With Instagram having over 600 million monthly active users, it can be very tough stand out.
You’ll want to do as much as you can, which includes utilising Instagram stories.
Here are our top 5 ideas for businesses to utilise Instagram stories.
1. Special Offers
Research has shown nearly a third of online shoppers use social media channels to browse for new products to buy – 8% of them are using Instagram.
To maximise your chances of gaining sales on this platform, you should be utilising all of Instagram’s features, especially Instagram stories. To make your followers feel lucky and make them feel loved and wanted, you should run special offers on your Instagram story. They’ll be more likely to purchase from you.
At this moment in time, only verified Instagram accounts have the ability to include clickable links in stories, but when they eventually roll this feature out to the public, it could result in many successful sales.
2. Behind the Scenes
People are always interested to see what it’s like working behind the scenes at a company, so if you think your followers might find it interesting, why not give it a try? Let’s say you’re a tv news channel, you could show them what it’s like to get set-up and then during the process of live coverage etc. Or even if you’re a social media agency, you can show your daily tasks which could consist of content creation for your social channels.
3. Takeovers
Instagram story takeovers are a brilliant way to increase your reach and social growth. Interview an influencer, have them take over your account for the day or specific amount of time and provide their top tips, news or exclusive content.
They could also let their audience know they’ll be taking over your account and encourage them to follow your account to see their takeover.
4. Q&A’s
Engaging with your audience is one of the best things you can do to build up a great relationship with your followers. Running a Q&A on your Instagram story will allow your followers to have exclusive content as the story will last for only 24 hours unless you download them and share them.
Believe it or not, Q&A’s can help pick up extra followers and build a stronger connection with your audience as you’re answering their questions and engaging with them.
You can also mention to your audience to click the link in your bio to access a specific product or page for extra content, that could work very well.
5. Actionable Tips
Providing actionable tips on your Instagram story is a great way to keep your audience coming back for more. If you give daily tips, that’s even better. Your audience will feel valued and appreciate the tips you’re giving them.
Buffer do this very well and also provide important social media news and updates – very handy for their target audience.
Even if the tips aren’t exactly actionable and just provide a brief overview of the latest news and general tips/recommendations for your industry, this is content that your audience still might enjoy.
Conclusion:
Hopefully, these ideas have given you some inspiration on utilising Instagram stories for your business. By actioning these 5 ideas, you’re bound to get more engagement, traffic and strength your relationship with your audience.
To learn more about Instagram marketing, keep your eyes open for an exciting insightful SkillsLab Social Media Marketing 101 course coming soon! However in the meantime, we’d recommend you to watch our recent Instagram webinar, “How Sales Can Leverage Instagram To Get The Competitive Advantage“
