supplement your own posts with posts

from other users, you will still be able to further your branding goals. But, if

you choose to include other user’s posts in with your own content, you are

also including your own content in the conversation. The other users will likely

share your posts, therefore exposing your content to new audiences. But, by

being selective about the content that you share, and only including content

from reputable brands with a following that is similar to your target audience,

you will add depth to your content and grow your business.

5: Collaboration

Instagram Guides are also a great way to collaborate with new and different

accounts. As you are able to add posts from any user into your Guides it is a

great way to expand your network of connections.

Collaboration is one of the best parts of Instagram. Being able to create

content with another user is a fantastic way to bolster both of your brands.

Creating Guides for different kinds of businesses, for example; cafes,

secondhand stores high-end stores, small businesses, cellar doors, pizza

restaurants, whatever it may be may lead to sponsorship opportunities as

well.

Businesses want to promote themselves through influences and brands that

they trust and are trusted by their audience. Therefore, if you have used

Guides effectively in the past and presented yourself as an authority and a

trendsetter it is possible that brands will want to collaborate with you in order

to grow their audience which will, in turn, grow yours.

Users also love to see collaborations. They often trust the brands that their

favorite brands post about. Finding unique and exciting opportunities to

collaborate with is a great way to grow your audience. Guides are a fantastic,

and easy way to collaborate with new users.

Additionally, once you have built a strong reputation, and integrated your

content into the wider community, your posts may be included in other

Guides as well. This will help expose your account to new people, which will

translate into new followers and overall brand growth.

Overall, Instagram Guides bring many new opportunities for growth.

Conclusion

Instagram Guides are a fantastic way to help you grow your audience.

But, it is also important that you do not neglect the tried and tested methods

you have for growth. If you have discovered success in one area continue to

do so. However, new endeavors can complement your existing strategies but,

at least initially, should not overshadow them. In essence, the only way you

are going to know if something will be successful is to try.

You will need to be monitoring and checking your analytics and see which

methods are providing you with the results that are in line with your business

goals. Check your engagement, analytics, and insights; using built-in tools, as

well as third-party tools, and measure and quantify the things that you are

doing and how they are giving you the results that you want for your brand.

Instagram Guides are a new and exciting feature that you can use to grow

your brand. Take advantage of the opportunity to present yourself and a

trusted source of information, as well as a valued resource in your industry,

and watch your brand grow!