Optimize Your Business Instagram Account with Story Highlights

In the ever-changing world of Instagram marketing, it may feel like your business can never keep up with the latest trends, best practices, and latest algorithm updates. As an agency with a speciality in Instagram marketing, we understand how overwhelming it can be.

Many of our clients don’t know where to start, either.

At strategysmith marketing, we’ve realized there are simple, practical ways to utilize Instagram features to not only optimize a profile but to also provide value for a business’s clientele. 

Instagram Story Highlights are one of the most popular features that Instagram offers. They’ve been around for years, but many businesses either aren’t using them or aren’t using them effectively.

Highlights started as a way to prolong the life of an Instagram Story. Now, they’re used as a way to highlight a business’s important info and serve as a glimpse into a business’s work culture.

What’s an Instagram Story Highlight?

For clarity, we’ll use the terms “Story” or “Stories” to refer to Instagram Stories; we’ll use “Highlight” or “Highlights” to refer to Instagram Story Highlights.

Highlights are a collection of photos, videos, and posts that you’ve shared to your Story in the past but have chosen to pin to your profile.

Unlike Instagram Stories, which vanish after 24 hours, Highlights live permanently on your profile, allowing you to add or delete content from them at any time. Highlights are the circles featured below an account’s bio but above the account’s feed.

The best practices for using Highlights have changed in the past few years. Originally, Highlights were used as a “catch-all” for expired Stories, and you’ll find many users and businesses still employ this method.

However, that system of using Highlights detracts from the feature’s true value potential.

When thinking about how to best use an Instagram feature for your business, including Highlights, ask yourself, “How can I use this feature to provide value to my customers/clients?”

While Instagram is typically used for entertainment, the app is increasingly becoming a search platform. This means you can use your Instagram profile as a way to educate your clients about your business. 

In 2024, Instagram users access a business’s Highlights to find evergreen (continually relevant) and useful information about that business. For instance, a restaurant can include details about its happy hour specials, menu, upcoming events, and images of its most popular items.

A dentist’s office can include services, new patient information, financing options, and questions frequently answered by receptionists.

Using evergreen information is also helpful so that you don’t have to remember to take down a Highlight when it’s no longer relevant.

Take a look at some examples below.

Creating Highlights – Design

There are several components of a Highlight: Title, Cover Image, and Stories.

First, brainstorm a list of important information about your business that’s evergreen, meaning it continually remains relevant. It may help to think of questions that are commonly asked by your clients.

Once you have 3-5 topics chosen for your Highlights, you can design a cover photo to add visual appeal and cohesion– we suggest using Canva.

This step isn’t necessary, but if you choose to design a Highlight cover photo, the most effective way is to use a single color, choose one icon for every Highlight (we just use a cup of coffee), or use different icons to represent different Highlight categories. 

Tip: These covers are generally too small to read text, which is why we suggest icons.

Don’t worry, you can name each Highlight, which will give context to your viewer. These names are limited to 15 characters with only 11-12 of those characters being visible.

Pro Tip: Don’t use multiple colors or plan for a pattern of colors, because you can’t arrange the order of Highlights. The order is automatically updated to the most recently updated highlight.

Posting Highlights – Step-by-Step

If you haven’t created a Highlight before, go to Settings then Archive. 

1. Go to your profile page by clicking your profile photo in the lower right corner.
2. From there, choose the menu, which looks like 3 horizontal lines, in the upper right corner.
3. Click Archive, and you’ll see all of your past Stories.

If you have active Highlights on your profile, you can click the + button that says “New.”

Either way, once you arrive at the Story archive, follow the next steps.

Click on a Story that you want to highlight, then in the bottom right, click on the heart that says “Highlights.” This will take you through the process of creating a new highlight.

1. Choose a Story or Stories then click “Next.”
2. Create a Highlight name or relevant emoji that can be easily understood. If you leave this blank, it will be named “Highlights.”
3. If you created a cover photo in Canva and downloaded it to your phone, you can click “Edit cover” and choose that from your camera roll.

Once you’ve published the Highlight, you should see it on your profile. To edit, click the Highlight, then click the three dots that say “More” in the lower right corner, which will allow you to edit the name, cover photo, and featured Stories.

That’s it. You now have Highlights on your profile!

With a little planning and creativity, Instagram Highlights captivate visitors by adding value and transparency by anticipating their needs.

If this all feels a bit overwhelming, don’t forget – you don’t have to do it alone.

Need a partner?

strategysmith marketing is ready to work with you and your business on content marketing and social media marketing, as well as to provide valuable insights into the best practices for your digital marketing strategy.

Ready to chat about your marketing efforts? Reach out to us here.