Time to Catch up on Your Stories

Instagram's Stories is making promising strides, reaching 500 million users a day. And with their early-2017 change to an algorithm over linear reverse-chronological view, business pages are losing ground in organic reach. Unlike Facebook's Day, businesses can (and should) utilize Instagram Stories to make up for the loss. 

Identify Your Demographic

• Sixty-eight percent of Instagram users are women in the 18-25 crowd, but the platform is widely embraced by teens to 29 year olds 
• 250 million users utilize Stories daily
• Instagram is rated as the "most important social media platform" by teenagers
• 20% of internet users are on Instagram
• 80% of users are from outside the USA

Think of Stories as Direct-Marketing Billboards
Instagram moves fast, so it's no surprise the average Instagram user misses 70% of the content in their feed. Stories puts your post at the top of the Instagram feed and sticks for 24 hours, dramatically increasing the odds of your post being seen. 

Create Engaging Posts
Before you plunge into Instagram stardom, consider your branding. How do you want your business to be perceived? Starting a social media account just to abandon it doesn't look great for web presence and legitimacy in the long run, so consider your strategy. 

• Ensure you have enough content to post to Instagram at least a few times a week. Since Stories only stick for 24 hours, the more you keep your bubble at the top of the feed filled, the more likely users will see it. 
• Consider what your Instagram presence will look like.  Sprinkle promotional posts in 1-2 times a week. Your followers don't want to see a sales pitch every time they open the app. Focus on company culture, production, events, etc. When in doubt, create a graphic with an industry-relevant quote or similar. 
• Use hashtags. Hashtags are still heavily used on Instagram and Twitter. Watch trending hashtags and tie your Story into them if at all possible (careful with the controversial trends!). 
• Include subtle calls to action (or more direct ones for promotional posts) in as many posts as possible, but don't let it look forced or out of place. Entice your followers to want to know more about your brand.

Use All the Features

• Use Geo Filters whenever available and appropriate.
• Use eye-catching, real life photos and creative edits to give life to your brand (rather than obvious stock photos). Instagram is equipped with a multitude of filters and editing options. Get creative! 
• Make sure any verbiage in your graphic is clear and easy to read.

Advertise
Instagram is owned by Facebook, so the promoted posts work more or less the same. (Keep in mind, any post you boost on Facebook will also appear on Instagram unless you opt out of it, so no need to boost the same post on both apps). You can set up a campaign on Instagram's website, but the easiest way to promote is to upload your post and click the Boost button when it publishes.

Using Stories is a fun and fairly easy way to directly marketing to your consumer. Your engaging posts will drive up traffic and interaction with your brand and to your website. Creating fun, informational graphics takes just minutes with integrated editing features and can heavily influence potential consumers to convert when done correctly and consistently. 

Wondering how to make Instagram work for your brand? Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation! 

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