Instagram Guides: What are They and How Can You Make One

The Meta-owned social media platform has created a seamless way to curate users' favorite posts and share them across communities.

Back in May 2020, Instagram introduced a new feature called Guides to experts and creators to create simple guides that presents reliable information on well-being. This effort came as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was offered to all of Instagram's users in November that same year following the positive response from community members and users.

The Meta-owned company continues vying to become the primary source of reliable information for its users. Now, any user can learn how to make an Instagram Guide as the feature was made more widely available, as announced in an update.

What are Instagram Guides?

Instagram Guides are a collection of curated published posts, Reels, or Lives organized in a way that provides new valuable content to a users' audience. Because the published posts are organized into one location as a "Guide," it then becomes easier for users to promote old content and share ideas that would earn more likes and comments and increase engagement.

Describing it as "a way to more easily discover recommendations, tips and other content from your favorite creators, public figures, organizations and publishers on Instagram," Guides enables users to repurpose published original content, as well as those from a user's favorite creators, public figures, organizations, publishers, and more on Instagram, Sprout Social explained.

One of the basics of knowing how to make an Instagram Guide is understanding its three types: Places, Products, and Posts. HubSpot explained that Places is a kind of Guide that's great for sharing travel-related or location-specific content. Such examples include a list of new dive bars in the city, lesser known tourist spots to visit during a road trip, or must-see museums for art enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, Products are a type of Instagram Guides that allows users to showcase their favorite products from Instagram Shops. Users can curate their favorite products, stores, tutorials, and more on any topic or theme. Lastly, Posts are for collecting articles, commentaries, and other content that users have created themselves or from others that they have found interesting.

How to Make an Instagram Guide

The first step in how to make an Instagram Guide is to determine what type of Guide is best suited for a user's theme or topic. Once a user has decided between Place, Product, or Post, they can now tap on their profile and click the plus sign on the top right corner, which would reveal the menu option "Guide."

Select the type of Instagram Guide to create and simply add the content to the guide. This content can come from shared or saved posts from others or the user's published posts and more.

The user will then have to label the Instagram Guide with a few details such as the title and summary, as well as a cover photo if desired. Users can also add titles and descriptions, commentary, or insights to every post in the Instagram Guide. Once done, tap Share.

Instagram Guides are a great way to repurpose old content or spark new interest in ideas that users have posted a while back. From recommendations to must-see checklists, Instagram Guides are a unique way to share new insights with the community.