Social media today is constantly evolving and changing and it can be hard to keep up. When Instagram came out with their ‘Stories’ feature, many people thought it was exactly like Snapchat and believed it was only beneficial to the general public — but this is far from the truth!
What is Instagram Stories?
Instagram developed the Stories feature in an attempt to connect users in a more meaningful way. Stories are a video or picture you can share with your audience that can only be viewed for 24 hours. They appear across the top of your screen when logged into the app.
There are quite a few fun design elements that are unique to Stories such as stickers, gifs, music, and interactive polls or questions. These can be used to highlight your business in an authentic way.
Why Your Business Should Use Instagram Stories
Instagram is a social media platform that has nearly 1 billion users worldwide. This makes it obvious Instagram isn’t going anywhere and the sooner businesses hop on board with this new feature the better. There are five key ways Instagram stories can enhance your marketing efforts.
1. Increase Brand Awareness
In order to be successful, you need people to know about your business. Currently, 500 million people use Instagram Stories. Users often spend time thumbing through Stories of their friends and can’t help but see your brand. Creating content that is engaging gives you the opportunity to connect with a plethora of people by using options such as tagging your location, using hashtags and resharing posts people have tagged you in. Users follow hashtags on Instagram, and this is a great way for your business to get in front of people who are interested in the same thing as you but aren’t following your brand yet. The more content you’re sharing with the world the more people are becoming aware of your business.
2. Increase Brand Engagement
With 65% of a company’s business coming from existing customers, brand engagement is important. Instagram Stories allow you to share tips, tricks or even fun facts about your business with your followers. Adding things such as polls and questions to your stories lets your followers become more engaged with your business.
3. Increase Website Traffic
With Instagram Stories, you can directly promote content from your website. Have a blog you recently wrote or a new service your offering? Stories are a great way to get around the inability to link in standard Instagram posts and drive people to your website. More website traffic equals more opportunities for your business.
4. Collect Customer Feedback
Wanting a quick and easy way to gain insight into what your customers want? With Instagram Stories, you can ask questions or create polls to see what content, products, promotions, etc. your audience likes best. Another benefit of using interactive stickers is your customers feel heard and valued, increasing their loyalty and their likeliness to share positive feedback with others.
5. Promote Content From Your Feed
With Instagram’s new algorithm it’s getting harder and harder for your content to be seen because posts are no longer in chronological order. Using stories allows you to be at the top of a consumer’s feed for 24 hours. You can also share your previous posts on your story to increase the likelihood of your followers and other Instagram users seeing it.
Overwhelmed? Don’t Worry! We Can Help.
Digital marketing is always changing and can be very overwhelming. Don’t stress and seek help from experts who literally make it their job to know what’s happening in the digital marketing industry at all times. Connect with Marketing Refresh and we can help your business reach its full potential.
