Instagram marketing is now a must-have for any business.
Over the last few years, this simple visual-oriented platform has emerged as a vital tool for connecting with customers and developing brand identity.
Currently, there are more than 2 billion monthly active users logging into the platform on a regular basis. What’s more, around 200 million of those users actively follow a business account.
While Instagrammers take advantage of various great features, from IGTV to Reels, Instagram Stories have emerged as perhaps the most popular tool on the channel, with 500 million daily active users. Ideal for quick announcements, strengthening your business reputation, and generating excitement among followers, Instagram Stories for business have the power to turbocharge your marketing campaign.
The challenge is in figuring out how to add Stories to your promotional efforts.
8 Ways To Use Instagram Stories For Your Business
Stories are temporary pieces of content shared with your audience for a brief period of 24 hours (unless you choose to save snippets to your highlights).
Similar to Snapchat content, Stories disappear quickly and generally don’t require as much production as other Instagram posts. This makes them ideal for companies with limited time to work on their advertising efforts. What’s more, they’re great for capturing viewers. About one-third of the most viewed stories come from businesses today.
Here are some great ideas for how to use Stories in your Instagram marketing.
1. Broadcast Announcements On Instagram Stories
The fast-paced and temporary nature of Instagram Stories makes them excellent for sharing quick news updates. If your company recently achieved something important or needs to share news about a major change, you can use Stories to do that. Stories are also great for providing updates on new products, staff members, and releases.
You could even use Stories to draw attention to recent articles from your website, and save your top-performing snippets on your Highlights Reel like Wix does here:
Using Stories for announcements is a great way to keep your customers up-to-date on what’s happening in your business, which improves brand buy-in. You can also showcase behind-the-scenes information, to make your customers feel like they’re getting an inside peek at your organization.
The best way to make your announcements stand out is with engaging photos, snippets of video, and human-centric content which shows the authentic side of your brand.
2. Post Consistently
Stories generally don’t require as much effort to create as other Instagram videos, posts, and Reels. Most customers expect Stories to be simple, and straightforward, with only a handful of pictures, and some accompanying text. They also don’t need to be nearly as edited as other posts.
Because Stories are so easy to design, they’re great for bringing consistency to your social media campaigns. You can divide a series of photos and videos into a selection of Stories, and post them every day on your page. This will help to improve your audience engagement levels while making you seem more relevant and up-to-date to the Instagram algorithm.
Getting your Instagram posting times right, according to the preferences of your target audience will also ensure they appear at the top of the news feed whenever someone logs into Instagram. This keeps your business top of mind with your target audience.
3. Use Instagram Product Stickers
Stickers in Instagram Stories are fantastic for any Instagram marketing campaign. They’re great for boosting engagement and driving responses. For instance, you can use poll and question stickers to get to know your audience better, or Gifs to make your brand appear more fun.
Product stickers are one of the most valuable ways to encourage your customers to purchase the items they see on your Stories. You can create a Story highlighting the latest pieces in your collection, then use the Product Sticker to allow customers to purchase those items directly on Instagram.
You could also use Stories to show people using your most popular products, to bring a human touch to your content. Adding product stickers to the items you showcase in your posts will make it easier for customers to find them when they want to make a purchase.
Just keep in mind, you need to have an Instagram Shopping account set up and you’ll have to sync your products with Facebook before you get started.
4. Use Question Stickers
As mentioned above, stickers in your Instagram Stories also offer a phenomenal way to engage with your target audience, by asking them important questions. Within the “Sticker” tray, you can use stickers that either allow your audience to ask your business-specific questions, or you can ask questions with simple yes or no answers.
For instance, you might ask people whether they’re looking forward to a new product release, or which item from a selection of two they like best.
Instagram question stickers are a fantastic way to generate audience involvement and get people interacting with your business on social media. They can help you learn more about what your target audience actually cares about, which can increase follower activity by helping you to tailor future content to their interests.
Plus, question stickers show your audience you’re genuinely interested in hearing about their opinions and responding to their needs.
5. Try Using Poll Stickers
Another way to generate insights from your audience using Instagram marketing and Stories is with Poll stickers. Polls in your Instagram app allow your audience to vote on various things, like how they feel about a recent announcement, or which version of a product they like best.
Polls are an excellent way to collect audience feedback and insights, while simultaneously building your brand image. You could host a poll about a recent trending topic in your industry, to demonstrate that you’re up-to-date with the most relevant news.
Some companies also use polls to help dictate which versions of their product they’re going to release. For instance, a clothing company could ask customers to vote on two or three different colors for a dress. This gets customers excited about upcoming products and makes them more likely to want to purchase whatever you sell.
6. Share User-Generated Content
Instagram Stories are excellent for collaborations. You can use them to showcase pictures and videos created by your influencers or brand partners. It’s also possible to use Instagram Stories as a way of showing off your customers.
You can highlight some of your favorite pictures shared by your audience in connection with your branded tag. Or you might create a full Highlight reel of feedback and positive reviews from customers, to improve your social proof, like @DotsForSpots does here.
Not only does using User-Generated content make it easier to fill your posting schedule with great pictures and videos, but it’s also a good way to reach your audience. People are more likely to trust your brand if they see other people responding to, and using your products.
7. Run Contests
Contests and competitions are some of the most popular forms of content on Instagram. Everyone loves a chance to win something from their favorite brands. With Instagram Stories, you can make your customers feel special by giving them a limited-time chance to win something.
The great thing about contests on Instagram Stories is your followers only have 24 hours to enter. This brings a sense of urgency to your Instagram marketing campaigns and can increase your chances of engagement. You can ask your followers to respond to the Story with an email address to enter, which is a great way to collect contact details. Then, you can run email marketing campaigns with collective data by using a third-party tool like Mailchimp, Wix Email Marketing, etc.
Alternatively, you can also use your Stories as a way to encourage user-generated content, by asking people to share pictures connected to a branded hashtag. If you want your competitions to last a little longer, you can place them in your Highlights reel.
Remember to promote your Instagram Stories correctly using hashtags like #Contests and #Win to attract the attention of your audience.
8. Share Exclusive Content
Many people on Instagram use the channel to search for special offers and information about customers they can’t find anywhere else. For instance, Sephora uses its Stories and its highlight Reels to show off exclusive discounts for its followers.
Sharing exclusive content with Stories is a great way to give your audience a genuine reason to follow you on social media. You can also use your Stories to share other forms of exclusive content, like influencer campaigns, and special updates.
The more exciting your content is, the more likely it is that customers will check back on your page regularly, to ensure they’re not missing out on any updates. The short-term nature of Stories convinces customers to revisit their favorite brands every day for new information.
Upgrade Your Instagram Marketing With Stories
There are countless Instagram marketing strategies today’s businesses can use to engage with their audience and improve their chances of sales. However, the pace, simplicity, and popularity of Instagram Stories make them one of the most lucrative tools for growing brands.
With the right Stories, you can connect with your audience more consistently, improve your chances of engagement, and even create a compelling highlight Reel to make your Instagram profile stand out.