What are Instagram Stories?
Let’s start with the basics, shall we? For those unfamiliar, Instagram Stories is a feature within the Instagram app that lets users post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. The content you share on your Story doesn’t appear on your profile page or in your followers’ main feeds – instead, it lives at the top of their feed alongside the Stories posted by whoever else they follow.
Why should you use Instagram Stories?
You might be wondering why you’d put time and energy into creating something that lasts for less than 24 hours? Because people LOVE Instagram Stories. They’re easy to watch and they inspire higher engagement than typical posts – the Instagram algorithm measures engagement and rewards accounts that effectively engage users. So, if you’re regularly posting interesting Instagram Stories, the rest of your posts will also rank more highly in your followers’ feeds.
Also, you can make your best Stories last longer than 24 hours by saving them to your profile page, where they will be available to anyone who visits your profile.
Tips to Get Started:
> Tell a Story
They’re called Stories for a reason! 😉 Go behind the scenes at one of your company’s events, describe a day in the life of an employee, illustrate the experience of a customer, demonstrate how to use your product or service, host a “takeover” by an influencer, partner or collaborator, etc.
> Engage
Use Stories to speak with your current and potential customers. Ask for feedback (comments on Stories are private), run polls and contests, pose questions, offer tutorials, host Q&A sessions, etc.
> Don’t Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good
Think of Stories as a less formal way to communicate with current and potential customers, allowing them to get a more authentic look into your company, your culture and your values. Like we mentioned before, the content is temporary, so it’s an ideal place to get creative, run experiments and find out what works and what doesn’t. In the process, you’ll help make your brand more human and relatable.
Ready to get started? Check out this article to get a step-by-step guide to creating your first Instagram Story.
Need some additional support? We’re happy to help you strategize, brainstorm, plan, create, measure, etc.
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