Storytelling Matters - A Guide to Instagram Stories for Brands
Instagram Stories is officially one year old. It has been growing each month, as of June 2017, it has 250 million active users per month, and the main Instagram feed is over 800 million ACTIVE users per month. These 9-second clips that only last 24 hours are one of my favorite ways to share content about everyday life. I view Instagram as my own personal highlight reel, and stories have become the behind the scenes look into my own personal brand (and the brands I work with).
A brand gives personality to your business
My personal brand focuses on food, wine, family life and events in Wine Country... And yes, it can get messy sometimes because, well I have a toddler. But that's what makes me relatable. Any parent can relate to having their child wake up in the middle night wanting to play. And needing a few extra cups of coffee to get through the day. Please tell me it isn't JUST me...
Link to your website through Instagram Stories
Now that Instagram users with business profiles and over 10,000 fans can share links on the bottom of their Instagram stories, I see Instagram becoming an even bigger powerhouse in the digital marketing game.
Before you had to tell people to click the link in your bio, hoping someone would take action. Now you just link and draw an arrow to where you want them to swipe up. It takes away one of the steps and makes it easier for people to physically go to the content you want them to go to. WIN!
Instagram Stories = Higher Brand Awareness
The stories tab is almost a different social network within a social network (whoa...). I noticed that the people seeing my stories and leaving me comments through DM are different than the people who leave comments on my regular Instagram images. Stories definitely have created a deeper connection with your community than the feed of highlights of your life (all the curated pretty stuff). This allows you to engage with people and create lasting connections vs. a one-off sell! In my opinion, this is the holy grail of social media marketing!
To help you get started, here are a few different ways that you can use Instagram Stories
- Give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business or daily activities (sharing boomerangs, 9-second videos, and pictures).
- Promote content on your website and link to it (have fun with your call to action)!
- Show your product in action.
- Let people know that you have a new image on your Instagram feed. Ask them to answer the question in the description (help create engagement with your Instagram feed)!
- Promote upcoming events.
- Give exclusive offers.
- Do an Instagram Story takeover (either have an influencer take over your brand's Instagram Story or partner with a content producer to take over their Instagram).
- Showcase company culture and employee personalities.
- Create video how-to's.
- Announce a giveaway or contest.
Let me know if you have any questions, or need help creating a larger social media strategy.
