How to Leverage Instagram Stories

A Checklist on How to Leverage Instagram Stories for Audience Engagement
Instagram Stories is a feature within the Instagram app where you as a user can capture and  post related images and video content in a slideshow format.
The content in Instagram Stories is available for only 24 hours from the time of posting. What is so compelling about them is, Stories allow the addition of text, drawings and emoticons to your images or video clips.

Stories are fabulous tools for creating greater brand awareness, engagement, and
conversions. In fact, most brands today use Instagram Stories to promote themselves and build their audience.

If you haven’t been doing as of yet, or if you need some tips on how to implement
Stories fully into your social media content strategy, the following checklist will help you
leverage Instagram stories to increase audience engagement.

• Leverage Story Highlights

Did you know you can make your Stories available to your viewers even after the 24-hour period? Well, you can and here’s how.

Just use the “Add to Highlights” feature and voila. Your Stories will be accessible on your account in the Highlights section. Instagram Highlights allow brands to curate multiple Stories so your audiences can watch them at their convenience; this will enable you to make your content evergreen. Try being creative by showcasing your products in exciting ways that attract an audience.
For example, you could feature interviews of experts in them or behind-the-scenes footage from an event you were a part of. You can even showcase photos of your customers using your products. Or consider sharing unique and interesting use cases of your products. A good example of this is Kitchn. They’re a daily food magazine available online, with a monthly readership of more than 17 million. In their Story Highlights, you will find tips on organizing your kitchen, meal plans, and recipes.

• Use Polls, Quizzes, or Share Trivia
  The poll feature in Instagram Stories can help you engage your audience better. It also helps you to get to know them better as well as their likes and preferences. This option can help you craft content that resonates with your audience. When you ask about their opinions, you get great data, and they feel more valued and connected to your brand.
  This method is also a great way to get customer feedback. It can help you understand how your online followers and customers perceive you, and this feedback can help you improve your products and identify the most effective message to win customers. Sharing fun facts or creating quizzes in Stories is another great way to engage your viewers.
• Leverage User-Generated Content
  A great way to use Stories to engage and build your audience is to leverage user-generated content (UGC). Encourage your followers to feature your products in their Stories and to tag your brand in them. You can offer some sort of incentive so that people are motivated to share their experiences using your products. You could offer them freebies or even a chance to be featured on your Instagram page.
  User-generated content can save you a lot of time and effort. It enables you to promote your products without being pushy. It also helps to build credibility and win the trust of your target audience. UGC can also help you connect better with your customers, and is a great way to spread the word about your brand.
• Leverage Influencers
  Influencer marketing is a great way to promote your brand and products, and is done across most social media platforms. You can leverage Instagram Stories much more than the likes of Snapchat in your influencer campaigns. It can help you gain new audiences and increase conversions by allowing consumers to discover your products easily. You can leverage Stories for influencer marketing in two ways:
  1. You can share product videos or images with your influencers and ask them to
     use them in their Stories.
  2. Or you can ask influencers to create their own Story content that features your brand.

You should consider working with micro-influencers if you are on a limited budget. They can help you generate a better ROI from your influencer campaigns. Working with micro-influencers is more cost-effective and their engagement rates are usually higher than more prominent influencers. But that also means you will need to work with more of them to reach more people. Consider working with an influencer marketing agency to help you scale your campaigns. Be sure your influencers tag your brand in their Stories. You can also ask them to insert a link to your website, or use your branded hashtag in their Stories. In the caption below, lifestyle influencer Audrey McClellan showcases an experience sponsored by Marshall’s using Instagram Stories.

• Share Personal Stories
  People have an inherent curiosity about the way things work. To tap into that curiosity, you can share stories about your brand or your products, customer experiences, the process of creating a product, or even your employees. Personalize the experience of your viewers with behind-the-scenes Stories which help you humanize your brand and connect with your audiences at a deeper level. M.Gemi, an Italian shoemaker, uses Stories to showcase their culture and how they have fun at work.
• Use Videos in Stories
  The use of video is increasing at a staggering pace. By 2021, 80% of all web traffic will likely be video traffic. Instagram provides a way to share recorded videos as well as live
  videos in Stories. Instagram is a crowded place. Live videos are a great way to stand out from the crowd and get more visibility. Even if there is high competition in your industry, you will definitely get noticed. Apart from live videos, you can share pre-recorded videos that showcase your products beautifully. Or your videos could be about how your products are manufactured or ones that show them in actual use. Videos can be a great way to help your audiences learn about new products, especially when promoting your product launches. Put a good amount of thought into creating your videos. Don’t focus entirely on promoting your products. Keep an engaging conversation going and show your viewers how they can benefit from your products. Create videos that are compelling and unique. Your videos could be about:
  1. Live and exclusive interviews of industry experts or influencers.
  2. Events you host or participate in.
  3. Upcoming product launches.
  4. A newsletter.
• Add Hashtags to Your Stories
  Hashtags are a very effective way to help your content get discovered by a wider audience. Users can now add customized hashtags to Stories through stickers or text. Hashtags can expand the reach of your post. Also, they provide a way to connect with the larger Instagram community.
  You can also tag a physical location in your Story. It will then show up based on the location of your viewers. Adding location stickers in your Stories will help you to show up in more searches. People will be able to find you easily. Also, tag yourself in your Stories; this will help send users to your profile. Don’t forget to tag influencers and other people you mention in your Stories too.
• Promote Your Stories
  Instagram allows you to run Stories ads so they will show up in between Stories from people they follow. It can be a single image or a video of, maximum, 15 seconds. The ads are inserted considering the theme and format of the Story. A compelling ad enables a brand to hold a user’s complete attention for a few seconds. So, promote your Instagram Stories to get discovered by new audiences and boost your brand awareness.