Are you using the stories feature on Instagram for your business? If you aren’t, you should definitely re-consider this and up your game! Instagram stories are an amazing way to not only engage with your current audience, but help you get discovered by users who aren’t even following you yet.
Stories are a great way to show quick snippets about what is going on in your day. They can include behind the scenes, details about your offerings, a shot of lunch your team had at a local restaurant (be sure to tag them!), something new you are working on, trips or events you may be attending, tips for your followers…. the options are endless. There are wonderful ways to use stories as a way to connect and engage with your audience such as the poll sticker. You can use a the poll sticker to find out information such as your audience’s preference on a certain product/service you offer or have them provide input on a decision you are making! Another great feature to use is the “Ask me anything” sticker. You can use this sticker to ask your audience a certain question such as “what is your favourite product of ours?”… valuable information to have! You can also turn it around so that you followers have a chance to ask you a question! By using features such as the ones mentioned above, you are not only engaging your following and showcasing your products/service but you are also receiving valuable information from your audience that you can use to your business’s advantage.
Instagram also has the ability to search for Instagram Stories by location and hashtag, meaning if you include a hashtag or location in your story, you can be discovered by users that aren’t even following you! Right now Instagram allows a user to use up to 10 hashtags in their stories…. I wouldn’t recommend using 10 but definitely take advantage of throwing 1 or 2 in there to help get discovered!
One of the great thing about Instagram stories is that unlike Instagram feed posts, they do not follow the Instagram algorithm (which also means that your stories have a better chance of getting seen than your main feed posts sometimes). There is really no “optimal” time to be posting a story either, like there is for Instagram feed posts. A story exists for 24 hours and after that, your viewers can no longer see it….. unless you include them in your story highlights… which I recommend all businesses do/have. Highlighting your stories is an excellent way to show new followers/prospective clients all that you have to offer when they see your page for the first time. You can choose which stories you want to include in your highlights and you can separate them into groups… I included a shot of my highlights below to show you an example.
I like to create my highlight covers (in my case the blue circles shown above) in an app called CANVA. They have templates where you can create highlight covers for FREE and save them to your camera roll for use. You don’t need highlight covers, but I find they add to the overall feel of your profile.
Although stories may seem intimidating for some, it is something I encourage all business owners to play around with. The more you use them, the more you will get comfortable with them and learn to use different features. It’s a wonderful way to connect with your audience, and it’s basically free marketing for your business!
If you’re looking for assistance on how to use stories or where to begin do not hesitate to reach out, I would love to help! :)
