Anyone who follows me knows that I loveeee a good Instagram story. They are such an easy tool to use and are a fab way to connect with your audience in a creative, unhinged, ‘hey this is the real me’ kind of way.
We know the arrival of the reels has taken the IG community by a storm so far, I am a top supporter but that doesn’t mean that stories are now a thing of the past. Instagram stories are your daily storyboard. From as short as 3 seconds you can bring your brand and your Instagram feed to life. Not to mention, with over one billion monthly users on Instagram, you may as well use every tool – old and new – in the platform to reach your future fans.
Why are Instagram Stories so important?
Instagram stories that offer a behind the scenes insight into who is behind the brand tend to perform really well. We as humans need to make connections and love feeling like we can relate to others. Even throughout my own growth journey, as soon as I got the confidence to get in front of the camera, I saw engagement on my page grow considerably. It actually continues to lead me to new clients, #winning.
By giving your audience an additional insight into who you are, it builds trust and offers them a chance to connect with you on a personal level. If you don’t let your audience get to know you, you could be forfeiting genuine connections with potential customers especially if you are the face of your biz or offer some sort of service. Enough preaching from me. Here are some hot tips on how to get the best out of your Instagram stories.
TIP 1: The keyword we are focusing on here is STORIES!
Compared to the individual photos on your feed, an Instagram Story can tell a richer story. Whether you’re choosing studio-grade content, or you’ve opted for the organic DIY route, you should always craft your stories for a purpose. Beginning, middle and end.
TIP 2: Stories are an art as they are fun
Be sure to match your stories with your brand visual identity by aligning styling and fonts with your overall athletic. BE CREATIVE!
TIP 3: Did you know that you can add hidden hashtags!
You can use a maximum of 10 tags on your stories. By using tags, you can expand your stories potential reach beyond just your followers. So you don’t have text all over your pic, I’d recommend shrinking the text (though not too small IG won’t pick it up), change the colour of the font to match the background and hide them behind a sticker or emoji or drop them below the story. **Side note: Instagram (and Facebook for that matter) penalises posts with too much text so as a rule of thumb, keep to a 20% text rule)
TIP 4: Stuck for ideas? Thank god for Instagram Create!
Instagram create mode has you covered when you’re feeling not your most creative self. Head to your story screen and swipe left to find ‘create’. There are options for stickers or gifs, you can share other people’s posts you’ve been tagged in or do a throwback post with the on this day feature. Using these features gives your brand a personality and can be great for driving more audience interactions which works wonders for boosting overall ranking with the IG algorithm.
TIP 5: Consistency!
It may be a simple tip, but consistent posting can be one of the easiest ways to drive up your story views. By posting videos daily the algorithm will favour you. With each new story, you’ll be bumped to the top of your followers’ feeds creating a positive snowball effect on your content exposure.
TIP 6: Engage with other people’s stories.
This goes back to social media rule numero uno – you have got to be social so share the love!
TIP 7: Get to know how story analytics work.
Use these up to the minute performance results to inform your next social media move. Ask yourself some q’s. Is this particular post getting loads of views from outside your follower circle? Are people watching the whole story or are they dropping off? Where and why are they dropping off? Are your hashtags making you get discovered? Analytics are free and available for you to use if via Instagram for business.
Across all social media, I think watching Instagram stories was one of my ultimate fave things to do… until I started creating them. The best advice is to just give them a go, always use the latest features and have fun. If you’re not using Instagram stories to their full potential, then you could be missing out on a whole lotta opportunities!
Happy gramming loves.
x Teneal
