Stuck with finding the right way to use Instagram stories? Read on as we venture into new ways of using Instagram stories for promoting your business.
Did you know that more than half the users on Instagram are involved in business, either to engage in buying or selling stuff?
If not, now you do. So if you are sulking for days to figure out how to make the best use of your account, don’t panic, you aren’t alone.
Literally, gone are the times when Instagram was used for mere pleasure. In recent times, there has been an increase of sales and promotions making it one of the most widely accepted social media platforms for marketing. It gives you the privilege of making direct contacts with your customers without the involvement of any middle networks.
It may be an easy way to gain some attention, however, this internet-savvy world is competitive and demanding. Just like in any normal world, you are surrounded by competitors, on Instagram too you will have to face constant competition because you are not alone and other brands too want to create a niche for themselves.
In this chaos, Instagram stories are perfect tickets for you to sustain in the business and gain attention from your users. But if you think that stories are just for pictures that you need to think beyond because they a blessing in disguise.
Here we look at 30 different ways by which you can promote your business in a good swing on Instagram stories.!
Let’s begin with the pictures!
Have something new in the stock? Why not post to keep your audience intrigued?
Posting stunning picture captures, the eyes of your audience. It’s not mandatory that you post professional captured customized pictures. There are a variety of filters that can be used to make your smart-phone captured images to look surreal and elegant.
A new t-shirt available? Post it in the story! Got to promote new shoe design? Post it on the story! Want to portray your photography skill? Post it on story! Remember there’s a room to share everything on the story feature.
Have fun boomerangs!
Before Instagram Boomerang was app that had to be installed separately. But now since it in incorporated within Instagram stories you do not need additional space to install it. it’s a fun feature that lets you take mini videos that loop back and forth.
When can you use them?
Well if you want to add some fun and spice to your video clips, this is the best feature. Since the loops last for 2 secs or so, it is a fun way of trying alternatives to the monotonous pictures because our eyes need some mobility instead of the stability provided by the pictures.
Recite your story!
By this we do not mean read out your story but rather provide thread of pictures or videos to share your product. For instance, if you are into baking and want to customize cakes for your customers, you can share every picture of the cakes you have baked previously with the pricing and offering some discounts. Into photography? You may find customers wanting to capture their happy times for which you need to portray some best works as a mode of advertising your skills. Writing a blog? Use stories to give minute details yet create suspicion so that your audience reads your blogs frequently.
Include behind-the-scenes!
Imagine watching behind the scenes clips at the end of the movies. Quite intriguing, isn’t? for instance, if you are promoting your make-up and styling skills, you may very often upload pictures of you painting your make artists or their pictures with well-decked make-up and hair. It would be fun if you would upload some clips before you get the right pictures.
Mostly bloopers are good to users stuck to your story content. These behind-the –scenes pictures may be funny but they remind the customers that your product is designed without any pressure and your personality will appear to be cool. And who doesn’t want to bond with a cool personality?
Be a guide!
Apart from ranting what is in stock, you could use the story feature to guide people in the same field. You might have figured it out but your companions may just beginners. Also, you could share some demos and trials, pros and cons associated with products and services. For instance, if you are into sales for skin and hair cosmetics, you can come up with tutorials for the right application of these products. Apart from that, you can also go live and have a Q&A sessions with your customers, providing them every detail of your product.
Line up things!
If you are fumbling to remain in line, Instagram stories provide you with cool features which are parameters for you to stay in line. Your story graphics are designed in such a way that the top is covered by your username while your bottom includes ways to interact with your story, either provide a comment or react emoji’s.
So if your content gets shadowed in these areas, it makes your stories less visible reducing engagement. So look for the alerts provide by Instagram because it allows 1080 x 1420 pixels in the center by keeping away 250 pixels in the top and below areas.
Have fun with texts!
Instagram wants you to play with fonts and colors and make your products seem interesting. So you got to make the best use of the assets provided, one of which is a text shadow that can be incorporated from the dashboard which can be created by including two different colors on the same text. This create an eye-catchy visuals highlighting your texts thereby making your message bigger and louder.
Say you want to advertise your latest tee collection. Use these shadow tools to highlight the size, cost and features of the tee to make a spectacular impression.
Go live!
Want to make an announcement instantly? Why not use the Live feature on story? Apart from narrating your story, people are allowed to pose question, reactions or simply be spectators. One can even collaborate with a personality in the same field to engage in some solid interactions.
For instance, you can be lucky enough to have contacts with influencers and have a Q&A sessions with hem to promote your brand. Influencers as the name suggests are influential personalities that have a huge fan following. They can be kind enough to endorse, advertise and promote your advertisements.
Reels should be included in your list!
Through reels Instagram has given businesses and creators an opportunity to showcase a whole new side of their story. It is an in-app creation that can be shared and posted on your story to make it visible to a larger audience. One can make creative reel highlighting the benefits of their products. These short clips that will your audience glued to your products.
One can also provide a sneak-peak into the services they provide. For instance, if you wish to promote your salon, you can shoot a reel on a messy hair make-over and post. To make it reachable to a wider audience you can share it on your story and ask your followers to like, share and comment.
Play around stickers!
Don’t want your texts to look pale? You can jot down your feelings using Instagram stickers available. There are a number of stickers, GIFs, emoji’s that bring out your best expression to the content being shared.
There is a sticker available for almost everything and you can accompany them with branded hashtags. You may not be aware about the power of hashtags but it is absolutely amazing feature that makes your users find you instantly. Creating hashtags is one thing and promoting is another. Whatever hashtags you create for your brand, make sure to post online, offline, on your website, cards, hoardings, wherever possible.
Ask questions?
Stories are not just meant for pictures and videos, perhaps, one can even post questions to their audience to know their likes and flavors. For instance, if you are into cooking and are up for home delivery services, you can post delicious pictures of your dishes and ask the audience what they like the most.
A question like, ‘would you guys prefer buttered shrimps over garlic squids?’ or if you are drinks, ‘mock tails over cocktails’ could be included into the question.
You will definitely get a response if your question arouses inquisitive feelings into the users.
Apart from that, you can get a glance into knowing your audience, if your followers are interested in your business or if you have to look into ways to gather some more audience.Create a poll!
Stories also gives you an opportunity to create a poll. Some users do not like to be questioned or want to answer because they like to keep it short and simple. Say you are planning for a new product, knowing if people are interested in it would save you from making a product disliked by many. Say, you are a designer and plan to have a set of designs in your mind. Some these include a customized puzzle on harry potter or a mystery box including treats and goodies.
A poll will help you know what people are more interested in, if they have to gift this product to their loved one.
Make Giveaway announcements!
Who doesn’t like giveaways?
Perhaps people get more interested when they find a benefit for themselves. So you may try to have as many followers as you want but what’s the fun if your followers do not feel accepted by you. because these followers are your ultimate customers, one way to treat them is via giveaways. You can come up with exciting gifts on your business anniversary or to celebrate your presence on Instagram. Post the giveaway on you feed, on stories and ask users to pot on their stories and tag your account.
In this way, you get the attention you deserve to promote your business and your users get lured towards winning the gift.
Discounts in the house!
Apart from giveaways, if you have discounts, seasonal sales or even offers like buy one get one free, use stories to make best use of it. one thing stories is; it helps you to amplify the message. You content maybe posted on the feed but when someone shares it on their story, it increases visibility more than the post.
Most people cannot spare their time to visit your feed and go through each and every post. In such a situation, swiping through your stories will provide them a gist of what you are into and your offers available.
Swipe up to view!
Not everyone has this feature included in their story rather an account with over 10k followers does. So if you are a part of this milestone, then please make a good use of the ‘swipe to view’ tag which is available on your stories. When people will click on it, it will direct them towards your profile or website making your products and services visible to them impromptu.
It’s a call-to-action, and if you think people would pay much attention to it, surround the tags with some pointed arrows or draw out designs so that users instantly have a click on it.
Go a step forward!
By a step forward, we mean to put little extra efforts in term of designing your story. Try a template if you want to keep your posts upgraded and classy. You may not find these templates on Instagram, but if you surf the net, there are sites that provide cool, out-of-the-box template ideas to awe your customers.
There are templates available for business, influencers and content creators because every industry is unique and using the same story board van be monotonous at times.
Shout out to users-generated content!
What is user-generated content?
Say, you recently had customers that purchased a pair of shoes from you and they tagged you in a post. You can appreciate this gesture and perhaps share their post on your story making the relation visible to all.If you do not wish for these tags to dominate your feed all the time, posting them on their story will reduce the traffic and these will also be available in your highlights. Also, it a way of thanking your customers because you do not want these shout-outs to go in waste.
Try story ads!
you were googling about a tutoring classes and while swiping through your stories you may have noticed ads that are promoting these tutoring classes or something similar to it. you may have experienced such a situation and try to ponder on how is Instagram knowing your latest activity.
Instagram ads are features that stand out in the thread of stories.
Ads allows brands to use videos or photos in a full screen mode making them great commercials for gaining some solid attention.
Collaborate with the known!
Stories make some great ways for collaboration. They’re visual dates or places than make communication easier between people present in two different parts of the world. You can collaborate with known businesses that would benefit you and your followers.
One can even collaborate with influencers and content creators to know their interests about your products. Collaboration like these can be paid, so you may have to strain your pockets but anything done for business is acceptable.
How can you forget the highlights?
Instagram highlights have changed the games for stories. As brands, you can provide an array of highlights that tell people about you, your content, your products and services. It’s a sneak-peak into your world of business.
Because they have so much to offer, they keep users glued onto your page for a longer duration. Most successful brands keep updating their highlights because these are like the menus to their service.
Use the reaction slider!
Sliders allow users to send in instant response to the stories your created. Instagram algorithm is all about how engaged your users are and so brands use these tactics to keep the engagement levels high. These goofy sliders include everything, from expressions to reactions that make users interested in the product. Apart from that, one can be creative in placing these sliders on the right posts at the right time.
