July 30, 2026
The Daily Social: How to Use Instagram Highlights to Showcase Your Services and Build Trust
By Curtis Carpenter, Founder, Vero Beach Social Media
Instagram Highlights are the row of little circles that sit right under your bio, and they are one of the most underused tools a small business has. Regular Stories disappear after twenty-four hours, but Highlights let you save your best ones so they live on your profile for good. For a local business, that means a first-time visitor can tap through and instantly understand what you offer, who you help, and why people trust you. Here are five ways to put Highlights to work.
1. Create a Highlight for Each Service
Think of your Highlights as the menu for your business. Give each core service its own Highlight so someone can find exactly what they need in a single tap. A landscaper might have separate Highlights for lawn care, design, and cleanups, while a salon could split theirs into color, cuts, and treatments. Clear, specific categories make it easy for a visitor to picture the exact result you can deliver for them.
2. Add a Start Here or FAQ Highlight
New followers almost always have the same handful of questions. Where are you located, what are your hours, how much do you charge, and how do they book. Answer those upfront in a Highlight labeled Start Here or FAQ so nobody has to send a message to get the basics. Removing that friction makes people far more likely to take the next step and reach out while they are still interested.
3. Save Your Reviews and Testimonials
Nothing builds trust faster than hearing it from a happy customer instead of from you. Screenshot your best reviews, kind DMs, and tagged shoutouts, then save them all in a Highlight called Reviews or Loved By Locals. When a potential customer sees a steady stream of real people praising your work, your business feels like the safe, obvious choice in your area.
4. Showcase Your Work and Results
People want proof before they buy. Use a Highlight to show finished projects, happy clients, and clear before and after transformations that let your quality speak for itself. Whether you clean carpets, bake cakes, or stage homes, a visual record of your best work is far more convincing than any sales pitch and gives a hesitant visitor the confidence to book.
5. Design Clean, Branded Covers
Highlights are one of the first things people see, so a little polish goes a long way. Create simple, matching covers using your brand colors and a single icon or word for each one. A consistent, tidy row signals that you take your business seriously and helps your profile look professional in the two seconds it takes someone to decide whether to follow.
Highlights turn a quick profile visit into a clear story about why someone should choose you. If setting all of this up feels like one more thing on an already full plate, Vero Beach Social Media is happy to handle it for you. Reach out to Curtis at curtis@verobeachsocialmedia.com and let us make your profile work harder for your business.
