Do you want to share your stories, share your photographs and simply get in touch with like-minded people? You can with Instagram. If you’re new to Instagram or want to learn more, then this post is going to help you get productive in an easy, no-sweat manner.
While Instagram is mainly about pics, and videos, there is actually more to it than what meets the eye. Before we get into sharing stories on this social media platform, let’s first chat about Instagram as a whole, and what it’s all about.
Just what exactly is Instagram?
In case you aren’t familiar with this massively popular platform, Instagram is about sharing visual media, so everything related to photos and videos goes. All you need to do is create an account and personalise it according to your preferences, and of course a smart device. The platform allows you to have followers as well as to follow others. You’ll clearly see the total amount of followers you have, and the people or brands you follow all neatly displayed in your Instagram account.
Instagram has an array of features that not only allows you to create videos but also tell unique stories using the tools on the IG app.
To add to the joys of Instagram, a feature to create stories is the new best thing to have in your arsenal of marketing tools for your business. Here’s how you can create the best stories to keep your followers entertained and to form an even bigger “fan base”.
Use Instagram to boost your business
Yes, you’ve read correctly, Instagram stories and the app itself can be used to your business advantage.
Here’s some fast tips on using it to help your business shine even more!
- Create your name – the name you create must relate to your business of course. You also need to ensure that it ties up with your other social media names connected to your business. In this way, you’ll be discovered easier.
- Instagram photo – because this relates to your business, you want to make your company’s logo the photo. In this way, people can relate and recognize it in searches.
- Follow others – you want people to follow you, yes, but you should also follow others. Start off by following like-minded industry related companies, brands, and people. You can also partake in stories and comment on other people’s posts. This is a great way to create exposure for your own account.
- Promote and expand – if you’re new to Instagram, then it’s important not to forget to add your Instagram account to your website and engage viewers to follow you.
- Manage your Instagram account – managing your account goes beyond posting new pics and stories. You need to figure out your timeframe for posts, as well as your tone and how to continue engagement.
Having all this in place easily ties all your social media platforms to your business in a seamless way. Not only does this help people relate to your company but also to let them find you whether visiting your Facebook or following your Instagram account. Having a “mutual marriage” between your social media accounts is a key factor to drive online marketing.
How do Instagram stories work?
Instagram stories questions are constantly rising as the “story” feature is relatively new but important to know. Did you know that in 2017 Instagram recorded having an estimate of 800 million users? This is probably thanks to the direct Facebook link as Facebook owns the platform.
The visual appeal of Instagram makes it a great platform to grow your business brand.
There is a lot of buzz surrounding the fact that Instagram copied Snapchat with the stories feed, but hey, the competing digital market is constantly butting heads in all aspects. It’s no wonder this has become a focal point amongst users.
You can document your activities (despite the fact that it disappears over 24hours) to share with your followers and even to connect in a one-on-one manner with another Instagram user. With Instagram, you don’t need to use “words” but seriously go all out with creativity.
Upload an Insta story
Select from the photos in your camera roll or choose to take one in the app. You can use the option to get a different effect such as the burst mode in “boomerang” for instance. Instagram has several features, which we will mention later on and you can use these features when you upload your story. Some people will add the hashtag, poll or stickers to their story depending on the interaction they want to achieve.
Views
People can view your story on Instagram because it will be visible in your profile for at least 24 hours. People know you’ve posted a new story because of the icon that highlights this in your profile. Your story can appear in other locations if you’ve customized it for example by using a “location-based sticker”.
Replies
Your followers and viewers are able to reply or comment on your story and you can reply to them. Here’s the part that makes Instagram so exciting and that is the fact that you use your stories (videos and pictures) to communicate with others. This is perfect for engaging people, which is good for your marketing and building your followers base.
Extras
Instagram gives you the opportunity to customize your stories with music, filters, special texts and loads more. You can also ask questions and do a fun poll which really encourages engagement.
So what makes the story feature so popular and great?
As a user, you’re able to create your very own story through the app. As we’ve already mentioned before, the app provides various tools like stop-motion, rewind, superzoom, and hands-free to name a few. All of these tools work together to help you create your perfect story in a fun manner.
Connect with your audience by using Instagram Stories.
In addition, Instagram has also beefed up the app with a number of new great features such as:
- GIFS in Insta stories – now you can choose from a wide selection of Gifs to add to the story making fun of your Insta story.
- Resize – you can customize the size of the picture to suit your liking
- Recommended for you – this feature suggests what posts you may like and follow allowing the options to appear on your home screen.
- New fonts – with new fonts in Insta stories, you have even more variety at choosing how you’ll present your content.
- Change background with “Type” – type simply allows you to change the background colours and pictures.
- Online status – this new feature allows you to see who is live and online and gives others the same opportunity to see if you’re live or online.
- “Sun” icon – with this little icon you can tell whether someone has taken a screenshot of your Insta story.
There are also several other cool new features and easy ways to get them to work for you and your story creation needs.
The benefits of Instagram stories
Having already highlighted how fantastic the IG app is, there are even more benefits. These can really do your business good and boost growth and sales in the end.
Keeps your audience thinking of you
While you can most definitely gain an audience by posting thought-provoking, helpful posts, some people also prefer simplicity. This is where Instagram is a winner and allows you to create amazing stories that can stimulate a “short attention span”. The imagery is a great way in which you can share information about your business.
Make it part of your marketing strategy
If you’re one of the many businesses that use Instagram, you may want to start using the new story feature. If you don’t use Instagram, adding it to your business’ social media marketing will be beneficial. Instagram is great for engaging the audience that’s why this story feature is a winner.
Market in real time
Instagram stories are about living in the present moment. By using this concept, you’re able to market your brand in real-time. That’s great especially for promoting products and destinations for that matter.
All the stories without the clutter
Storage can become a problem and because apps use smart devices, the story feature is only available for 24hours. This is an advantage because now you don’t have to worry about going over old stories and deleting invalid ones. Instead, your content stays current minus the excess use of space online or on your device for that matter. Makes sense doesn’t it?
Express your brand
The Instagram stories allow you to edit regular pictures featuring filters, texts and a whole bunch of cool stuff as we mentioned in this post. This gives you the opportunity to express your business brand, be fun and really engage with your audience.
The Takeaway
Whether Instagram copied Snapchat with the stories feed concept or not, the truth is, Instagram has grown and become popular. Not only do people casually use the app for their everyday posts and sharing experiences, companies effectively use the app to their advantage too.
Being able to share stories in a fun way is not only guaranteed to get better engagement from your readers but also create more followers.
Spoil your followers with great images and type captions that encourage engagement with your post.
One of the things that make Instagram stand out from the heavy competition is because it is relatively easy to use. We’ve written a great article on how to get more Instagram followers; check it out here.
Despite the new features and added fun, it doesn’t take a long time to get the hang of the new items. Before you know it, you’ll be an “Instapro” too!
Keep in mind that the infamous IG algorithm will love you if you utilise all of their features. So don’t hesitate to add Instagram stories to your social media marketing.
