Instagram is the biggest opportunity for brands to connect with customers in the short term — creating stunning, high-quality images that are easily digestible in order to increase brand awareness is key. But, have you heard about Instagram Stories? They are an excellent way of connecting with your audience on a more interactive, personal level. Instagram stories offer brands the ability to do this in a more intimate way. It opens up an additional channel to post alongside video and photo content, giving brands further opportunities to grow their audience.
Stories have been a priority for Instagram ever since they were introduced in August 2016. You can use Instagram Stories to connect with your audience, give them an inside look at your day-to-day activities, inquire for feedback, post fun polls or ask direct questions. While you can post updates on regular posts permanently, Instagram stories are temporary. They last for 24 hours before disappearing. Because of that, stories are a casual, temporary, and more interactive way of sharing content on Instagram.
Whether you are brand new to Instagram or a seasoned pro, monitoring what is happening with Instagram Stories is essential to your continued success. Just like all of the other social media platforms, Instagram Stories is constantly evolving. An understanding of what is happening can help you stay on top of this changing platform so that you can create a consistent and effective strategy that will allow your brand to shine.
Looking for Instagram Story ideas? These 5 fun Instagram Stories ideas are ready to use. They'll get you more engagement on your stories, followers, likes, comments and more!
1. Start a contest or giveaway.
Content creation is crucial, but so is giving your Instagram followers what they want. And what do they want? Giveaways and contests! When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. People love giveaways because it is an opportunity to win something for free. If you do not know, you can use Instagram Stories to host contests by creating an interactive experience on the platform that keeps your followers excited, engaged, and intrigued.
2. Give your followers a glimpse behind the scenes.
Sometimes, people just want a bit of a behind-the-scenes look into your business. Who are the faces behind the brand? What do you do during the day? How did you start your business? Instagram stories are a fun way to share your brand’s reality with followers. Whether it is a behind-the-scenes look at an upcoming project, a silly interaction between coworkers or a fun event you worked on, sharing a behind-the-scenes look into your business is another human touch that will allow you to connect with your audience in new, lighthearted ways.
3. Use Instagram Stories to educate your audience.
Stories are all the rage on Instagram. A great way to benefit from this craze (and show your personality on your brand account) is through an educational story. Instagram stories are great at providing fast content that educates your followers. They allow you to create a story based directly on questions your customers ask you. This creates trust between you and the customer, by showing them that you actually understand their problems and misconceptions. If you run a business, this is worth testing.
4. Ask questions for feedback.
Are you a small business owner wondering how to get more value from your Instagram account? Your Instagram profile may be able to help you increase traffic, build up a following, and perhaps even generate more revenue. Getting feedback from your followers can give you some insight into what they care about. They can also give you suggestions on what they would like to see more of. In fact, knowing what your followers are interested in seeing can actually help you generate content that attracts them.
5. Start an Instagram Stories series.
People love stories, and no one is a bigger story-telling platform than Instagram. With this in mind, you can use Instagram Stories to start a series on a topic of your choice. You can create five to six different story themes over several weeks and link each story back to the original one, so it flows nicely together. Having a consistent series on your story will give your followers something to look forward to and keep them coming back to your account for more!
Instagram is the world’s go-to app for browsing photos, videos, and even messaging. It has helped to bring influencers into the spotlight, cut out the middleman for brands trying to reach their consumer base, and build up a huge community for anyone who wants to reach out with their brand. So are you ready to get in on the action?