8 Ways To Use Instagram Stories For Business
Are you using Instagram stories for your business yet? Clever content marketers today are leveraging this feature to connect with their customers and make their brand a market mainstay.
Storytelling is a key part of your online marketing strategies. Features like Instagram stories give your brand more opportunities to tell even better and more creative tales. This year, more than 150 million Instagrammers are using Instagram stories daily.
When it comes to stories from businesses and brands, engagement is high. 70% of users follow a business on Instagram which is why one-third of the most viewed stories are from businesses.
Did you know? You can buy Instagram followers and other forms of engagement so you’ll appear more popular more quickly. As long as you go with a good provider from our list, you’ll be able to bolster your reputation much faster than usual.
Whether you buy followers or not, Instagram stories can be a vital part of your marketing strategies, used to help you gain more targeted followers. If you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas for stories take some inspiration from the following companies, who each did a fantastic job.
Behind the Scenes
You can give your followers a little sneak peek of what goes on behind the scenes of your brand. Provide a tour of your office, give them an access to your exclusive events, or show a sneak peek of new content or services. You can also do “a day in the ____ office” or even a day in the life of one your employees.
A New York City restaurant, Union Fare, uses Instagram stories to share what’s happening in their restaurant. By showing their restaurant’s inner operations, viewers get a new perspective on their business and their awesome food. Imagine seeing these stories during lunchtime – you might head right to their door.
Image credit: Social Media Examiner
How-to's and Tutorials
To encourage people to use your product more, show them how to use it! Better yet, show them different, creative ways they can maximize the use of your product that they never heard of before.
It may depend on your product, but you can do recipes, DIY hacks, and creative projects of all kinds (think arts and crafts). Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items, and this translates well in their Instagram stories.
Image credit: Hootsuite
Share a Fun List
One of the simplest but most effective types of content is the list. Lists are easy to deliver, and easy and entertaining for your audience to read.
Shopify creates mini blogs through their Instagram stories. One of the ways they do it is through lists that are, of course, related to their company. A good example was their list of the 5 Best Places in the World to Start a Business.
Image credit: Buffer
Announce News
If you are planning on launching a new product, you have a new important hire, or you’ll be making a big change, consider doing an announcement through Instagram stories.
This can make your followers feel like they’re in the loop of the latest happenings in your company. It can also get them excited about the news that you’re about to share.
Black Sheep Cycling, a cycling apparel company, used Instagram stories to promote the launching of their ambassador kit to their community. It was just one kit, but they got creative by showcasing it in a variety of ways. You can do the same by taking photos from different angles of your product, showing different people using it, or highlighting specific features and ways of using it.
Image credit: Buffer
Provide Special Offers and Coupons
One way you can get an even higher level of engagement is by giving your followers special incentives. Instagram stories are the perfect place to give customers special discounts, coupons, and prizes. This can help you create raving fans who will patronize your brand.
Since Instagram stories are time-critical, this gives your customers and followers a sense of urgency to join the promo, get the coupons, or take advantage of special offers.
Give a limited-time promotion on your Instagram stories. It doesn’t have to be a huge giveaway. Take it from Pacific Northwest Wonderland, who gave away small tokens, like stickers, to their loyal customers. Hey, people like stickers!
Image credit: Simply Measured
Host a Takeover
If you know influencers or brand ambassadors, you can ask them to do an Instagram story takeover. Make sure the people you choose show a lifestyle that actually fits your brand. Having guest segments like this can help vary your content, and may even get your customers waiting impatiently for your next guest host.
Bustle, an online American women’s magazine, does a regular “DIY with Sierra” hosted by their social media editor, Sierra Horton. Check out her page for a great example of how to conduct an Instagram takeover.
Image credit: Later
Celebrate a Company Milestone
Another way to craft an engaging story is to share some special occasions and milestones of your company. Not all of your followers will care about these kinds of things, but some probably will – maybe a lot!
When Southwest Airlines announced the retirement of their 737-500 planes, they created a lengthy Instagram story related to this major occasion. They made it more exciting, involved some of their employees in their stories, and kept their customers interested in this company event.
Image credit: Social Media Examiner
Share User-generated Content
Instagram stories are a great way to feature content submitted by your customers. You can showcase what they send, improving your branding on Instagram and making one person feel like a happy camper.
Look out for photos of your products, ask their permission, and make sure you get somewhat creative when you post it. Minaal, for example, a professional travel gear brand, shares photos from their followers who are traveling the globe using their travel bags and gear.
Image credit: Buffer
Tell Your Story!
Brands and businesses of almost any kind can benefit from using Instagram stories. If you care about Instagram at all, this is a good way to add more context and variety to your page.
Remember, to get more attention on your account, you can buy Instagram followers, as well as other signals of engagement. Try it out! You might be surprised at how well it works.
Instagram stories, when they’re full of great content, can open doors for businesses. Try combining bought followers with the tips we’ve described above for a killer combo.
Date: March 28, 2017 / Categories: Case Studies, Guide, Marketing, / Author: Pamela
