Hubspot-Style Guide to Instagram Highlight Covers

If you study any polished Hubspot campaign on social media, you will notice consistent visuals, clear organization, and strong story flow. You can bring that same strategic approach to your Instagram profile by creating custom Highlight covers that reinforce your brand and guide visitors to the content that matters most.

This step-by-step guide, inspired by the structure of the original Hubspot Instagram Highlight article, walks you through choosing categories, designing covers, and publishing them in a repeatable, professional way.

Why a Hubspot Approach to Highlight Covers Works

Instagram Highlights act like a mini navigation bar at the top of your profile. When designed with the same care you see in Hubspot assets, they can:

• Show new visitors what your account is about in seconds.
• Organize Stories into clear themes such as products, tutorials, testimonials, or events.
• Strengthen brand recognition with consistent icons, colors, and fonts.
• Increase taps on your best evergreen Stories.

Instead of leaving random Stories in Highlights, you can build a simple system that feels intentional and on-brand.

Plan Your Instagram Highlight Strategy Like Hubspot

Before you open a design tool, outline what your Highlights should cover. This mirrors how Hubspot plans topic clusters and content hubs before designing assets.

Step 1: Define Your Highlight Categories

Start by listing the key themes your audience cares about. Common examples include:

• About / Start Here
• Products or Services
• Tutorials or How-Tos
• Customer Stories or Reviews
• Events or Webinars
• FAQs
• Behind the Scenes

Limit yourself to five to eight core Highlights so your profile stays clean and easy to scan, similar to how Hubspot keeps navigation focused.

Step 2: Map Stories to Each Category

Next, decide which existing and future Stories belong in each Highlight. For every category, ask:

• What content already exists that should be saved here?
• What new Stories can I create to fill gaps?
• Which Stories are evergreen and worth featuring long term?

Thinking this through in advance prevents random Highlights and helps each cover represent a clear, valuable collection of content.

Create On-Brand Covers Using a Hubspot-Inspired Workflow

Now that your categories are set, you can design covers that are simple, recognizable, and aligned with your brand, much like the visual systems found in Hubspot materials.

Step 3: Choose a Visual Style

Decide on a unified look before designing individual covers. Consider:

• Background color: Use your brand color palette or a neutral base.
• Icons vs. text: Many accounts use minimalist icons; others use short labels.
• Shape and line weight: Keep icon styles consistent across all covers.
• Typography: If you use text, stick to one clean, legible font.

A cohesive style makes every Highlight feel like part of the same system, echoing how Hubspot maintains brand consistency across channels.

Step 4: Design Your Highlight Cover Templates

Use your favorite design tool to create a reusable template. A simple workflow looks like this:

1. Set the canvas size: Use a 1080 x 1920 pixel vertical canvas (Instagram Story size).
2. Add a background: Apply your chosen brand color or gradient.
3. Place a central guide: Keep icons or text centered so they display well in the circular Highlight frame.
4. Design one master cover: Create the first cover with your ideal layout.
5. Duplicate for each category: Swap icons or text while keeping color, font, and style consistent.

When your template is complete, export each cover as a separate image file ready to upload to Instagram.

Upload and Apply Covers the Way Hubspot Would

With your designs finished, the next step is to publish them to your profile and attach them to the correct Highlights, following a clear, repeatable process similar to a Hubspot campaign rollout.

Step 5: Add Covers via New Highlights

If you do not have Highlights yet, you can create them directly from your Stories:

1. Open Instagram and go to your profile.
2. Tap the + sign under your bio labeled New.
3. Select the Stories you want included in your first Highlight.
4. Tap Next, then choose Edit Cover.
5. Tap the image icon to upload your designed cover from your camera roll.
6. Adjust the crop inside the circle, then tap Done.
7. Name the Highlight using a short, clear label.

Repeat for each category until all of your planned Highlights are live.

Step 6: Update Covers on Existing Highlights

If you already have Highlights but want a more refined look, follow these steps for each one:

1. Go to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap and hold the Highlight you want to update.
3. Select Edit Highlight.
4. Tap Edit Cover.
5. Use the image icon to upload the new cover design.
6. Adjust the position, then tap Done twice to save.

This quick refresh helps align your profile with a more professional, Hubspot-inspired visual identity.

Optimize Your Highlights Like a Hubspot Marketer

Once your covers are live, treat your Highlights as living assets that support your broader marketing goals, similar to how Hubspot continuously optimizes content experiences.

Step 7: Keep Titles Short and Clear

Your cover design works best when paired with concise labels. Aim for:

• One or two words per Highlight, such as “Tutorials,” “Clients,” or “Events.”
• Language your audience already uses.
• Avoiding internal jargon that might confuse new visitors.

Clear labels help users decide where to tap first, increasing engagement with your most important Stories.

Step 8: Refresh Content and Covers Over Time

Review your Highlights regularly and adjust them as your strategy evolves. You can:

• Remove outdated Stories from Highlights.
• Add new Stories to your best-performing categories.
• Update covers if your brand visuals change.

Approach this the way a Hubspot team would approach content optimization: review performance, refine visuals and copy, and keep the experience current.

Where to Learn More About Highlights and Branding

To explore more ideas on structuring campaigns and visual systems beyond Instagram, you can study additional resources and agency guidance. A helpful place to start is the marketing strategy material at Consultevo, which offers insights on digital growth, branding, and optimization.

By combining a thoughtful content strategy with simple, on-brand designs, you can turn your Instagram Highlights into a polished, high-impact showcase that feels as intentional and professional as a Hubspot campaign.

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