Strategies to Use Instagram Stories Effectively

Instagram stories are a popular way to share content on this social media platform. Over 400 million users use Stories every day. Due to this, Facebook integrated stories within their platform as well, and you can easily share stories from Instagram to Facebook.

Stories are no longer a novelty, it has become one of the most important features of Instagram. However, despite the popularity of this feature, it is important to understand how to use it correctly in order to harness the real power of Instagram Stories. 

 Engagement features such as polls, question stickers, and music make Stories extremely appealing to Instagram users. The introduction of Stories Ads also confirms the power of this new feature in terms of selling power. 

Here are some ways you can use Instagram Stories to boost your online presence. 

Create Tutorials on your Instagram Stories

The sequential format of Stories is ideal for step-by-step or how-to tutorials. You can create stories on how to set up your product, a step-by-step guide on how to use it, or even a simple Story showing the viewer how to order your product. 

Educational content is always great for interaction and very valuable for the customers out there. 

You can easily create a tutorial video with images or animation. Make sure to invest time in the last slide/video and create a great CTA for your customers.

User Generated Content

Sharing content created by your customers is a great way to boost social proof and make your brand more reliable. 

If you have active customers on the platform, you can share testimonies or reviews of your products or services on your own stories. 

Stories are also a great way to publish UGC (User Generated Content)  and keep control of the content in your profile. This is important if you don’t want valuable shout-outs from followers to go to waste. For example, one of your customers just shared a video on Instagram of his/her experience using your product or service. This type of content is extremely valuable because it provides social proof. 

Social proof is the concept that people will follow the actions of the masses. The idea is that since so many other people behave in a certain way, it must be the correct behavior.

Behind the Scenes (BTS) of Your Brand

Behind the scenes is a great way to get closer to your audience. Furthermore, BTS videos are a great way to keep your content as organic as possible; you don’t want to advertise all the time. Remember, users visit Instagram looking for interesting content, not directly to buy products. 

Putting the human side of your business on display is a great way to make your brand and product more relatable and appealing to would-be followers. 

Time-Sensitive Offers or Deals 

Keep your audience guessing through every step of your story. This is a great way to demonstrate the creative and fun side of your brand. 

Special announcements are very effective on Stories because it fits the format of the content. Stories will be available for 24 hours.

Story-specific offers are a smart move to encourage people to stay glued to your Instagram for fresh deals and updates on a regular basis.

Stories don’t need to be a massive production. Armed with a smartphone and best practices in mind, you can start creating them today.

There are a number of resources online to help you improve your stories. Ad Espresso has compiled a number of great Instagram story examples and Social Bakers shares information about a great tool to use to create Instagram Stories.

What makes stories even more useful is crafting them to pin on your Highlights so visitors can watch them by category. This can unlock a whole other way of telling stories over time in creative ways that entice audiences to follow your account.

If you are looking for support for engaging designs to feature professional-looking stories and highlights, contact Streative Digital to get started.