It’s no surprise that Instagram is an oftentimes confusing space with its ever-changing features and hottest new trends. From Reels to Instagram Lives to Close Friends–how do you know what to prioritize? While each Instagram feature boasts its own unique benefits, one feature your brand should be utilizing regardless of your social media strategy is Instagram Stories!
What is Instagram Stories?
Back in 2016, Instagram launched its ‘Stories’ feature to directly compete with Snapchat. They marketed it as the perfect place to share as much or as little as you want without bombarding your followers’ feeds or clogging up your own profile. On stories, you’re able to post images and videos that your followers can view at the top of their feed. These images/videos only live on Stories for 24 hours and allow viewers to easily click forward, back, or reply. You’re also able to customize your story posts with different fonts, GIFs, filters, and other fun features.
When Instagram stories first launched, the focus was on day-to-day people using Instagram stories more than they were using Snapchat stories. However, companies quickly realized how beneficial this feature could actually be to their brand!
Why Should Brands Utilize Instagram Stories?
As we mentioned, Instagram stories should be a priority regardless of what your current social strategy is or what industry you’re in. Here are a few reasons why:
Boost brand visibility: One of the main goals of social media is to stay engaged with your follower base. When you post stories, your profile will appear at the top of your followers’ feeds along with the Stories of everyone else they follow. This will keep your brand top of mind when they’re in the market to make a purchase.
Build a community: On the topic of keeping your audience engaged, stories are also an easy way to interact with your followers. You and your followers will easily be able to reply and react to the stories, allowing you to engage back and build a stronger relationship. These relationships can turn prospective customers into full-blown brand advocates.
Make your brand personable: Oftentimes, in-feed Instagram posts are curated and speak directly to your product offering. With Instagram stories, you can be more casual and show off some of the personality of your company and the team behind it. Consumers want to purchase from a brand they can relate to, so being personable and transparent on your social pages can make all the difference.
Run ads: Just like in-feed ads, you’re also able to boost and run Instagram Story ads. Sponsored stories will populate in between organic stories as a user taps through. They’ll be easily able to swipe up on an Instagram story ad directing straight to your website. This means an easier purchasing flow to generate more sales!
Instagram Story Tips
Now that you know why you should be posting on stories, let’s chat about a few staple tips when posting:
Utilize all Story features: The beauty of stories is that there are SO many features you can use to keep your audience engaged. From polls to question boxes to countdowns–the options are truly endless. These features can also help your brand collect feedback on products or what your customers want to see from you.
Post frequently: In an ideal world, you should be posting at least 3-5 story slides per day. This frequent posting will mean a better chance of your profile showing up first in your audience’s feed. If that’s not possible, opt for at least 2-3 times per week.
Diversify it: Make sure to post a range of different stories to keep your audience interested. For example–one day you can post behind-the-scenes content from a photo shoot, the next you can do a brand Q&A, the following day you can share education about a new product, etc. Diversify your content and your audience will always be engaged.
Need help building out your social media strategy? Reach out to the experts at Inked so we can help you turn followers into lifelong customers!