Since the rollout of Instagram Stories in August of 2016, brands and users have adopted the platform at an impressive rate. With over 200 million active users in April 2017, Instagram stories is becoming an important way to interact with your following & grow your brand.
With any new social platform or app capability, there are some great ways to use it and some not so great ways. We’ve seen some brands get really creative with their content & we love exploring new ways to use the feature ourselves. A new feature can sometimes we overwhelming, so we got together to list our favorite 8 ways to use the platform to showcase a brand.
Plan out your content ahead of time. Just as it’s important to plan out your Instagram feed ahead of time, it’s also important to plan out your Story Content. Keeping a consistent schedule will help followers know what they can expect from your brand & what they can look forward to seeing each week on your channel.
Treat Instagram Stories as it’s own Platform. We’ve seen a lot of brands treating Instagram Stories like Snapchat. In our opinion, Instagram Stories is completely different and both platforms have their place in a well-rounded social media company profile. Instagram Stories is more curated content, that is still aesthetically pleasing & in line with the brand’s values, tone & voice. Snapchat is more on-the-fly and less curated. Because you can upload content more easily, create specific branded content with your logo & different fonts or design elements. Don’t have an in-house graphic designer? Download the app Canva for help designing easy-to-upload content.
Utilize the swipe up feature to drive traffic to your website. Now that all business accounts can add a link to Instagram Stories, use this feature to push your followers to your website or event page.
Tag other brands & fan posts. Remember to stay social! Social Media is all about collaboration & community. Highlight other brands that you love or shoutout fans that have posted about or mentioned your brand.
Highlight behind the scenes. People love seeing the BTS. Share some shots from an upcoming photoshoot or a video of how you edit a photo. You can give your users an inside look about how your product works or what a day in the life of your company is.
Share insider tips & tricks. At SSLA we like to share different editing tips, try out new editing apps & give special social media tricks on our Instagram Stories. What are some insider tips from your industry that you could be sharing?
Ask for Audience Interaction. Instagram Stories are a great way to speak directly with your audience. Ask questions directly to your followers & invite them to message you their opinions, thoughts & feedback.
Vary types of content. Use what’s available to you! Users love seeing a mix of videos & photos on Stories, so be sure to mix it up. Varying content types will also keep your Stories from becoming stagnant & keep your users engaged.
For more tips, check out our blog for our Top Tips for Eye-Catching Instagram Stories here.
The possibilities are endless. Because Instagram is a creative community, we’re always seeing new & interesting ways brands are incorporating content & ideas into Instagram Stories.
Written by our VP of Operations, Marissa Stahl.
Have some fave ways to use Instagram Stories? We wanna hear about it! Tweet us @somethingsocial or tag us on Instagram- @somethingsocial.
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