Instagram stories are a simple concept of adding photos or videos which last for just 24 hours. When they were first launched in 2016, I didn’t really understand what they were all about. I couldn’t understand why you would content that had such a short life span. However, since starting Lime Comms last year I’ve realised just how important stories are. We now use them every day for our business and our clients. We’ve really seen the value they provide in helping businesses effectively engage with their audience.
Here’s 10 reasons why you should be using Instagram stories for your business:
1 – Everyone is using them. Over 500 million users utilise stories and nearly 90% of Instagram users post stories every day. That’s a lot of people.
2 – Your stories may get more views than your actual posts being simple, easy-to-consume content. You can monitor this in your ‘insights’.
3 – They can’t be missed. Take a look – they appear right at the top of your feed.
Top Tip – use your stories to go live. This will grab your followers’ attention.
4 – They are easy to create. Stories are simple, quick and easy to do. Whereas your feed needs to be carefully planned and well thought out, you can be spontaneous with your stories.
5 – You can use them to show your personality. Have a little fun with your stories – add captions, overlay stickers and doodles making them bright and engaging and add some music. 60% of stories are viewed with the sound on.
Top tip – use stories to show ‘behind the scenes’ of your business. It’s a great way for followers to get to know a little bit more about you.
6 – Stories enable you to reshare other user’s content. Use them when you come across other content that your followers will find useful or interesting. Don’t be afraid to share other people’s content.
7 – They can help boast the algorithm – the more interactions you receive on your stories the better. Your posts are then more likely to show up in their feed.
8 – Stories can actually be long lasting. By saving them to your story Highlights they don’t disappear but are linked to your profile.
Top tip – don’t forget about your story highlights. Every now and then review your highlights and delete any stories that are out of date.
9 – By adding questions or polls to your stories you can get instant feedback on your products or services. A great tool if you are thinking about launching something new.
10 – Use them to encourage collaboration – tag others in your stories. They will have the option of reposting your story, thus widening your reach.
So, how do you create engaging stories?
Here’s a step by step guide you can use from Instagram for Business.
One final thought – ensure you stick to your branding when designing your stories. If you use a tool such as Canva (it’s our favourite!) to create your social media graphics, then use this for your stories as well. You will find a wealth of story templates on there to tweak and adapt to tie in with your branding.
Want some tips on designing your own graphics? Read our blog: ‘Create your own graphics’.
Lime 