Ephemeral Content is one that disappears after a certain amount of time. Social networks like Instagram & Snapchat have embraced this concept to drive consumers to Content, which they fear may disappear before they have the chance to see it.
It’s an interesting marketing strategy, but like any other, comes with drawbacks, one of them being a brand’s “best” Content not being available in the long-term on that Site.
So, what can an enterprise do to obviate this? At least for Instagram, the answer lies in Highlights. These are a collection of Instagram Stories, which a company considers more important, or more definitive than their ‘everyday’ Content, a set of media attributes that they do not wish to ‘lose’, Stories that they feel truly define their business, which they prefer to ‘pin’ as pointers to their products.
’Highlights’ is a new tool that Instagram now offers to those who want to create brand identification through a categorized collection of Content, which they (the brand) feels ‘highlights’ who they are & what they’re all about.
So How To Use Instagram Highlights
Because these Stories are so important, companies need to consider their ‘pinning’ very carefully. Several categorization techniques are possible, such as those focused on events, ranges, seasonal dictates, most popular Content, influencer choices, or personal favorites. The selection is ultimately an in house company decision.
Executives need to take a look a how successful enterprises are using this tool, so that they can formulate their own personalized campaigns.
Once a strategy is decided on, the process is rather simple. Instagram account administrators need to employ the ‘Archive’ tool, which is available from the Instagram dashboard. This tool allows users to ‘save’ Stories they do not wish to lose.
Once such Content is archived, it’s available to users as ammunition for ‘Highlights’. All that is required is to use the ‘+’ button on the new Highlight tool to add any archived Content to a ‘pin’, which will, henceforth, be shown to followers at the head of a company’s basic Instagram feed, pretty simple if you know how to do it.
Such “Highlights enabled” organizations will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds, ephemeral Content that draws users by its very nature, as well as enduring Stories that allow users to take a brand to heart, because of their lasting & definitive essence.
Image Credit: Instagram
