If you’ve ever thought of using Instagram Stories to promote your business, now is a perfect time! Never heard of it? Instagram Stories are a fun and creative approach to growing your engagement, driving traffic to your website and building awareness for your brand.
Scoring over 100 million daily active users within the first two months of its launch, the instant hit has become a game changer for brands across the globe.
For socially-engaged businesses, Instagram Stories creates a fresh, consumer facing platform for promoting your brand, your products and your services to an audience. Falling well into the realm of ephemeral content, the stories you create appear above your usual Instagram feed and are set to disappear within exactly 24 hours. How can you use his platform to help promote your business? We’ve got five quick ideas to get you started.
1. Too Good To Miss
Have a promotion coming up and want to get the word out? Upload it to your Instagram Stories! Reward your followers with a special discount code or gift with a personalised promotion targeted only at those who view your stories. Whether it’s 10% off their next purchase or going in the draw to win a prize, using Instagram Stories is ideal for directly engaging with your audience. It also provides a platform where you get creative with your promotional activities and set your business apart from the crowd.
2. A Look Behind The Curtain
There’s nothing better than having a mosey on past the curtain for a business. Instagram Stories provides you with a platform to give your audience the behind the scenes experience when it comes to all things you and your brand. Let them meet the team, show them in action and record the process and thoughts behind what makes your brand buzz. Build a stronger connection with your audience by creating a platform where they can get to know your brand personally as they look past your products and services.
3. Give Em’ A Sneak Peak
Launching new products can always be a hit and miss. Building up the anticipation for the launch is where you’ll drive the most engagement for your upcoming products. Using Instagram Stories to promote new products or services by providing a sneak peak is a great way to generate interest. Whether it be giving small hints to your audience to keep them guessing or introducing your new product along with a release date, driving interest to your new products creates positive outcomes for your business.
4. We’re Going Live!
Looking for a way to showcase your event or product launch to your audience? Why not do it live? By streaming live video clips of your event, you’ll provide your audience with an up close experience as if they were there in person. The 24 hour, here today, gone tomorrow process behind Instagram Stories also offers an exclusive element to your event as those who don’t see the story in time will simply miss out and will have to tune in for the next one! Using the platform to also promote the live stream in the days leading up to the event can also generate further interest in your brand. What’s better than having fun at an event and being able to document it all for others to see? There isn’t much to rival it.
5. Can I Ask You A Question?
Have you noticed random questions and answers popping up on various Instagram Accounts that you follow? This new, unique Q&A feature has been introduced and will do wonders for your business if done correctly. It works by your brand posting a story including the question icon that asks your audience to respond with their feedback and queries. These questions are then sent to you awaiting your answer. Once you have gone through the process and have answered any questions, your responses are then posted onto your story for your following to see. This new feature is ideal for businesses as it provides them with the opportunity to answer frequently asked questions on a consumer facing platform.
Instagram Stories can offer you an alternative platform to reach your followers in a fresh and fun way. When used correctly, it can provide you with a number of opportunities that allow you to grow your audience, build loyalty amongst your consumers and stray from the typical boundaries between brand and customer. If your business has an Instagram account, now’s the time to start using Instagram Stories to promote your business!
Space Digital is consistently trialing and testing new techniques to keep up-to-date with what works and what doesn’t. If you’d like to know more information about how you can use Instagram Stories to promote your business, please visit our Instagram service page or contact us on 07 3724 0469 .
