In today’s day and age, social media increasingly has more and more power to shape public perception of your brand. On social media, posts from businesses are right alongside posts from your friends; this allows companies to showcase their more human side and use current trends to have more fun with their marketing. Instagram is the perfect place to do just that!
Why Instagram Stories?
Instagram has a large and diverse user base that makes it one of the most effective tools for marketers looking to increase the reach and engagement of their business. Instagram maintains a customer-first advertising policy, limiting ads and how often its users see them. Because the advertising isn’t pushy or aggressive, it works. Specifically, the implementation of Instagram stories in recent years has changed the game completely.
Instagram stories allow users to post content that will only be available for 24 hours. These posts will be viewable to followers through the click of a small profile picture that appears at the top of their screen above their feed. Additionally, stories take up the whole phone when viewing; although a viewer can easily skip through stories, there is almost no visual distraction from the content.
Where a conventional Instagram post might feel somewhat formal, stories are a short, slice-of-life kind of content that emphasizes a sense of connection and humanity. They’re fun, provide lots of room for creativity, and have the capability to be very, very interactive.
Opportunities for Engagement
On an Instagram story, Instagram provides the opportunity to engage directly with your followers through features like holding polls and asking questions.
The poll feature lets anyone ask a question to their followers and customize the poll choices. Immediately, your followers will be able to answer your poll questions, and you’ll be able to see live results. Once someone selects an answer choice, they’ll also see the percentage of people who chose each answer.
Instagram also allows users to ask open-ended questions to their followers and then answer those same questions right in their stories. Below is an example from Glossier, a skincare and makeup brand that built itself entirely on social media, with a massive Instagram following acquired before they even launched their first product.
One of the reasons Glossier has been so successful is the way they’ve utilized Instagram stories. They give their customers the opportunity to provide valuable feedback and share their thoughts on all things skincare-related, building brand loyalty and awareness at the same time.
Instagram Story Insights
On Instagram, all business profiles have the ability to view their Story Insights. This allows the user to track:
- Impressions (how many times their Story was seen)
- Reach (the number of unique visitors to a Story)
- Taps Forward (how many times viewers skipped to the next piece of content in your Story)
- Taps Back (how many times a user tapped your Story to go back to the previous piece of content)
- Replies (how many times users replied to your Story)
- Swipe Aways (how many times users swiped to skip to the next account’s Story)
- and Exits (the number of times a viewer left the Stories section entirely to go back to their feed)
This information can provide valuable tools to any brand looking to optimize its digital marketing strategy and get the most out of its social media presence.
If this sounds like it’s just all too much for you and the busy folks of your business, we at No Time for Social are always here to provide a helping hand. To get in touch with us and learn more about how digital marketing can help you reach the right audience and grow your business, click here!
