Instagram Guides: All You Need to Know

Instagram Guides is a new feature on Instagram. It is a whole new and different way to share content with your followers.

But what is it? How do you use it? And why would you use it? These are all questions I will answer in this article.

What are Instagram Guides?

Guides are a new way to share content on your profile. They allow you to share more extensive content.

The basic concept of Instagram Guides is this. You share Instagram posts with accompanying text and other details. That's how all Guides work.

Users can tap on each post and are then sent to that particular post. So that's very convenient.

Thus, you don't create new posts for Instagram Guides. You only add extra content to existing content.

Furthermore, you can also use posts of other people in your Guides

Why should you create an Instagram Guide?

Instagram Guides create a new way to connect to your followers and customers.

You can give more information. Or you can show what you or your brand stands for. Furthermore, it makes your page more interesting to visit.

There are a lot of use cases for this new feature. And what's great is that it is very easy to create one!

Is Instagram Guides available for me?

Yes, it is. The new feature of Instagram Guides was at first only available to some creators. Instagram first tested it with a small selection of accounts.

Now, everyone can access this new feature! Instagram is rolling it out to everyone. So it's also available for you.

How do you create an Instagram Guide?

Creating an Instagram Guide is easy. To do so, you can go to your profile in the Instagram app. At the top, you see a plus sign. When you tap on it, you see several options. Tap on 'Guides' and you are ready to start.

You can then choose from three types of Guides: places, products, and posts. You can use each one for a different purpose.

Places Guides

The first one is 'Places'. This type of guide is good if you want to show or recommend certain places in the world. For example, you can recommend cities, cafes, or other places.

For each place you add, a tappable element to the certain location appears. This works the same as for locations of regular posts.

Furthermore, you can add places by searching for them and choosing from your saved posts. You can also select them from your own posts.

For each place, you can select several posts. You can also choose a title and you can add some optional information.

You can then add a title, add an introduction, or change the cover photo.

By tapping the three dots next to each place you can reorder places or delete one from your Guide.

At the bottom of your screen, you can add new places.

Products Guides

The second type of Instagram Guide is 'Products'. With this type of guide, you can list or recommend products. So this is a great way to show products that you love. But you can only show products that are available through Instagram Shopping.

To add products you can search or choose products from your wishlist. Then for each product, you select you can choose from the photos that are available.

Each product shows a tappable element to the specific product page.

You can edit everything in the same way as for the Guides with places.

Posts Guides

The last Instagram Guide type is 'Posts'. This is the type of Guide for when you want to show anything else.

For example, I created a guide about Instagram photo spots in Paris. There, I added many of my posts in Paris with information about the locations.

You can either add your own posts or posts that you saved on the app.

Editing them works the same as for the other types of Guides.

Where can you find Instagram Guides?

Instagram Guides appear under a brand new tab on your profile. You can recognize the Instagram Guides tab by the new 'Guides'-icon. And it appears next to your feed, IGTV, Reels, Shopping, effects, and tagged photos!

From this tab, you can see all Guides of a page.

If you are on your own profile page, you can create a new guide here as well.

Tapping on a Guide takes you to the Guide. There you can see all content that the page made.

Also, you can see Guides through the Explore Page and the Shopping Page.

How to save Instagram Guides as a draft

You might need to take some time to create an Instagram Guide. Then it is convenient if you don't have to post it at once.

Luckily, you can save an Instagram Guide as a draft!

To do this, you tap on the 'Close'-icon. You then get the options to discard, save as a draft or continue to edit.

After tapping 'Save as draft', you saved your draft. It appears at the Guides tab on your profile. From here you can continue editing.

It could be that your draft does not appear in the Guides tab. In that case, you can close the app and start it up again. Then it should appear.

How can I share my Guides with others?

From the Guide page, you can share the Guide by tapping on the 'Send'-icon at the top of the page.

From there you can send the Guide to specific people. But what's more useful is that you can add the Guide to your story as well. This works the same as for other posts.

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