As a small business owner, you’re always looking for ways to make your social media presence more effective. One often overlooked tool in your arsenal is the ability to feature or pin content on various platforms.
This simple yet powerful feature is a way to explain to customers who you are and what you do.
All the social media accounts have features right now, that allow you to showcase posts or stories and keep your audience informed.
Why Use Featured Content?
Why is featuring your content so valuable?
It shortcuts the scroll.
People often assume that their followers have been reading ALL their content and know what they’re all about. WRONG.
No one is reading your feed like a Michelle Obama autobiography.
They’re skimming the top few posts and your profile and that’s it.
So make those top “pinned” posts explain who you are. Make those Highlight folders in Instagram and the Featured folders on Facebook your social media brochure.
Key benefits of featuring your content include:
- It increases the visibility of what you offer
Pinned content stays at the top of your profile, ensuring it’s the first thing visitors see. Think of it like the homepage of your website. Pinned content is doing the same thing on your social media profile. - It highlights that all important information
Using Instagram Highlights of Facebook Featured is a great place to showcase those time-sensitive offers, competitions, reviews or just an explanation of how to work with you. - It can help tell your brand story
This is my favourite, and often overlooked area – telling your story. A featured section is where you can condense your website’s about page and let people know what you are all about, why you do it and what drives you. - It orientates new visitors
When people first come across you, they’re doing their research. Do you offer what they want? Do you answer their questions? Do you fit with their values? Do others like you? That featured content can help cut down the research time for people and make it easier for them to say YES – I need you or I’m going to buy from you.
So how can you make the most of these features on each platform?
Facebook: Maximising the “Featured” section
Facebook’s “Featured” section is a powerful tool for small businesses and you’ve got two sections to use now. The Featured section at the top of your page, and the Featured section in your intro on the left for Stories.
What to feature:
- Latest offers
Showcase your current promotions or discounts. For example, “Serenity Pilates Studio” could feature a post about their new client introductory package. - About your business
Pin a post that describes your services or products. “Precision Parts Ltd” might feature a post highlighting their expertise in CNC machining for aerospace components. - Customer testimonials
Feature glowing reviews from satisfied customers. “Taste of Britain Foods” could showcase a review praising their artisanal chutneys. You’re letting your customers do some of the selling for you here! - Upcoming events: Highlight any workshops, sales, or special events you’re hosting. Serenity Pilates Studio could feature their upcoming “Pilates for Runners” workshop.
- Behind-the-scenes content: Give followers a peek into your business operations. Taste of Britain Foods might show the process of hand-selecting ingredients for their products.
- Monthly campaigns
Have you got campaigns you are featuring this month? You can either select Story posts to group together into a Featured folder or pin that one post to the top of your page.
Instagram highlights
Instagram offers two ways to feature content, Your Story Highlights and Pinned Posts.
Story highlights
Instagram highlight folders appear prominently on your profile, just below your bio.
These are great for grouping Stories together. I like to create Story sequences specifically for grouping in the highlights section for clients.
I’m essentially using it as a brochure for you. Showcasing the basic details of you, your business and your offering.
Pinned posts on social media
You can pin posts to TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This means that the posts remain permanently at the top of your profile page.
On Instagram and TikTok you can pin three posts to the top of your profile grid.
What to feature:
- About you
A simple breakdown in different story posts about who you are can work wonders. Explain exactly who you are and what you do. So many businesses I work with have forgotten to state that explicitly front and centre. - Products & Services
Create highlights for different product categories or services. Taste of Britain Foods could have highlights for “Jams”, “Chutneys”, and “Gift Hampers”. - FAQs
Oh this is such a useful one to have as you can answer commonly asked questions here and save yourself some time. If you were a gym for example you could answer questions about locker hire, wipe-down etiquette or membership questions. - User-generated content
If customers tag you or talk about you, then why not group that together here? Let’s use our Serenity Pilates Studio example…they could showcase before-and-after transformations from their clients. - Team introductions
You could also showcase your team members. Precision Parts Ltd could introduce their skilled engineers and machinists show the faces behind the business and get people comfortable with your brand. - Process videos: Show how your products are made or services are delivered. This is a nice way of showing your quality or attention to detail.
By pinning key posts and utilising features like Instagram Highlights or Facebook Featured sections, you’re creating a brochure for your business for customers to check you out.
It’s the first impression of your brand. So use it to showcase what you offer, to share your story and to show people that you have the product or service for them. It should also help to answer their common questions.
Using featured content is an opportunity to stand out in a crowded digital landscape and make every visit to your profile count.
Pin that post, create those highlight folders, and let your best content shine. Your future customers are going to use it to make a judgement about whether to buy from you or use your services, so make that precious real estate count.
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