In our last blog post, we outlined some useful tools that are beneficial to your social media presence. We wanted to expand on these tools and demonstrate their worth, starting with Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories were introduced back in 2016 after the success of Snapchat. Ever since they have skyrocketed in popularity. Approximately 1.7 billion Instagram accounts use the Stories feature daily. That figure alone is proof that Stories are a feature you should be using! The beauty of Instagram Stories is that they do not necessarily have to be curated. They can offer unfiltered, behind the scenes insights into your business.
Appealing to the inquisitive
People are inquisitive by nature, and Instagram Stories offer the perfect opportunity to share aspects of your business with followers in a more informal way. If you posted Stories that you want people to see for longer than 24 hours, you can save them to the Highlights section of your Instagram account, which you can find below the bio section.
Embrace spontaneity
Before Stories arrived, many brands and individuals felt pressure to produce incredible content on their main feeds. The bar for what was good enough for an Instagram post was set very high. As a result, people were sharing content less. By sharing regular Instagram Stories, even just a picture of your morning coffee or a nice view that you saw on your morning walk, you are engaging your followers in a way that feed posts might not. You are giving your curious followers a spontaneous insight into you and your brand in a way that will make them feel more connected to you.
Think of it as the main feed is the idealised version of your brand, and the Stories are unfiltered insights and behind the scenes snapshots that your most loyal followers will enjoy seeing. Use Instagram Stories to draw attention to content that you post to your main feed. There is a feature where you can share a recent post to your Story, which can be tapped on and leads to the original post.
Use stickers to increase engagement levels
As we outlined in our previous blog post, stickers are a great way to encourage followers to interact with your Stories content. Instagram regularly adds new sticker features. Some of the most popular are the poll, questions, and quiz stickers. All of these stickers allow followers to interact with their favourite brands. This interaction then drives up engagement levels on the account. Using stickers would mean that new users will see more of your content. Think of stickers as a growth tool, as well as a way to encourage your customers to interact with you.
Stories are no longer just a fun feature on Instagram hey are one of the key elements of the platform which you should utilise wherever possible. Remember that the content shared on an Instagram Story can be as informal and off the cuff as you’d like it to be. Stories are a great place to share moments as they happen and give your followers more insight into you and your brand.
If you don’t have the time to create Instagram content for your brand, contact us today and we’ll discuss ways that we can help you thrive online.
