Highlighting Your Band Or Brand On Instagram

Rolled out in December, the Highlights feature on Instagram provides bands and artists alike an opportunity to emphasize preferred content to fans via their Instagram story. Here we look at several areas of their profession which artists can draw attention to using Highlights.

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Guest post by Ryan Whitman, The Orchard's Manager of Interactive Marketing from The Daily Rind

Announced in December, Highlights is already becoming an important and useful tool on Instagram. The feature works exactly as it sounds, it is a way to highlight some of your favorite Instagram Stories, placing them at the top of your profile even after they’ve timed out.

To create a Highlight simply hit the “New” button on your profile. From there, you can select one or more of your current Instagram Stories, or older archived Stories. Click ‘Next’ and this will lead you to a screen where you can edit the cover and name the Highlights Bucket. As a tip, create a cover Instagram Story aligned with your brand before you start adding Stories to the desired Highlight. This way your highlights are uniform and brand-focused.

Now that we’ve discussed how the feature works, we’ll discuss what kind of content to include. Highlights are an introduction to who you are for new viewers/potential followers. Think of this as an opportunity to put your best foot forward. Here are some potential topics to cover:

Tour: If you’re on tour consider creating an easy tour Vlog via Instagram Stories. Your Highlight Bucket could either be the full tour, or split city by city if it’s a longer tour. If you do city by city you can then do a Tour Highlights once it’s over to clear up space.

Album Previews: If you preview your new album with Instagram Stories, be sure to put them together as a Highlight, especially if you can swipe up to access the album.

Band Practice: Tease snippets to upcoming shows or new music and emphasize your skills with live footage.

Press Tours: If you’re planning to stop by a few offices or play some sets, be sure to document it via Instagram Stories and put them into a Highlight.

Create a Series: Do you do weekly covers? Wednesday wisdom? A Coffee and Chat with your audience? Whatever the series, be sure to Highlight them weekly so your audience gets a better picture of what to expect from your page.

No matter what ideas you stumble upon, it’s important to continue making new content and connect with your audience while staying true to your brand. Captivate your audience and keep them coming back for more!