If you are an ardent user of Instagram and spend quality time scrolling through this app, you’re probably well aware of how entertaining this app is. Instagram is all about good vibes, perfect pictures, and engaging content. According to studies, almost half a billion people use Instagram daily. And Instagram’s new story feature is one of the reasons that made it possible.
Now, Instagram is so much more than just a video and photo-sharing app; you can now post moments from your day as your stories for a better engagement. Till now, we’ve mentioned how you can utilize this fantastic feature to reach out to more people. How about we think big and do the same for your business? Instagram now is nothing like the way it used to be before.
Marketers have noticed Instagram’s transformation and are making it a marketing tool. Instagram is slowly turning into a marketplace where brands worldwide promote themselves and gain new customers—wondering how you can make the most of Instagram’s story feature to promote your business? Let’s dive in!
Go Live
Along with the story feature, Instagram has also introduced a Live feature that allows you to communicate with your audience in real-time. You can now engage with your audiences like never before. This feature seems simple but is actually extremely helpful if you keep coming up with new ideas to use it. Going live is the best option if you have some important announcements to make or new products to reveal.
You can also use this feature to host Q&A sessions before or after a product launch. Doing this will help you understand your audience’s demands and reviews regarding your brand. By taking their suggestions from live sessions, you can also improve your brand’s products. Going live is also a great way to build a personal connection with the audience.
Even if you don’t have new products to talk about, you can go live to simply have a chit-chat with your followers. When you go live, Instagram notifies your audiences so that they can immediately join your live session. Once your session is done, you can put it as a story for 24 hours so that the followers that have missed out on your live session can catch up.
Use Special Effects and GIFs
Stunning visuals are a must to boost the engagement of your profile, and editing videos and pictures to get the aesthetics right can be a tiring task. Fortunately, the Instagram story feature comes with a vast collection of special effects and GIFs to help you spice your Instagram stories. In the GIF section, you will find the perfect fit for all types of Instagram stories, and they will change the appearance of your story in seconds. To add GIFs to your stories, all you need to do is click on the ‘Sticker’ icon that appears on the top right of your screen and search in the search bar located in the top middle of your screen.
Instagram recently added AR Filters for stories to help you add your dream aesthetics to your stories with ease. All you have to do is browse the effects and find the one you like. If you see a filter that matches your brand’s vibe in someone else’s story, you can simply tap on the filter name and save it in your collection to use later.
Share Behind-The-Scenes
If you want to build a bond of trust with your followers, sharing behind-the-scenes is the way to go. You can use this tip to share small moments from shoots, events, and more. Your followers would love to see what goes on in your brand’s office; they would love to know more about the people behind your brand. So, share those moments, and you will notice a difference in the overall engagement.
You can also share the making and packaging of a product. Doing this will help your audiences know more about the products and help them make faster and better decisions. Plus, an insider look at your brand will add a human element to your business strategy.
Use Story Templates
Running out of ways to make your stories engaging? Use story templates to spice up your Instagram stories. Story templates are basically pre-made layouts that give your stories an out-of-the-box background. You can browse templates online or simply create your own.
Just keep the aspect ratio of Instagram stories (9:16) in mind and create your templates accordingly. There are various editing apps and websites to help you out so that you never fail to impress your audience with your tasteful aesthetics.
Use Stickers
Instagram stickers are one of the things that make engaging with stories fun. You can now ask for feedback, add a countdown for announcements, live sessions, new launches, all at the same place. Going live is a great way to host Q&A sessions, but did you know that Instagram has made it even easier? Now you can find stickers that are made just for Q&A sessions.
You longer need to conduct live every time you think of hosting a Q&A; you can find a question sticker in the sticker section of your Instagram story feature. You will find more stickers such as Poll, Quiz, and much more. Polls are interactive stickers that let users vote for their favorite pick. You can use this to ask questions to your audience regarding your brand’s products to see their views. The quiz section is also fun and can be used to engage more people in your profile.
Use Music
Music makes everything better, right? Instagram has noted down this fact and introduced music for stories. Now your audiences can interact with your content while listening to music. You will find this option too at the stickers option. There you will find song suggestions and a search bar. Using the search bar, you can find music that speaks about the vibe of your brand. Use this feature accordingly and keep your audiences thoroughly entertained.
Add Feed Posts as Stories
Stories have a higher engagement rate than other features of Instagram. So, to help your feed posts reach a large number of audiences in a short time, add them to your story. This will allow your followers to engage with your posts just by tapping on the story. If you have made a reel or an IGTV video and want to boost its engagement, add it to your story. If an audience interacts with that story for at least 5 seconds, your view count will increase and increased views will help the video reach more people.
Conclusion
The story feature of Instagram has brought in a huge change in the engagement rate. And it is introducing fun features with every update. Thus, you must use this feature with efficiency to grow your business. Creative ideas and the ability to understand your customer’s needs will help your brand reach greater heights.
