Why Instagram Stories Are So Important and How to Make the Most of Them

A lot of people may be used to posting engaging and well thought out content to their Instagram feeds, but what about stories? 

Sure they can be used for funny filters or posting what you ate today – but how can you post equally engaging content that could attract customers to your business?

Well, that’s what we’re here to help you with.

Instagram stories are a great way to maintain consistent posting, without having as much pressure to curate the perfect image or graphic for your feed. It’s an effective way to elevate your visual content strategy while also engaging your audience and getting to know them.

Watch time has gone up by 80% year by year, with the number of videos being shared going up by 400%. This shows just how much creators and brands are taking advantage of the stories feature, and how much their audiences enjoy engaging with this content. 

So how can you use stories to your advantage? I’ve made a list of some top tips below which can help you get more from stories and from your audience!

1. Stickers are your best friend. The most efficient way to engage with your audience is to take advantage of the stickers feature, kindly given to us by Instagram. There’s so many different options to choose from depending on the content you’re sharing.  Our top picks are the poll, emoji slider and question stickers as they all encourage your audience to personally interact with your content and will make them feel like their opinion matters to your brand. This will gain your audience’s trust, plus you can find out what they want to see from you by asking questions.

2. Get inspired. If you’re stuck for ideas, you can always go on a story binge and watch other brands’ content. Check out what your favourite brands and businesses are doing in stories and take note of what you like seeing and what bores you. From here, you can make a mental note of what engaged you as a customer and adapt it to your own business. 

3. Repost, repost, repost! One of the best ways to gain trust from your audience, especially if you’re selling a product or service, is to repost other user’s content of your brand. This not only gives you essentially free content, but it also shows your followers that real people use your product or service and puts it in a different, more relatable perspective for them. 

4. Get someone else to do it. While stories generally take less time to create before posting, they can still be time consuming, especially when you want to still produce good quality, highly engaging content. That’s why here at Word of Mouth, we offer Instagram stories as an add-on to our social media packages. This means your brand can gain the trust and engagement of your audience without you having to sacrifice more time. 

You should now be ready to embark on your story creation journey. Don’t forget, if you need a helping hand feel free to contact us at [email protected]!