It’s no secret that Instagram is a growing social media platform for businesses. Did you know that over 400 million people use Instagram Stories daily?
There has been a significant shift to “humanize” brands and businesses through their social media profiles, especially on Instagram. More people are starting to engage with businesses through Stories on Instagram. It has become easier than ever with features within Stories such as the Question Sticker, Polls Sticker, Quiz Sticker, and more.
If you aren’t familiar with Instagram stories, let us break it down for you. Stories allow users to create a feed of sequential content that will disappear within 24 hours of being posted. Story content can be static photos, type, or videos. The best way to think of Stories is to think of it as a secondary feed to your usual Instagram feed. This is where you can showcase the behind the scenes content with your followers. Stories are a great way to showcase your brand’s creative side, including GIFS, overlays, and captions. Story content is also prioritized in the sense that Instagram highlights updated Stories upfront in your feed.
The purple circle around your profile photo lets followers know that you’ve recently added to your Story. This makes Stories extremely accessible to followers and potential customers. In fact, Instagram believes in Stories’ selling power so much that they recently announced the introduction of Stories Ads.
What is the takeaway here? Stories are no longer seen as a novelty to be used on personal accounts. Stories have become an integral piece of so many brands’ Instagram presence. Are they part of your overall marketing strategy? Given that Instagram is focusing so heavily on Stories and the format only appears to be getting bigger, brands and businesses should be hopping on the bandwagon no matter the size of the business!
Be on the lookout for our next blog about Instagram stories. We will be sharing 5 Instagram Story ideas for your business.
Source:
Instagram, “Happy Birthday, Instagram Stories!”, August 2018
https://instagram-press.com/blog/2018/08/02/happy-birthday-instagram-stories/
SproutSocial, “Instagram Story Ads: Rules and best practices for impressive results”, June 2019
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-story-ads/