Use Instagram Stories Like a Pro | Make 2020 Your Year

Instagram stories are the new language for visual storytelling. As per statistics, Instagram users desire to engage heavily with brands featuring disappearing content, with more than half a billion individuals using this feature on an everyday basis. Here’s a guide for social media marketing companies to help them grasp the nuances of Instagram Stories,

Navigating the Story Format

In case you’re new to the Instagram Story format, here’s a step-by-step guide for navigating the same:

• Open the Instagram app and tap on the camera icon on the top-left corner of your homepage.

• Tap the circle at the bottom of the screen to snap a picture; hold and press for video.

• If you have already snapped a picture/recorded a video you wish to use, simply select the same from the gallery option.

• Once you get the hang of it, start experimenting with various formats, such as TYPE, LIVE, BOOMERANG, FOCUS, REWIND, etc.

Please note that you’’ be able to see how many people have engaged with your story only for a span of 24 hours. If you wish to save your story, you can feature the same in the Highlights section. Highlights are a good way for a brand to advertise their products, services, milestones, and values. As of January 2020, you can also use pre-made filters crafted by creators in order to bolster engagement and greater reach.

Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, agencies offering social media marketing services should adopt the following tips in order to make the most out of Insta stories in 2020:

1. 1. 1. Weave a Narrative

   It is important to understand the fundamental difference between your Instagram feed and stories. One cannot treat both formats the same way, as Stories emit the aura of real, spontaneous narratives that can be utilized to connect with your audience. For instance, Vogue’s main Insta feed is aesthetically stunning, while their stories are casual while covering more topical issues:

   2. Interact and Entrance

   As per a recent survey, 60% of businesses use interactive elements in their Instagram stories, with the aid of hashtags, mentions, and interactive features such as questions, quizzes, and polls. Due to the absence of options such as likes and comments, interactive features are one of the best ways to create engagement. Polls are an effective way of engaging one’s target audience and analysing the opinions - in turn, understanding their mindset. An example of the same:

   3. Add a Personal Touch

   Stories are about establishing a personal connection - this, in turn, leads to the establishment of trusted bonds between the brand and the consumer. Also, make it a point to respond to your DMs that you receive in response to your stories, as responding directly to messages helps establish a strong sense of community. Also, try and make sure that you appeal to the emotions of the target audience. You can do this by taking feedback from the crowd or talking about important causes that matter. Take a cue from Netflix’s ‘Fan Favorites’ series:

   4. Use a good CTA

   If you want your audience to act upon your story, be it in the form of engaging, or purchasing a product or service, you need to attach an effective call-to-action button that can transform your story from an engaging narrative to a real business opportunity. If you’re adding a link, make sure to add a CTA that encourage people to Swipe Up. Once you guide the audience in the right direction, there is a chance that you will be able to retain them as loyal, converted consumers. H&M does it best:

   Once you adopt these strategies, nothing can stop you from being an Instagram pro. Remember: be creative, be genuine, and experiment to your benefit. Needless to say - success will follow!

I am a digital marketing professional. I have 5 years of experience in digital marketing filed. I am working on Seo, Social Media & Google Ad Words. I do Write & read blogs in free time.