Your Instagram profile is often the first thing potential customers see when they discover your business. In just a few seconds, visitors decide whether to follow you or move on. That’s why making a strong first impression matters so much.
One of the best ways to showcase what your business is all about is to add Highlights on Instagram. These little circles sitting below your bio give visitors a quick glimpse into your products, services, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Unlike regular Stories that disappear after 24 hours, Highlights stay on your profile for as long as you want them there.
If you run a business and want to turn profile visitors into followers and customers, Highlights are a simple but powerful tool. In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to create, design, and organize your Instagram Highlights to promote your business effectively. Let’s get started.
What Are Instagram Highlights and Why Use Them for Business
Instagram Highlights are collections of Stories that you save permanently on your profile. When you post a Story, it normally disappears after 24 hours. But when you add that Story to a Highlight, it stays visible on your profile page, right below your bio and above your regular posts.
Each Highlight appears as a small circle with a cover image and a name. Visitors can tap on any Highlight to watch the Stories inside, just like watching regular Stories. You can create as many Highlights as you want and organize them however makes sense for your business.
For businesses, Highlights serve as a visual menu that helps visitors understand what you offer. Think of them as a quick introduction to your brand. Instead of making people scroll through months of posts to learn about your products or services, you can show them everything important in one organized place.
Major brands understand the power of Highlights. When you visit Coca-Cola on Instagram, you’ll see Highlights organized by campaigns, events, and brand moments. This approach helps visitors quickly find content that interests them.
Highlights also help you build a sense of community around your brand. By sharing customer testimonials, team introductions, and behind-the-scenes content in your Highlights, you create a connection with your audience. This is similar to how Instagram community hubs bring people together around shared interests.
The great thing about Highlights is that they work for any type of business. Whether you sell physical products, offer services, or run a personal brand, there’s a way to use Highlights that fits your needs.
How to Create Your First Instagram Highlight
Creating your first Instagram Highlight is simple, and you have two main ways to do it. You can either create a Highlight from Stories you’ve already posted, or you can create one directly from a new Story.
Creating a Highlight From Your Archive
If you’ve been posting Stories for a while, you probably have content saved in your archive that would make great Highlights. Here’s how to turn those old Stories into a new Highlight:
- Go to your Instagram profile page
- Tap the plus icon in the Highlights section or tap “New” if you don’t have any Highlights yet
- Select the Stories you want to include from your archive
- Tap “Next” when you’ve selected everything you want
- Give your Highlight a name that describes the content
- Choose a cover image from one of your selected Stories or upload a custom cover
- Tap “Add” to create your Highlight
Your new Highlight will now appear on your profile for everyone to see.
Creating a Highlight From a Current Story
You can also add Highlights on Instagram directly from a Story that’s currently live on your profile. This is useful when you’ve just posted something you know you’ll want to keep. While viewing your active Story, tap the “Highlight” button at the bottom of the screen. You can then add it to an existing Highlight or create a brand new one.
Tips for Creating Better Stories for Highlights
Since Highlights are made from Stories, the quality of your Stories directly affects how good your Highlights will look. Before you start building your Highlight collection, consider creating Stories with your Highlights in mind.
Plan your Story content around categories that matter to your business. If you’re a restaurant, you might create Stories specifically for your menu items, your team, or customer reviews. Each of these can become its own Highlight.
You can also add multiple pictures to one Instagram Story to create more engaging content that works well in Highlights. This lets you tell a more complete story in a single Story frame.
Remember that you can always go back and add more Stories to an existing Highlight. Your Highlights can grow over time as you create new content.
Designing Professional Highlight Covers
Your Highlight covers are the first thing people notice when they visit your profile. Default covers show the first frame of your first Story, which often looks messy or inconsistent. Custom covers, on the other hand, make your profile look professional and organized.
Why Custom Covers Matter
Consistent, branded Highlight covers signal that you take your business seriously. They create visual harmony across your profile and make it easy for visitors to understand what each Highlight contains at a glance. When all your covers follow the same style, your profile looks polished and trustworthy.
Creating Your Own Covers
You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create great Highlight covers. Design tools make it easy for anyone to create professional-looking covers that match their brand.
Canva is one of the most popular options for creating covers. Their Instagram Highlight Covers templates give you a starting point that you can customize with your brand colors, fonts, and icons. Simply choose a template, edit it to match your brand, and download your new covers.
When designing covers, keep these tips in mind:
- Use your brand colors consistently across all covers
- Choose simple icons or images that clearly represent each category
- Keep text minimal since covers display very small on the profile
- Make sure the important part of your design is centered
If you want even more options, you can find free Instagram Highlight covers online that you can download and use right away, or use them as inspiration for your own designs.
How to Change Your Highlight Cover
Once you have your custom covers ready, changing them is straightforward:
- Tap and hold on the Highlight you want to edit
- Select “Edit Highlight”
- Tap “Edit Cover”
- Upload your custom cover image from your camera roll
- Adjust the position if needed and tap “Done”
Your new cover will appear on your profile immediately.
How to Organize Your Highlights for Maximum Impact
Creating Highlights is just the first step. How you organize them can make a big difference in how effectively they promote your business. Think about the journey you want visitors to take when they land on your profile.
Putting Your Most Important Highlights First
Highlights appear in a row on your profile, and visitors see them from left to right. The first few Highlights are the most visible without scrolling, so these spots should go to your most important content.
For many businesses, the first Highlight might be an introduction to who you are and what you do. The second could feature your best-selling products or services. The third might show customer testimonials or reviews. This order guides visitors through a logical introduction to your business.
Keeping Your Highlights Updated
A common mistake is creating Highlights and then forgetting about them. Old, outdated content can hurt your credibility. Make a habit of reviewing your Highlights regularly to remove anything that’s no longer relevant and add fresh content.
For example, if you run seasonal promotions, remove the holiday sale Highlight once the season ends. If you’ve updated your product line, make sure your product Highlights reflect what’s currently available.
Using Highlights to Support Sales
If you sell products on Instagram, your Highlights can work directly with your shopping features. Create Highlights that showcase specific product categories, new arrivals, or sale items. If you haven’t already, consider taking the time to set up Instagram Shopping so customers can buy directly from your content.
You can even create a dedicated Highlight showing customers how to shop from your Instagram page, making the purchasing process clear and simple.
Business Highlight Ideas That Attract Customers
Not sure what Highlights to create for your business? Here are proven categories that work well for many types of businesses.
Products or Services
Dedicate Highlights to showcase what you sell. If you have multiple product categories, create a separate Highlight for each one. This makes it easy for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for. Fashion brand Tekkawear uses this approach to organize their product offerings in a way that helps shoppers browse easily.
Customer Reviews and Testimonials
Social proof is incredibly powerful for convincing potential customers to buy. Create a Highlight featuring screenshots of positive reviews, customer photos, or video testimonials. When visitors see that real people love your products or services, they’re much more likely to trust your business.
Behind the Scenes
People connect with people, not faceless brands. A behind-the-scenes Highlight lets visitors see the real humans running your business. Show your workspace, introduce team members, or share the process of creating your products. This builds trust and makes your brand more relatable.
FAQs and How-To Content
Save yourself time by addressing common questions in a dedicated Highlight. Cover topics like shipping information, return policies, sizing guides, or how to use your products. This serves as a helpful resource for potential customers and reduces the number of repetitive messages you receive.
New Arrivals and Launches
Keep a Highlight updated with your latest products or services. This gives returning visitors a quick way to see what’s new without scrolling through your entire feed. Update it regularly to keep the content fresh.
Sales and Promotions
Running a sale or special offer? Create a Highlight to promote it. Include details about the discount, what’s included, and any deadlines. Just remember to remove or update this Highlight once the promotion ends.
Real-World Examples
Looking at how successful businesses use Highlights can give you inspiration. Wolf and Gypsy Vintage is a great example of a small vintage business that uses Highlights effectively to showcase their unique inventory. When you visit wolfandgypsyvintage on Instagram, you can see how they organize content in a way that helps customers find exactly what they’re looking for.
Highlights can also drive meaningful engagement with your audience. When followers interact with your Highlight content, they’re more likely to receive Instagram notifications about your future posts, keeping your business top of mind.
How to Track Your Highlight Performance
Once you’ve created your Highlights, you’ll want to know how they’re performing. Are people actually watching them? Which Highlights are most popular? This information helps you make better decisions about what content to create.
Viewing Your Highlight Insights
If you have a business or creator account on Instagram, you can access insights for your Highlights. Here’s how:
- Open the Highlight you want to check
- Swipe up while viewing any Story in the Highlight
- You’ll see metrics like views, interactions, and reach
Keep in mind that you can only see detailed insights for Stories added within the last 14 days. For older content, the metrics won’t be available.
What to Look For
Pay attention to which Highlights get the most views. If your “Products” Highlight gets much more attention than your “About Us” Highlight, that tells you visitors are primarily interested in what you sell. Use this information to prioritize the content you create.
Also watch for drop-off points. If people consistently stop watching partway through a Highlight, the content might be too long or losing their interest. Consider breaking longer Highlights into shorter, more focused categories.
Understanding Your Viewers
You might wonder who exactly is watching your Highlights. While insights show you view counts, getting more detail requires some extra steps. Learn how to see who views your Instagram Highlights to better understand your audience and how they interact with your content.
Use viewer information to identify patterns. Are your most engaged viewers existing customers or potential new ones? This can help you tailor your Highlight content to the audience that matters most to your business.
Growing Your Business Beyond Instagram Highlights
Highlights are just one piece of a successful Instagram strategy. To truly grow your business on the platform, you need to think about how Highlights fit into your broader approach.
Connecting Highlights to Your Overall Content
Your Highlights should complement your regular posts and Stories, not replace them. Think of your profile as a complete package. Your feed posts create interest and attract followers. Your Stories provide daily engagement and behind-the-scenes content. Your Highlights preserve the most important information and guide visitors through your business.
When you add Highlights on Instagram with this bigger picture in mind, everything works together to convert visitors into customers.
Using Highlights to Support Campaigns
Whenever you launch something new, whether it’s a product, service, or promotion, create Story content that you can add to a Highlight. This extends the life of your campaign content beyond the standard 24-hour Story window.
For example, if you’re launching a new product, create Stories showing the product from different angles, explaining its features, and sharing customer reactions. Save all of this to a Highlight so potential customers can find it anytime.
Scaling Your Instagram Efforts
As your business grows, managing Instagram can become time-consuming. Creating Stories, updating Highlights, responding to messages, and engaging with followers all take time. To scale efficiently, consider using Instagram automation tools that help with routine tasks while you focus on creating great content.
These tools can help with scheduling, engagement, and analytics, giving you more time to plan and create the kind of compelling Highlight content that attracts customers.
Reaching New Audiences
While Highlights help convert visitors who already found your profile, you also need strategies to attract new people. The Instagram algorithm shows your content to people based on their interests and behaviors.
If you feel like you’re always seeing the same types of content and want fresh inspiration, you can reset your Instagram Explore page to discover new ideas. This can help you find content trends and inspiration for your own posts and Stories.
To reach new potential customers, focus on creating shareable content, using relevant hashtags, and engaging authentically with accounts in your niche. The more visibility your regular content gets, the more people will land on your profile and discover your carefully crafted Highlights.
Staying Consistent
The businesses that see the best results from Instagram are the ones that stay consistent over time. This doesn’t mean you need to post constantly, but you should show up regularly and keep your profile fresh.
Schedule time each week to post Stories with your Highlights in mind. Review your Highlights monthly to remove outdated content and add new material. Keep your covers looking consistent and professional as you add new categories.
When potential customers visit your profile and see well-organized, up-to-date Highlights, they get the impression of an active, professional business they can trust.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to add Highlights on Instagram is one of the simplest ways to improve your business profile. These permanent collections of Stories give visitors a quick understanding of who you are, what you offer, and why they should follow or buy from you.
Start by creating a few essential Highlights based on the categories that matter most to your business. Design custom covers that match your brand. Organize your Highlights strategically and keep them updated over time. Track your performance and adjust based on what you learn.
With well-planned Highlights, you turn your Instagram profile into a powerful tool that works for your business around the clock. Every visitor who lands on your profile gets the information they need to take the next step, whether that’s following your account, browsing your products, or reaching out to learn more.
