IG Highlights 101: How To Put Highlights On Instagram Without Adding A Story

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You know how Instagram Stories vanish after 24 hours? It's kinda cool for keeping things fresh, but what if you've got something super important or just plain awesome that you want to stick around longer? Well, that's where Instagram's Story Highlight comes in. It lets your stories hang out for as long as you like, but what if there was a way you can add to your highlights without adding a story?

How to Add Instagram Highlights Cover without Posting to Story

Creating Custom Covers for Instagram Highlights:

Step 1: Navigate to Your Profile

Start the process by visiting your Instagram profile. Keeping this as the first step guarantees you direct access to your selection of Highlights.

Step 2: Select the Desired Highlight

From your profile, choose the Highlight for which you plan to change the cover. Execute this step with a long-press on the Highlight, and a popup menu appears.

Step 3: Access the Edit Highlight Feature

Tap on 'Edit Highlight' in the popup menu. This action transfers you to a context where you can modify the Highlight.

Step 4: Edit the Cover

By selecting 'Edit Cover,' a couple of choices spring forth before you. First, you can select an existing Highlight and genially turn it into your new cover. Navigate specifically to that image or video for this action. Alternatively, you can tap on the Gallery icon (located left of the image thumbnails) to upload a new cover from your gallery.

Step 5: Adjust the Chosen Image

After picking out the perfect image for your Highlight cover, you may need to adjust it for a perfect central fit into the circle. Upon satisfaction with the image positioning, tap 'Done.'

With these five well-curated steps, your Instagram Highlights boast of new, eye-catching covers, enhancing your profile's appeal and subsequently taking strides in content organization.

Managing Your Instagram Highlights

With an understanding of creating Instagram highlights without a story, let's delve into how you manage your already created Instagram highlights.

Deleting Highlights from Instagram Profile

Sometimes, a highlight may become invalid or outdated. It is crucial to understand how to remove them seamlessly. Follow these steps to delete an Instagram Highlight:

1. Navigate to your Instagram profile.
   Tap on the person icon located in the lower-left-hand corner to swiftly reach your profile.
2. Find the Instagram story highlight you want to delete.
   Look under the 'Edit Profile' option. You will see your highlights presented in round icons.
3. Launch the Highlight options.
   Perform a long press on the Highlight preview (the round icon containing the Highlight). A popup with various options appears.
4. Delete the Highlight.
   To erase it, tap 'Delete Highlight.' Conversely, you can also select the 'Edit' option if you wish to add more to this Highlight.

Editing Your Instagram Highlights

Altering your Instagram highlights involves two primary tasks—changing the content or transforming the cover image. Walk through these steps to edit an Instagram Highlight:

1. Access the Highlight you want to modify.
   Go to your profile and click on the Highlight that needs editing. A long press on the Highlight icon brings up a popup menu.
2. Open the Highlight editing interface.
   Tap 'Edit Highlight' from the options available on the popup menu.
3. Add or remove content.
   Once inside, add more stories or eliminate unwanted ones to modify the content.
4. Edit the Highlight Cover.
   If your objective is to change the cover, select 'Edit Cover.' You can either choose an image from your photo gallery or select one from your existing stories. Make sure the image aligns perfectly in the circle. After making the necessary adjustments, tap 'Done.'

Just as maintaining updates in your Instagram Story Highlights may seem daunting, these steps provide a strong armor of information to confidently manage your Highlights on Instagram.

Benefits of Using Instagram Highlights

Instagram presents the Highlight feature as a treasure chest that houses your most notable content. Here, you place prominent stories that ideally connect you more intimately with your audience. In contrast to the delineated lifespan of 24 hours for typical Instagram stories, Highlights continue to sit prominently on your profile indefinitely.

Using Instagram Highlights provides you with both practical and aesthetic benefits. The first, and perhaps the most critical, is durability. Any story you decide to place in your Instagram Highlight lives beyond the usual 24-hour rotation. It remains inside the chosen highlight until you decide to remove it.

The second benefit of using Instagram Highlights is organization. Think of your Instagram Highlights as individual folders. Each Highlight you create can hold numerous stories, allowing you to categorize them according to themes or topics. For instance, if you have a food-themed Instagram page, you can create Highlights for different categories like 'Dinner Recipes', 'Desserts', or 'Healthy Breakfasts'.

Another advantage of using Instagram Highlights is profile enhancement. Strategically chosen Highlights improve your profile's appeal, foregrounding content that best represents your brand, personality, or ethos. They offer your followers a quick overview of what you represent, increasing their chances of engaging with your content and thus, potentially gaining you a solid follower base.

Lastly, Instagram Highlights provide a semipermanent advertising platform. If you run a business on Instagram, you can use Highlights to showcase your products or services. By dividing them into different Highlights like 'New Arrivals', 'On Sale', or 'Customer Reviews', you allow potential customers to navigate your offerings easily.

As seen from these examples, Instagram Highlights extends the lifespan of stories, creating opportunities for rich and meaningful user engagement.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

This part probes into solutions for some common problems Instagram users encounter when using Highlights.

My Story Can't be Added to Instagram Highlights?

Experiencing difficulty in adding a story to your Instagram Highlights? This scenario arises primarily when you delete your story before the specified 24-hour duration. Instagram requires that a story must be live, for 24 hours before appearing in Highlights. If a user deletes the story before it earmarks the 24-hour threshold, Instagram prohibits adding it to Highlights. The resolution is to exercise patience by letting the story exist in the usual story format for the complete 24 hours.

Another reason might be you are frantically searching for the Highlight feature too early. After publishing a story, know that the Highlight feature can take up to 24 hours to manifest on your homepage.

How to Make Highlights Visible to Followers Again

Have you hidden your Instagram story from all followers? Now desire to make it manifest to your followers again? For reinstating visibility of your Instagram story, simply proceed to settings. Click on the three-bar menu and navigate through to 'Settings'. Followed by this, tap 'Story Controls' and locate 'Hide story from'.

Here, deselect all those from whom you had previously hidden your story. Once this is done, you have the feasibility to render your profile public again. After waiting 24 full hours for the story to get shifted to Highlights, unblock everyone you had formerly blocked. The next time these users view your profile, the reinstated story will already be available on your Highlights.

Key Takeaways

• Instagram's Story Highlight feature offers a unique way to showcase lasting content beyond the 24-hour period of typical stories.
• Your Instagram profile needs to have the privacy settings adjusted in order to post Highlights without featuring Stories.
• Story settings need to be modified (mainly viewer blocking) to ensure the Highlight doesn't get posted on your public Story.
• The Highlight can hold up to 100 photos in a single space according to Instagram's guidelines.
• For aesthetic appeal and further refinement, one can create custom covers for their Instagram Highlights without posting them publicly.
• Instagram Highlights can be managed easily by adding, removing, or editing them.
• The Highlight feature provides practical and aesthetic benefits such as durability, organization, profile enhancement, and serves as a advertising platform.
• Troubleshooting common issues like adding a Story to Highlights or making your Highlights visible to followers can be done by adjusting certain settings.

Conclusion

You've now got the insights to make the most of Instagram Highlights. You know how they can showcase your content, organize it effectively, and even advertise your products or services. You've also got the know-how to troubleshoot common issues, like restoring deleted stories and making hidden stories visible in your Highlights. You're even equipped to handle more advanced questions, like adding stories to Highlights without making them public. So don't let any glitches hold you back. Dive in, explore, and use Instagram Highlights to their fullest. Remember, they're not just for stories. They're tools for engagement, promotion, and expressing your brand's unique story. With this knowledge, you're ready to take your Instagram game to the next level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you add photos to Instagram without posting?

Yes, Instagram offers several editing tools, including filters, adjustments, and creative features. After editing your photo, you can choose not to post it, and the image will remain unpublished.

How many highlights can you have on Instagram?

There is no limit to the number of highlights you can have on Instagram. Moreover, you can include up to 100 stories in each highlight. Highlights serve as a unique feature that helps narrate your story in a distinctive way.

Can I put close friends story on highlights?

Yes, you are free to add 'Close Friends' stories to your highlights. Although they appear on your highlights, they remain hidden from your regular audience, who will only see the stories you share publicly.

Can I add photos to highlights without story?

To add photos to highlights without adding them to your story, you must first create a highlight. Visit your profile page and tap on the "New" icon in the right corner, then either take a photo or select one from your camera roll.

Can you see who views your Instagram highlights?

Yes, by tapping on the circle icon representing your Highlights at the top of your profile and selecting the Highlight you wish to examine. Swipe up to see a list of individuals who viewed your Highlight. This will give you a view count as well as a list of usernames.