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Instagram is a widely used storefront for all businesses alike, but especially small businesses. The options are endless. From stories, to website links, product photos, customer engagement, and more. This social media platform has so much potential, it's often easy to overlook some of the most important features. The average person does not have a huge attention span, most viewers are not taking the time to scroll your entire feed. They are looking at the main top portion of your page, the first grid, your profile photo, bio/description, and those highlights. The Highlights are eye-catching, they can click through old stories and really get a glimpse of who you and your customers are. This article will cover 5 different ways to use your highlight reels to the fullest potential to maximize your storefront.
Let's start with the basics. Your highlights are basically the stories that you can go back and upload to be on your page for as long as you'd like. Under your “Edit Profile” button on your profile's main page, you will notice a circular plus sign button with “New” under it. This is where your highlights will live, click through and pick which stories you’d like to restore and at the end it will let you pick one of those pictures to be the cover art that will be the face of the reel. One option for the cover could be a theme. If you prefer a more cohesive look to your business, you can buy premade highlight covers from Etsy, you may also want to try design your own which can be free by using a design platform such as Canva. Keep in mind, you must still upload these on your story for the full 24 hours to be used in a highlight. Check out some examples of premade themes or regular pictures that look cohesive:
Now you’re probably wondering what you should be uploading to maximize the potential of your business. Here are five different reels every small business owner should have. First is a customer review highlight. When buying off Amazon, you most definitely look at the product reviews first before purchasing. You are no different, your clients want to see the quality of your product or customer service. Take reviews off your Google My Business Page, Facebook, or Website and convert them to stories. There are plenty of templates to choose from online to create a beautifully made story with a simple quote. Heres another example:
Secondly are your products, whether you're serving gorgeous lattes, pottery, or flowers. We want to see what you have to offer. If you are well versed in stories already, you should have links to your website for customers to find your products and actually purchase, thus converting some simple clicks into actual sales. Not a lot of people actually click the “link in my bio” spiel anymore, it is so important to include links in your stories.
Third is an FAQ, think about your most asked questions and answer them! When are you open? Do you accept returns? How are your products made? Where are you located? Every business has a niche, really dial in what people want to know specifically about you and your offerings. You may already have an FAQ page on your website, making it easy to transfer to stories.
Do you participate in farmers markets, hold workshops, happy hour, participate in gatherings of any sort? If not, you may want to start! If you already do, this is a great opportunity to get the public involved in your business. Show stories of the when/where of the event as well as you engaging with new customers, people walking in and out having a great time. You really want to showcase that you aren't a big corporate company, you want to be as personable and real in your everyday business life, but also your social media life.
Lastly, to go back to keeping it personal. Do a highlight of you speaking about the products you offer. This may be a tutorial on how to use it, maybe how it's made, or the story behind how it was created in the first place. Throw in stagnant pictures between the videos on any of your reels, but videos are extra engaging and personalize your small business and you. Every product is unique, every business is unique. What do you have to offer that makes you stand out? This is your opportunity to showcase yourself and this passion you brought to life, let the public see that.
Go get some inspiration from your favorite brands and what they're doing, and keep in mind if you're posting a lot of different highlight reels that the first one you publish will be on the right hand side and the new ones will be to the left of it. You may want to keep the most interesting ones to the left to capture your viewer. Good luck and let's get creative!
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