Instagram is a platform where brands can thrive and connect with potential customers.
While many of us are familiar with Instagram, we may not always know everything there is to know about how to use our Instagram Stories for social media marketing. Using Instagram Stories for business growth can be a powerful tool. If you don’t already use Instagram Stories in your marketing strategy, you need to start now. Stories have business power. They have become one of the most beloved features on the social media platform. With stories, you can share photos and videos that disappear from your profile after 24 hours. To make your Stories more fun and interactive, you can use features such as stickers, polls, gifs, link swipe ups, music, and more. If your brand hasn’t jumped on utilizing this power, you’re missing out. Let’s start at the beginning.
What are Instagram Stories?
The Instagram Story feature was created to help users share quick photos and videos to highlight what makes them unique.
Stories give your audience a small peek into what goes on behind the scenes of your business, and viewers love that. Instagram Stories are visible to any viewer, not just your followers. You can make multiple Story posts in a time period, and posts that are created within the same 24-hour time period are viewable back-to-back as a reel. Instagram will let viewers know that a new, unviewed story is live by putting a border around your profile photo. Viewers can click on the photo from your profile to see your Instagram Stories, otherwise Instagram also curates Stories at the top of the dashboard on your follower’s feed.
Because of their short-lived nature, it’s easy to overlook Instagram Stories.
If you’re just getting started with Instagram Stories for your small business, you might be thinking, “They’re just going to last for 24 hours, so why even bother?” I’m telling you now, you can boost your reach and engagement when you use Instagram Stories for business growth. On top of that, Instagram Stories are an amazing way to interact with your followers, build brand awareness, and drive sales. But I do understand how they can intimidate even the seasoned pros of Instagram. Not everyone has the natural comfort and ability to show their face in front of the camera. Just know that it’s 100% okay to be nervous about looking silly at the beginning. Trust me, I know the feeling. But the more you open up and be authentic, the easier it will become and the more natural you will feel.
So now let’s talk about why you should use Instagram Stories for business growth.
Instagram Stories make your business more discoverable.
As mentioned before, Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours, but they can be seen by people who don’t even follow you yet. This helps you reach potential clients and customers beyond your own audience. Every time you post a new Story, it draws attention to your Instagram account. Sometimes your followers may even get a notification when you publish a new Story to your profile. This makes your Stories harder to miss than your Instagram posts and draws more attention to your page. Because of this, you’re likely to be discovered by more people with your Stories content versus your actual posts. Plus, because you can post several Stories in succession, or at various times during the day, you can further improve your reach. And Stories have the potential to reach your target audience even outside of your current follower base.
This is a big reason why Instagram Stories are great for business growth. So, keep posting!
Instagram Stories can bring your business and your audience together.
Instagram Stories are designed to be interactive. They are a great way to truly engage with your target audience in a more human way. The more you connect with your audience, the more you get to understand them, and they get to understand you. Instagram Stories are a great way to elevate your content marketing strategy in an engaging way. They also allow your business to interact with your audience and open up opportunities for them to tell you what they want from you, or what they are looking for. That kind of knowledge is PRICELESS for any business looking to grow. People expect to see Stories from businesses and there’s nothing better than showing up for people who are ready to hear from you. Plus, what better way to turn those people into clients and/or customers.
Here are some quick ideas of how you can bring your business and audience together with your Instagram Stories.
- Conduct polls using the Poll stickers by asking simple yes/no questions. Or present multiple-choice options to gather your audience’s opinions.
- Post behind-the-scenes content and share a glimpse of your work processes, daily life, or team members to create a more personal connection.
- Ask for feedback on a new product or service and invite followers/viewers to send you DM’s (direct messages).
- Host Q&A’s by using the Questions sticker.
- Promote contests and giveaways; this encourages engagement by offering prizes for participation.
- Repost UGC (user-generated content) from your followers that feature your product, services, or brand.
It’s also important to remember to respond to comments and messages you receive. By staying actively engaged with your audience, you make them feel as though they are valued (which of course they are)! The more your audience interacts with you on Instagram, the more it boosts your overall engagement rate as well. It sends the Instagram algorithm all the warm and fuzzy signals that your followers like you and your content, which means they want to continue to see more of it.
Instagram Stories keep your business top of mind.
Consistently posting Instagram Stories helps you stay present and at the top of your clients and customers minds. The more customers hear from you, the higher the odds are that they’ll then refer you to friends. And you know what that means? Even MORE clients and customers. This is another reason why using Instagram Stories for business growth is so important. Even if your business is not selling products, you can also drive traffic back to your blog posts, services, promotions, and anything else you would like your followers to see on your website.
This is what makes Instagram Stories so much fun! They offer you a chance to break free from the typical business formality and show your followers a different side of your business. My advice: don’t be afraid to just DO IT! Try something new. If something doesn’t work, oh well. It’ll disappear in 24 hours and then you can try again.
Here are some tips for how to successfully use your Instagram Stories for your business.
- Keep your Stories short and sweet. You should always keep your Instagram Stories short to prevent viewers from scrolling away before your story is done. Short videos are attention-grabbing and can be highly effective. They also minimize the chance that followers will skip through your entire story. The goal is to keep them no more than a minute long, maybe two.
- Get creative with your visuals. Creative visuals on Instagram Stories are important because they capture attention, increase engagement, and help your brand stand out. They also effectively communicate your message by leveraging the platform’s visual nature. They make your stories more likely to be watched and interacted with by viewers, compared to plain text or basic images. Visually appealing content is more likely to hold people’s interest and encourage them to further pay attention to your Story.
- Stick to a single topic in each Story. Although your stories can be more personal, you still want them to have an overall purpose for your viewers. If you are bouncing all over the place with your topics, your viewers aren’t going to have any idea what you’re talking about. This may end up leaving them confused and not wanting to come back.
- Use interactive features like stickers. You should use interactive features like stickers on your Instagrams Stories for business growth because they significantly increase engagement with your audience. They invite your audience to participate in your content through polls, questions, quizzes, Q&A’s, and other interactive elements. This helps build a strong connection with your following and leads to potentially growing your audience.
Like any new feature, Instagram Stories have continued to evolve since their launch.
The one thing that remains constant is Stories are the most popular content format for authenticity. They’ve always been a way for Instagram users to peel back the layers, go beyond the perfectly curated image, and showcase something a bit more real. On the surface, using Instagram Stories for business growth might not appear to be the most intuitive feature, or even one that screams “profit” the loudest. But Instagram Stories can be incredibly powerful for small businesses and local service companies as both a branding platform and a lead-generating tool with the right strategy. Using Instagram Stories for business growth helps your brand show a real side to you. It allows you to connect with your target audience in an authentic, vulnerable manner that they love and keeps them coming back for more.
