Introduction
When new features on social media platforms are announced, social media marketers frequently try to determine the cost and benefits of utilizing specific features for their business. They must decide whether the cost of learning how to use a new feature is worthwhile, and whether it will result in increased engagement and sales.
Instagram Guides is a new feature that allows you to share information and recommendations with your followers. When you create a Guide, you are effectively creating a blog post that is made up of other Instagram posts but is built into the Instagram platform.
Growth can take various forms for different businesses. The growth objectives are determined by the brand's objectives and the purpose of the content strategy. When attempting to grow your brand, it is critical to establish measurable objectives. This will keep you on track and posting effectively. It is not sufficient to simply post; you must post effectively as well.
Instagram growth can take many forms. Follower growth is one of the most common growth metrics. So, perhaps you'd like to increase your total number of followers. When doing so, keep in mind the distinction between the number of followers and the number of engaged followers. This means ensuring that your followers are interested in your company and interact with your content—using Guides effectively is a great way to target interested users.
Instagram Guides growth is similar to growth in other areas and post types. The fundamental principles and theoretical understandings of growth are the same.
Instagram Guides are classified into three types: places, products, and posts.
1: Set the rules and stand out
Because Instagram Guides are a new feature, there are no rules or expected posts. This means you get to set the rules. When your audience has an expectation of a certain type of post, the standards rise exponentially. This is why there are so many post elements that are consistently replicated across multiple accounts; those are the things that work. When users view a feed post, particularly a brand post, they have certain expectations that must be met or they will unfollow.
However, with Guides, you can be a part of the revolutionary users who get to make the rules. Because conventions and expected formats do not yet exist, you can be as creative and exciting as you want.
It is also important to note that audiences may be resistant to new features and types of posts. This means you have the opportunity to entice them. You have to be their entry point into the world of Instagram Guides.
Nonetheless, being one of the first people to use a new feature, and using it well, is important to a growing audience. It will demonstrate that you are current and relevant—given how quickly we are accustomed to receiving information and how accustomed we are to instant gratification, we only want to receive relevant information.
2: Promoting your content
The ability to promote your content is the most effective way to expand your audience. Promotion is accomplished in two ways: first, by promoting your content via Instagram Guides, and second, by promoting your Guide.
You will be able to create insights into the product that you are selling on Instagram by using the product Guide. People frequently want to learn more about a product before purchasing it, so creating a Guide to your products is a great way to show your audience more. It could mean the difference between making or losing a sale. Anything you do to assist in the creation of your products is beneficial and will help you expand your audience. It will also aid in the expansion of your business and the conversion of views into sales.
If your company has a physical location, the Place Guide is a great way to promote it. You can incorporate a Guide into many different aspects of your business; it can be an effective way of communicating to your target audience what your brand stands for. You can share educational content about aspects of your business, as well as make it simple for your audience to share your brand with their friends and family.
You are effectively promoting your post by including it in the "posts" Guide. Whether your Guides are entirely made up of your own posts or a compilation of many users' posts, having your own post in there promotes your content. The same is true if your post is included in another user's Guide—it is a simple way to promote your content. These three types of Guides, products, places, and posts, all have distinct but powerful implications for growing your audience and business.
There are several approaches you can take to promote the Instagram Guide itself.
However, you will primarily rely on shares. You should share your stories' posts and encourage your audience to do the same. Instagram Guides will eventually appear on the Explore page, but until then, you must promote them organically.
Promoting your general content will also result in the promotion of your Guides. Using hashtags and location geotags in your standard feed post is an excellent way to accomplish this. Leave a reference to your Guide in your caption to direct your audience to your profile and then to the Guide. Implementing sponsored posts, for example, is an excellent way to reach new audience members. Instagram ads will be especially useful if you have an Instagram shop or a business with a physical location.
In essence, you must be able to promote your content, and this includes all types of content. Getting people to your profile should be the first step, followed by having such high-quality content that they can't help but click the follow button. On your profile, it should be simple and clear to see what your company is all about, which brings us to branding.
3: Expert branding
Creating Instagram guides is a great way to expand your branding and help your business grow.
Growth necessitates the use of branding. Branding is, in essence, the perception that your target audience has of your company. Your brand must take into account the needs and desires of your target audience and be appropriate for your content. Branding strategies typically involve increasing brand awareness, brand recognition, and, finally, brand loyalty. Instagram Guides will give your brand a new dimension.
Instagram Guides are a great way to establish yourself as an expert, which is one of the most important aspects of marketing and branding. Your audience must trust you and believe that you are a reliable source of information. Given the prevalence of scam and spam accounts, you must do everything possible to ensure that your audience believes you are genuine and relevant.
You should also make certain that your account is configured as a business profile. This adds a professional touch. Because appearances are everything in social media, you should take advantage of any opportunity to promote your brand. This will aid your growth because only brands thrive. Random business accounts get lost in the shuffle and are forgotten. Branding is critical to growth because it improves clarity and professionalism.
4: Depth to your posts
Instagram Guides are an excellent way to add depth to your posts. You can expand on your content and add more detail to themes you've already shared on your feed. In a Guide, grouping your posts by subject or theme is an excellent way to direct your audience to a specific area of your expertise. Creating Guides based on specific ideas and concepts is a great way to show your audience what you can offer them beyond simple feed content.
Because viewers don't desire surface-level content, this will help you grow. They want to know who they're supporting and feel like they're a part of the process. Users are exposed to thousands of businesses on a regular basis, but they want to interact with them instead.
Instagram introduced Guides to make it easier for users to share and receive recommendations, tips, and information. This allows you to establish a stronger connection with your audience. It's a terrific approach to boost your branding to be able to provide additional information, whether it's about items, places, or topics.
Whether you want to augment your own postings with those from other users or not, you'll still be able to achieve your branding objectives. However, if you choose to mix in other people's postings with your own, you're also bringing your own content into the debate. Other users are more more likely to share your posts, exposing your work to new audiences. However, you can add depth to your material and develop your business by being picky about the content you post and only sharing content from respected businesses with a following that is similar to your target demographic.
5: Collaboration
Instagram Guides are also a fantastic method to work with new and interesting accounts. It's a terrific approach to develop your network of connections because you may add posts from any person to your Guides. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Instagram is collaboration. The ability to collaborate on material with another user is an excellent method to strengthen both of your businesses.
Creating guides for various types of businesses, such as cafes, secondhand stores, high-end stores, small businesses, cellar doors, and pizza restaurants, could lead to sponsorship opportunities.
Businesses aim to advertise themselves through people and brands that they respect and that their target audience respects. As a result, if you've successfully employed Guides in the past and established yourself as an authority and a trendsetter, it's feasible that businesses will want to cooperate with you in order to build their audience, which will in turn grow yours.
Collaborations are very popular among users. They frequently trust the brands that their favorite brands promote on social media. Finding innovative and engaging collaboration possibilities is a terrific approach to expand your audience. Guides are an excellent and simple approach to work with new users. Your entries may also be included in other Guides once you've established a good reputation and incorporated your content into the larger community. This will increase the number of individuals who see your account, resulting in more followers and overall brand growth. In general, Instagram Guides open up a slew of new growth options.
Conclusion
Instagram Guides are an excellent method to expand your following. But it's equally critical that you don't overlook your tried-and-true growth strategies. If you've found success in one area, keep doing what you're doing. New ventures, on the other hand, can complement your existing tactics but should not, at least at first, overpower them. In essence, the only way to tell if something will work is to give it a shot.
You'll need to keep an eye on your analytics to discover which strategies are delivering outcomes that are in accordance with your business objectives. Check your engagement, analytics, and insights using both built-in and third-party tools, and measure and quantify what you're doing and how it's delivering the results you desire for your brand.
Instagram Guides are a brand-new feature that can help you expand your business. Take advantage of the chance to establish yourself as a reliable source of information and a valuable resource in your field, and watch your brand flourish!