Keep reading for more Instagram stories tips and tricks.
Tell a story
Engaging your viewers’ emotions—curiosity, empathy, excitement, outrage—is the best way to catch and keep their attention. And how do humans do that? Storytelling.
Maybe it’s the right time to show your official brand story or expand your content range with mini-documentaries in your niche. Brainstorm ideas, but ensure to tie them to your goals for your overall Instagram strategy.
After that, go ahead and storyboard your Instagram Story idea to find out the most effective way to tell it.
Source: @patagonia
Provide value
Stories are a good place to give your audience things they didn’t even know they needed. To get meaningful clicks (or swipes up, rather), think carefully about the job your brand can do for your audience. If that’s difficult to pin down, consider drawing up some audience personas to gain clarity.
For example, in advance of Mother’s Day, this Story is well designed to simultaneously remind viewers of a task they’ve been neglecting and offer to help handle it.
Source: @williamssonoma
Get creative
According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Stories are a great place for people to “share a lot more funny moments, raw moments, authentic moments.”
For brands, this can translate to a selection about how “authentic” you want to be. For example, going the studio route with a highly polished, expensively shot aesthetic has a 97% chance of lifting brand awareness compared to a more organic DIY route.
On the other hand, the humble, mobile-shot DIY aesthetic (which includes using plenty of polls, stickers, drawings, and camera effects like boomerang or hyper-lapse) has a 63% opportunity of driving higher conversions in terms of purchase and checkout.
So, yes, consistency is key, and your Story choices should have direct ties to your marketing targets, but you have much flexibility with what kind of content you actually post. More so than any other channel, the ephemeral nature of Stories lends you the freedom to experiment, learn, and find what works.
Plan ahead
Don’t mistake DIY for off-the-cuff. Even the most loyal audience is likely to swipe through any obvious “filler” you post, which will affect not just your Instagram analytics, but your relationship.
In our experience, the best way to ensure that your content is valuable to your audience is to give yourself enough time to create great Stories. And that means the first step is adding your Instagram Stories to your overall social media content calendar.
If you’re looking for inspiration, we have a lot of Instagram Stories tips and ideas over here.
Don’t forget your CTA
When it comes to monetization, Instagram Stories is kind of at a sweet spot in its growth: the audience is increasing, ads aren’t drowning out other content, and the platform has provided tons of interface mechanisms to make it easier for users to convert (whether that means sales, downloads or traffic.)
There are many ways to include a CTA in your Story:
- Businesses selling physical goods online can arrange their own Instagram shopping
- If you’re using Instagram Stories ads, you can choose from various CTAs like “learn more” or “shop now”
- For those with 10,000 followers or a verified checkmark, adding a “Swipe up” link is an effective way to provide valuable information
Source: @anthropologie
Mention other accounts in your Story
Tagging others is a good way to build community and show your appreciation. Whether you’re regramming content or collaborating with others in your field, tag their accounts. It’s a win-win as your audience gets things to learn and your partner gets more eyes.
In this case, @WilliamsSonoma fed two birds with one stone by reposting a customer’s post while also tagging the product’s designer.
Source: @williamssonoma
Create or use an AR filter
In late 2019, Instagram opened up its Spark AR Studio, which allows people to start making augmented reality experiences for Facebook. Yes, with a bit of time and effort, you could also make your very own #facefilter.
Source: Spark AR Studio
This is a relatively new—and quite complicated—tool for brands to experiment with. Whether your team has the resources to create your own Instagram AR filter or you just know the Pickle Cat will devastate your followers, adding this amazing element to your Stories is a gift for both your brand and your audience.
Moreover, it’s an interesting way to get new followers, as users share Stories with your brand’s AR filter on them.