How can Instagram Stories help your business?

Instagram Stories are short, engaging, and ephemeral videos or images that disappear after 24 hours. They are one of the most popular features of the platform, with over 500 million users watching them every day. But how can they help your business? In this article, you will learn how to use Instagram Stories to boost your brand awareness, connect with your audience, and drive more traffic to your website.

1 Why use Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are a great way to showcase your brand personality, behind-the-scenes moments, and exclusive offers. They can help you build trust and loyalty with your followers, who can interact with your stories through polls, stickers, and direct messages. They can also help you reach new audiences, as your stories can appear on the Explore page or in hashtags and location tags. Plus, you can use Instagram Stories to create ads that blend in with the organic content and target your ideal customers.

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Shannon Dinh

Multimedia Designer
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From my observations, I've noticed that when I post interactive and engaging Stories on Instagram, it often leads to an increase in views and discovery for other forms of permanent content, like Reels. This suggests that Stories can serve as an effective tool for driving a larger audience to your Instagram account.

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2 How to create Instagram Stories?

Creating Instagram Stories is easy and fun. You can use the Instagram app to record a video or take a photo, or upload one from your camera roll. You can then add filters, text, stickers, music, and other creative elements to make your stories stand out. You can also use third-party apps or tools to create more professional-looking stories, such as Canva, Unfold, or InShot. You can post your stories to your profile, or send them to specific groups or individuals through the Close Friends feature or direct messages.

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Shannon Dinh

Multimedia Designer
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Based on my experience, Stories that convey a genuine connection between the creator/business and the audience, achieved through creative elements like filters, text, stickers, and polls, as well as by sharing daily updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and fun facts, tend to yield better outcomes compared to graphic-centric stories. This indicates that simplicity can often be more effective on social media, especially with short-lived content such as Stories.

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3 How to optimize your Instagram Stories?

Optimizing your Instagram Stories for your goals and audience is essential to get the most out of them. You can track story performance using analytics available in the Insights tab on your profile or by swiping up on your stories. Hashtags, location tags, and mentions can increase discoverability and engagement; you can add up to 10 hashtags and one location tag per story, and mention up to 10 accounts. Calls to action can be used to encourage viewers to take action, such as visiting your website or buying your product; verified accounts or those with more than 10,000 followers can use links or the Swipe Up feature, while stickers like Shop Now, Learn More, or See More can direct viewers to a landing page or product page. Highlights are permanent collections of stories that you can name and customize with covers; they help showcase products, services, testimonials, or FAQs.

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4 How to grow your Instagram Stories audience?

If you want to grow your Instagram Stories audience, you need to promote your stories and encourage your followers to watch and share them. Cross-promote your stories on other platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Collaborate with influencers, brands, or customers who share your niche or audience. Create interactive and valuable content that your followers want to see and engage with. Polls, quizzes, questions, or countdowns are a great way to ask for opinions, feedback, or preferences. You can also use stories to educate, entertain, or inspire your followers by offering tips, tutorials, or stories that relate to your brand. Shoutouts, takeovers, or co-created stories featuring your products, services, or values can also help boost engagement.

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Shannon Dinh

Multimedia Designer
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Strive for a diverse content blend in your Stories, mirroring the approach you'd take with your regular feed. A well-planned mixture of entertaining, inspiring, promotional, thought-provoking, and educational content is a strategic move. Going versatile lets you engage with a broader array of audiences, expanding your reach effectively. Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all approach – it's a game of trying and learning. Yet, engagement is key if you aim to turn those audiences into potential prospects.

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5 How to measure your Instagram Stories success?

To measure your Instagram Stories success, you need to define your objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). Depending on your goals, you can use different metrics to evaluate your results. For instance, if you're looking to increase brand awareness, you can measure reach, impressions, views, and shares. Alternatively, if you're looking to increase engagement, you can measure taps, replies, stickers, polls, and direct messages. Lastly, if you're looking to increase conversions, you can measure clicks, swipe ups, leads, purchases, and revenue.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Omkar K.

Seeking spring internships | Product | UX | AI enthusiast | Mentor Mesh | TheProductFolks
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Instagram Stories prove invaluable for businesses. I transformed my art-focused Instagram account into a business due to demand for my artwork. Here are the strategies that facilitated its growth: 👉🏻 Clickable Links & Promotions: I used swipe-up links to highlight services, special discounts, & offers. 👉🏻 Visibility & Engagement: Real-time engagement through quizzes and polls, combined with strategic content placement, amplified visibility. 👉🏻 Utilizing Highlights: Instagram's highlight feature allowed me to curate collections showcasing services and offering a behind-the-scenes look. In addition to these strategies, Instagram offers a plethora of features that are quite beneficial for businesses.

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How can Instagram Stories help your business?

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1 Why use Instagram Stories?

2 How to create Instagram Stories?

3 How to optimize your Instagram Stories?

4 How to grow your Instagram Stories audience?

5 How to measure your Instagram Stories success?

6 Here’s what else to consider

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How can Instagram Stories help your business?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why use Instagram Stories?

2 How to create Instagram Stories?

3 How to optimize your Instagram Stories?

4 How to grow your Instagram Stories audience?

5 How to measure your Instagram Stories success?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Social Media

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