15 Nov Getting Started With Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are a relatively newer form of marketing known as “ephemeral” marketing (24 hour / short-lived). They’re one of the best ways to engage your follower base because they create a sense of urgency which in turn inspires action. They also allow users to feel more connected with your brand.

As of June 2018, there were 400 million daily users looking at IG stories. That’s great news for brands that want to find new and effective ways of reaching their customers.

So how do you start? What do you post?

If you haven’t already, sign up for an Instagram business account. It’s free, but offers far more features than a regular account.

Step 1: Have an end goal for your Stories

Don’t post a story for the sake of posting something. Every Story should have a purpose or be part of an end goal. Do you want to drive users to your website? Encourage email signups? Get people interested in your brand or a new product or service?Once you’ve established the goal of your Stories, determine which content is likely to be effective.

Step 2: Plan your content

Instagram stories are usually more casual or lighthearted than regular content, so it’s a good place to try out fun or personal content (like showing your staff after work, etc.). Again, your content needs to match your end goal.

Instagram now allows links to be added to Instagram stories, which can send your followers to specific landing pages.

You can add multiple posts to a single Story, so there’s quite a bit of flexibility.

With a business account, users can also now add polls and emoji sliders to their stories. There’s even a new question sticker which allows users to submit questions for you to answer. It’s a great way to get feedback on new products or to crowdsource ideas.

Once you have ideas for content, consider how frequently you’ll post. Weekly? Biweekly? What post amount will reach your audience or deliver your message best without being overwhelming? Also, adding posts to your story at intervals throughout the day can help your ranking.

Step 3: Use location and hashtag stickers as well as plain old hashtags on your stories to increase discoverability

IG has special location and hashtag stickers that change depending on the day and your location. These are searchable by users and can help people find you.

You can use up to 10 hashtags on IG Stories. This will help you show up in that hashtag when people search for new posts in that category.

Step 4: Post!
With a business profile, you have access to analytics for your Stories so that you can see what content is working best for your audience. You can view impressions, reach, and other metrics under “Insights.”

Finding what works might involve some trial and error, but it’s worth the effort.