The new Instagram Guides are a new communication format for the social network, but as old as the Web: they are blog posts dedicated to in-depth analysis
With Instagram Guides, the social network based on photos and images expands its frontiers and makes room, with a completely dedicated format, for the advice of influencers. After the muted debut last May, it seems that the time has finally come for Instagram to give free rein to the creativity of the platform's most influential users.
The Guides format was created by Instagram to allow influencers - and now also normal users - to create longer and richer content, compared to the typical structure of the Instagram post that normally includes only one or more photos and a description accompanied by hashtags. With the Instagram Guides, the platform aims to give a style more similar to a blog post, with text, images or galleries and videos for a more in-depth view of the subject matter. This, according to experts, would all point to increase the time spent within the platform, thus avoiding exits to other destinations as often happens with the practice of the link in the biography (not working, however, in the post).
Instagram Guides, how they work
As anticipated by Instagram, the Guides will from now on have a more prominent place within the application. They will no longer be exclusively for a small group of creators, as was the case in the beginning, but everyone will be able to create their own guide full of tips and indications in larger formats than the canons of Instagram.
Available in a dedicated tab within the profile, the Instagram Guides will include opinions on the most used and appreciated products - including those in the recent Instagram Shopping -, places of interest and more substantial posts. In addition, thanks to the improved search function, it will be easier to find the Instagram Guides of your liking on the entire platform, with the possibility of discovering new profiles still unknown to share via Stories and private messages.
Instagram Guides, a bit of history
Introduced during last May, Instagram Guides have undergone an extensive development process through collaboration between the social network, experts and creators. The run-in of the initial phase focused on mental health and wellness tips, a choice also driven by the weight of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the entire planet.
Since August, however, the social network has begun a deep process of expansion, going to identify those topics of greatest interest among its users. Among these, Instagram had identified at first the theme of travel, among the protagonists of the photos on the platform, until then to concretize everything in a series of broader spectrum advice, not bound by a basic topic.