Despite getting launched 3 years after Snapchat, the Stories feature has managed to surpass the former in terms of popularity. In just 8 months of launch, Instagram Stories garnered 200 million users which is 40 million more users than Snapchat.
With everyone being on Instagram Stories these days, this social media platform is surely riding high. Since the time it was launched, Instagram Stories has proved to be a favorite of many and has clearly grown from strength to strength.
So, what makes Instagram Stories so popular? It is engaging, fun and playful and the fact that is ephemeral in nature keeps users intrigued. Instagram Stories lets you deliver an immersive storytelling experience and what’s more, it’s interesting lineup of features such as hashtags, GIFs, filters, polls, Highlights, etc. keep the engagement levels soaring; and if used correctly, Stories can be great place to market your business. Let us show you 5 ways to effectively use this platform to market your business.
Mini Blog
Everyone loves consuming snackable content – content that is short, crisp and engaging. Why not use Instagram Stories as a mini blog? You can abridge your blog content into an eye-catching visual and minimal text and convey the story through a series of Stories. All you need is a high-resolution image and a crisp headline. Be sure to make it interesting by also adding those fun emojis, GIFs and stickers that Stories has to offer.
Make it engaging enough for users to keep moving to the next tab and before they know it, you have conveyed the message in a matter of seconds. Insert a call-to-action at the end of the story and link them to either your website or the long-form blog post.
Behind the Scenes
Users value exclusivity. They enjoy being shown a teaser of your next campaign or given access to some behind-the-scenes action. And what better medium can you use to showcase this footage than Instagram Stories?
Posting such content occasionally shows the human side of your brand and allows your followers to connect with it on a more personal level. Even though this does not directly lead to sales, it helps in building brand loyalty and awareness which is equally important for a business to grow.
Real-time Engagement
Make the best use of Instagram Live and interact with your followers in real-time. You can host a live interview with an expert related to your business domain and get your followers’ questions answered then and there!
A good idea to do this would be to start by engaging your followers in the conceptualization stage and crowdsourcing live video ideas from them. You can use the Instagram Poll feature here and get a sense of what would they be interested in viewing most. Once that’s done, announce your live streaming date to ensure maximum people tune in and there you go!
Offer Discounts
Who doesn’t love promotional offers and discounts? Surprise your followers with discount codes from time to time and create a sense of urgency.
Inform your followers that the discount code will only be valid for 24 hours and is exclusively for them. This will not only keep them hooked on to your Instagram page but will also lead to an increase in sales.
Influencer Collaboration
Influencers possess the power of word and an ever-growing audience that diligently takes note of what they endorse. Collaborate with an influencer that perfectly suits your brand’s persona and enter a mutually beneficial collaboration through an Instagram Stories takeover.
Takeovers involve influencers taking over your brand’s Instagram page. The point of the takeover can be to showcase a different side to your company, launch a new product or even give a review of a recently launched product. Takeovers are a great way to improve visibility and they lead to an increase in followers, organically.
One of the best features of Instagram Stories is the ability to link the individual stories to a landing page. However, you can only use this feature if you have 10,000 followers or more on Instagram. This generates traffic and works great for e-commerce websites.
As your read, there is a lot you can do to promote your business using Instagram Stories so make sure you make it an integral part of your social media marketing strategy and make the best use of this engaging platform to reach out to new audiences.
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