Instagram have rolled out yet another feature which similar to Twitter allows you to select a post from your main grid and pin it to the top. Each user is allowed 3 Instagram pinned posts, these can be in the form of Reels, image or normal video. Pinned posts are recognisable by the small pin icon on the top right of each image.
The first post you pin goes to grid 3, the 2nd goes to the middle and the 3rd goes to grid 1 which will look like the latest upload. So far I’m not seeing an option to set this up from desktop, so check it out on mobile by going to the main grid, (doesn’t work in Reels view) tap the 3 dots on the top right of an image and select ‘Pin to your profile’.
When you try to pin more than 3 images you will get a message pop up saying ‘Pin limit reached’. If you click confirm you will replace the first image you pinned (3rd space on top of the grid) with the new pin.
Why do we need pinned posts for Instagram you might ask? Here are a few ideas:
- Highlighting certain content of importance
- When working with a brand you can pin specific content to the top of your feed for the duration of the campaign. This could allow influencers to charge more and brands to have exposure for longer.
- Cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch uses Stories regularly but tends to only upload a few times a month to her main feed, for her, highlighting something at the top with a welcome message would work.
- Keep it simple. Add your favourite 3 pics to the top of the grid.
- Promoting a service? You could use 3 pinned posts to highlight this.
- Taking a break from Instagram? You can design something across the 3 pinned posts to get people’s attention and let them know when you will be back.
- If you have an ongoing competition and don’t want it lost in the feed, you can pin it to the top until the winners have been announced.
- Do you create something or make commissions? This would be a good place to pin information about that.
While Instagram is currently not a platform that I’m using for this blog, I am a social media manager so I run accounts for brands and of course have a private account for my family dogs. They pay me in licks, the dogs not the brands. 😅 This is where I find the trending audios there so I can use them on my YouTube Shorts.
When I was using Instagram for Cuteek, I had my whole grid archived and 3 posts split which displayed my website header horizontally. This is also a great idea for branding and familiarity.
How will you be using Instagram Pinned Posts?