Personalization, connection, reach, interactivity and customization, these are a few terms that can be used to describe Instagram stories. Though Instagram stories have not been developed a very long time ago, It’s been only three years (Instagram started this feature in August, 2016), we are using insta-stories for increased interaction with our friends on Instagram. Don’t believe me but within this short period, this crazy Instagram feature has become a crucial part of the social media arsenal.
The influence of Instagram, Tada, one of the trendiest app for pop up gamification on Shopify, recently published an article to guide you in the marketing process of your Instagram stories. Indeed, Instagram stories work differently than Instagram feed. Have you thought about how to measure the ROI for example?
stories has been so much that over 400 million Instagrammers make use of this feature almost daily.
But why do they use Instagram stories? The answer to this is quite simple The story feature provide an up and center prominence on both Facebook and Instagram. This ensures that your content is not lost in the ever-growing feed and stays in front of your followers for at least 24 hrs
The more a brand is visible these days, the more chances it gets to draw the attention of its followers and thereby to grow its base.
A brand can make use of Instagram stories to keep most of its followers engaged at the same time, leaving the new content open, waiting to be discovered by the new audience.
With the charisma of Instagram stories explained, and its hidden powers highlighted, let’s take a look at the various ways in which Instagram stories can be used to get real Instagram followers:
Teaching Through Instagram Stories:
If you are planning to impart knowledge to your followers, using tutorials can be a great way of achieving that. Plus it will help the brand grow its follower base.
People will have easier access to your platforms and they will get all the information they need about your products and services a lot easier.You can also opt-in for marketing services from companies like BuzzVoice which will help you gain a lot more exposure and your sales will skyrocket as your engagement with your clients turns them into leads.
The tutorial can be something as simple as a “how-to” short video or an elaborate product description.
Since Instagram stories follow a sequential pattern, it provides a great user experience.
A lot of brands are making tutorials a major part of their Instagram story segment. For instance, Sephora has a segment of highlights dedicated to the tutorials shared in their Instagram stories.
Behind The Curtain Action:
Customers and followers function very uniquely these days. They want to be able to know your brand at a very close range. In that light, behind the scenes footage and workings greatly help owners humanize their brands.
Once they share such footage in their stories, people connect with them immediately. These sort of stories can be a simple “A day in the studio” or “Product in the making” kind of a video, but the impact it creates on the existing followers and the new ones are really powerful.
Marvel followed a similar style by posting about the entire crew on the launch of Captain Marvel in its Instagram Stories.
Source: Marvel Captain Marvel Movie Premier
Pop Interactive Elements:
Instagram is all about establishing a two-way connection with your audience. Your followers will like to know where your brand has been, people your brand admires, fun elements and such other components to which they can connect to. In that light, it’s important to keep the Instagram stories interactive.
60 percent of business make use of interactive elements such as @mentions, hashtags, and stickers to make their stories reach out to more people.
Hosting Polls on the Instagram stories can also be a cool way to interact with your audience. A food delivery service called Hello Fresh and a pet store called Kurgo makes use of polls to showcase their products and ask the view of the followers about the different products.
Source: Hello Fresh
What’s Special?:
Owing to the recent algorithm changes, Instagram stories are the ideal location to feature special announcements and deals . A brand may be planning to have a festive special sale, or maybe is closing its store for some time due to renovations. Instagram stories are the ideal platforms to share such news.
A similar trend was followed by a beauty brand named Frank Body to announce the launch of a new range of face care products.
Source: Frank Body
Adding Links To Enhance Lead Generation:
Instagram stories can be used to connect the followers to the blogs on the website by the use of links. Once the followers of a particular brand reach 10k followers, the brand can then add links to their site in the Instagram story section.
This helps the brand to channelize direct traffic to the company website where they can be converted into customers.
Such strategies can be used not only to improve the follower base but also to convert users and thereby grow the business.
This strategy has worked out for many. At least 30 percent of Instagram users have bought a product after first discovering it on Instagram stories.
Understanding the principles of Instagram stories is crucial. Once a brand follows the trends, half of the battle is won. The other half is all about using the information most innovatively.