Instagram, originally a simple photo sharing app, has grown in features far beyond where it started. Over time, we were introduced to app updates like video sharing, multi-photo posts, Instagram Live, Instagram Stories, Instagram Highlights and IGTV.

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are photos or videos that stay viewable for 24 hours after posting and then disappear, and can be viewed by tapping on an Instagram user’s profile photo. If an account has any current Stories, you’ll see their circular profile photo trimmed in a purple/red/yellow colored circle.

What is an Instagram Highlight?

Instagram Highlights, which are prominently displayed on your Instagram profile page, above the grid view of photos and videos you’ve posted, are comprised of (previous) Instagram Stories but last for as long as you keep that Highlight active on your profile. Your Instagram Highlights are Stories organized into and displayed as logical groupings on your Instagram Profile page. Businesses can use their Highlights strategically to call out things like: new products, services, blog posts or podcasts, industry tips, events, promotions, customer stories, employees, and behind the scenes looks into the business, just to name a few.

Here’s how you get started building Highlights on your Instagram Business profile.

Create Instagram Highlights on your Instagram Account

In order to create your Instagram Highlights, you’ll need to post to your Stories first. To do so, visit your Instagram Profile and tap on the blue and white plus sign on your Profile photo.

You can upload a photo or video that’s already saved on your camera roll or take a new photo or video within the Stories area of your Instagram app. To access the photos or videos saved to your camera roll, tap on the square icon on the bottom left side.

Next, you’ll see all your previous Stories and can tap to select which previous Stories you want to add to your new Instagram Highlight.

The order you tap them in will be the order they are added to your Highlight, so you may need to play around with it a bit until you have the Stories you want shown in the order you want them seen.

Then you’ll be asked to create your first Highlight. You need to give it a name and a cover photo. You can enter up to 15 characters for your Highlight title, but only about 10 characters show in the Highlight title when viewed on your profile, before the text is truncated.

Your Highlight cover photo is selected from the images already on your camera roll.

Editing your Instagram Highlight

You can edit existing Instagram Highlights at any time. This is helpful for Highlights you intend to keep up long term, like a Highlight for all your new blog posts. You may want to keep your blog post Highlight active on your profile forever, but aren’t going to want to keep a Story in your Highlight that’s about a blog post that’s a year old, for example.

When viewing your Highlight, you can tap the 3 dots with More that’s showing in the bottom right corner to bring up these editing options.

Once you have a Highlight created, you can easily add to it with future Stories. Tap the Highlight button at the bottom of the Story you want to add.

Next, you’ll select which existing Highlight to add that Story to or you can create a new Highlight, too.

While viewing your Instagram Stories, you can edit your Story settings.

You can hide your Story from specific Instagram users, control who can reply to your Stories with messages, adjust Instagram Story share settings, and when or to where Stories will be saved.

There are many directions to go with your Instagram Stories and Highlight strategies. The great thing is that it’s easy to create new, delete and edit as you go.