Let us tell you a story …

Let Us Tell You An Instagram Story

… An Instagram Story!

Instagram Stories. They’re easy to ignore; those little time-bombs of information. It’s tempting to undervalue the power of something that doesn’t stick around for very long, but in doing so, you may well be ignoring a feature that could lead to a whole new audience, and thus customers or clients, for your business.

 

Having just celebrated its fourth birthday, Instagram Stories, admittedly, does still feel rather new. However, it has grown in power over these years, and is now a remarkable marketing tool when used well, perfect for spreading brand awareness, adding last-minute updates, as well as tagging products for ecommerce (and since Instagram added a Highlights feature, your stunning updates can now be immortalised forever on your bio page).

 

Stories are great for sharing more personal content; think ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘meet the maker’. You could share family-time content, jokes, a picture of your morning cup of coffee or the view from your office – things that your fans won’t see in your carefully curated grid. This offers valuable insight into the type of person you are, which, by virtue, gives your audience the satisfaction of interacting with a person rather than a faceless brand.

 

Use IGTV

With the facility to instantly share text, photos and videos, you have the freedom to update at a moment’s notice, which is great for audience engagement. Video content remains in favour; you can share IGTV previews on stories, giving you even more creative flexibility with the opportunity to instantly share links to long-form video content. Adding polls, questions, and other stickers encourage interaction, connecting you with an audience that may otherwise remain untapped. As always, it’s best practice to ‘give to receive’ and, as such, put time aside to interact with relevant accounts’ own stories, giving them an incentive to check out your offerings.

 

Your stories are placed at the top of your followers’ feed, which means they can see your news without having to scroll or visit your bio, making it more visible and easily accessible. It’s a good idea to share at least one story a day, and the fact that they are easy to do whilst on the go makes this less of a stress than grid posts. If you have time, there is software such as Canva which will allow you to brand your stories with logos and brand colours, but please stay as ‘real’ as you can and allow your stories to tell themselves.

 

What are you waiting for? It’s story time!