12 Instagram Story Highlight Ideas for Small Business
Instagram Story Highlights are a great way to show off your business and promote yourself on the platform. For example, if you run a bakery, you could create an Instagram Story highlight called "What's New?" to show off new flavors as they come out. Or if you're a yoga instructor, you could use highlights called "Classes" and "Tips & Tricks" to share information about what students can expect from each class and how they can improve their practice. The possibilities are endless! In this article, we'll go over 12 ways small businesses can use Instagram Stories Highlights:
1. Show off your products or services.
Create a story highlighting your products or services.
Show the product or service in action. If you sell shoes, show some images of people wearing them. If you’re a photographer, show off some of the work that can be found in your portfolio and on your website.
Show how they are made and created, including any unique features or processes involved in their production. For example: “We make all of our clothing by hand in Brooklyn using only natural fabrics from local mills; this is why our clothes look so fresh!”
Show how to use them (if applicable). This is especially helpful if it's something new that customers may not know about yet—like an application for mobile devices that allows users to connect with other users nearby who share similar interests (like hiking), but don't know many others like themselves locally yet because most social media platforms aren't nearly as location-specific when it comes down to actual physical location data being used by users’ smartphones' GPS systems when sending out posts/messages/etcetera online instead."
2. Show the process behind creating your product or service.
Show the process behind creating your product or service.
Show how you make your product or service and give tips on how to use it. Give a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into your work, from start to finish.
3. Share client reviews.
Sharing customer reviews on your Instagram Story is a great way to show off the work you’re doing and get new clients. To make it even better, use the client’s name and location (or business name), along with a link to their website or social media account. If you have permission from your client, share their review in full!
Next up: How to export Instagram Stories into a video file for sharing on other platforms like YouTube or Vimeo.
4. Give guidance
Give guidance on how to use your product or service.
Instagram Stories are a great way to give step-by-step instructions on how to use your product or service. For example, if you sell shoes, show your audience exactly how they can wear them with different outfits and accessories in the story (and then link them to a blog post that has more ideas).
Pro Tip: Give examples of how people could use your products/services in everyday situations and tag those who would use it as well (this is where tagging comes in handy!) Also, include links to more information so that people can learn more about these useful tips!
5. Feature promotions and freebies.
Give a discount. If your business has an upcoming sale or promotion, add it to your story. Give people in your community a heads-up about the special deal and encourage them to check out the products or services you’re offering.
Offer a freebie. Offer something for free—a coupon code, say—and instruct people on how they can redeem it by tapping on your username at the beginning of the video so that they know where to find it (in the description). This will ensure they don’t miss out on what could be an important opportunity for them!
Promote a new product or service. If you have something new coming out soon that would interest your customers, consider showcasing it on Instagram Stories! You can include images and text detailing what will be available and when/where customers can get their hands on it before anyone else knows about it yet; this way, everyone gets excited while also building up anticipation so they end up buying even more than they would normally have done otherwise because they need those items NOW rather than later when there might not be enough left anymore...
6. Highlight gifts you've received from clients, customers, and partners.
Your clients, customers, and partners love to feel appreciated for their business. If you are a part of the client-provider model, then a simple thank-you note is always welcome. Share photos on Instagram stories of gifts from your customers and partners. This will give them more incentive to keep doing business with you because they know that their hard work is paying off for both of you.
If the customer gave you an item as a gift, share this on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram Stories so all of your followers can see how much they appreciated working with you!
Showcase what makes your company unique by showing which items were gifted from clients/customers/partners so it's not just another generic photo with no context behind why they're important to show off in the first place (otherwise why would anyone care?).
7. "FAQ."
Use the FAQ highlight to respond to frequently asked questions. By this point you've probably created a FAQ section on your website, so why not add a video to it?
Keep it short and sweet. A short video will do just fine. The only thing that matters in this type of highlight is that you answer the question with confidence and clarity.
If you don't know, say so! It's not always possible to have all the answers, but if there's something you're unsure about then say so in your response video and find out for sure by looking into it further (or even hiring someone who does know). Good news: Even if nobody asks about it anymore after that initial response, at least people can look back at their questions when they revisit their highlights later on!
8. "Resources."
Share other people's content with a highlight called "Resources."
You can also use story highlights to share other people's content or highlight a particular event in your business. For example:
Use a highlight called "Resources" to promote products that you recommend or feature other brands.
Use another highlight called "Live events" or "Past guests" to promote past events and the people who have been on your show before.
Create a new highlight titled "Tips & tricks" where you share tips and tricks with your audience!
9. Highlight events "Events."
If you're attending an event, save stories from the event and post about it in real-time with a highlight called "Events." This way, people will know what's happening at your event and be able to join you.
You can also use Instagram Story Highlights to highlight events that are relevant to your business or industry. For example, if you own a dog grooming business and speak at pet industry conferences, post highlights from those conferences as well as pictures of how cute the dogs were who came in for grooming. If there's product news coming out of these events (perhaps new products), make sure not to miss out by saving stories too!
10. "Live Events" or "Past Guests."
Showcase past events and guests on a highlight called "Live Events" or "Past Guests."
Live Events - If you've hosted any live events, you can use this section to show off the photos and videos of your past guests. You can also use this section to promote upcoming events and share images from past ones.
Past Guests - This is a great way to showcase the appearances of influential guests on your show or podcast, as well as any other special guests.
11. Offer tips and tricks with a highlight called "Tips & Tricks."
If you're looking to showcase how to use your product or service, then this is a great idea for a highlight. Showing how to use something can be a great way of demonstrating how it works and showing off your expertise. It also gives you an opportunity to show off your personality and make your business feel more humanized.
12. Announce new blog posts and save the first lines to your highlight called "Blog Posts."
This strategy is a great way to share an update about your business and something new you're doing with the help of your readers. You can do this in two different ways:
Share the first line of your blog post, then share the title and link to the full article on your site.
Share an image along with a caption that invites people to go read more at your site.
Conclusion
The possibilities are endless for your Instagram Stories. You can use them to share coupons, announce new products or services, highlight your team members and events, and more. The key is to choose topics that will be relevant to your audience and keep them coming back for more!
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