It’s well known among Instagram users that the “Stories” feature is an integral part of the app. Stories may be fleeting as they last only 24 hours, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less powerful when it comes to marketing on the app.
At Social Media Marketing World 2020, Alex Beadon, an Instagram Stories expert, outlined what she calls the three “cornerstones” to creating unforgettable Instagram Stories on the go. If you’re looking to up your Instagram game in just a few simple steps, you should hear what Beadon has to say.
She starts by outlining a key point: you’ll know your Stories are unforgettable if your engagement is high. Sure, you may get views on your Stories, but what you really want is engagement in the form of comments, feedback, and reactions from your followers. With a little bit of strategy and planning ahead of time, it’s absolutely possible for you to create highly engaging stories even when you’re busy.
The first of Beadon’s three cornerstones is all about establishing a brand voice. Your Stories should be consistent – not in their content, but in their design, color pallette, and font choice.
One key to creating compelling Stories is to make them instantly recognizable to followers. Users shouldn’t even have to see your username to know it’s you! Additionally, your brand voice should never come across as ultra-professional on Stories, as followers are more likely to resonate with, and thus interact with, more “human” and authentic brands.
With a clear brand voice, Beadon says the next step is to learn more about your audience. Find out who they are, what they like, and what they want. She outlined a few specific strategies you can use to do so – the most important being Instagram’s Stories insight tool. Here you can see all the Stories you’ve posted in the past two weeks, and how many followers engaged with each clip. Take note of which Stories got the most engagement, and don’t be afraid to rework these or turn them into feed posts.
Two other critical points she made: caption your posts, and never post on the go. The first is somewhat self explanatory. Most of your followers view your Stories on mute, and they should be able to get the jist of your story from a caption.
The second, however, is less intuitive. While you may think of Stories as a place for quick snippets of the day as they take place, Beadon suggests you treat this format differently. Do capture snippets of your day, but save these posts to your camera roll if you’re busy. Rather than posting on the go, take the time to focus on the fonts, the captions, and the overall presentation of your story – it will up your engagement and help build your brand.
Finally, make it easy for your followers to engage with your posts. Utilize Instagram’s interactive sticker tools – Beadon’s personal favorite is the poll feature, which she recommends all marketers utilize. It takes a lot for your audience to feel comfortable sending a direct message, but almost anyone is willing to click ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a simple poll.
While there are many components to Instagram Stories, it’s important to remember that this tool is supposed to be simple. If you take the time to consider these tips and apply them in a way that works for you and your brand, Stories can be just that: simple. Throw up some polls, generate a unique brand voice and aesthetic, and have fun seeing your engagement increase!