How to Use Instagram Stories to Build Your Audience

If you are not new in the world of social media, you must have used Instagram, which is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms on the web. The image-sharing app has launched its stories back in 2016 but that was not much effective. Till June 2018, Instagram Stories achieved 400 million daily active users – a great jump from 300 million in October 2017.

The stories option has got some amazing features. Here you can upload photos, videos, and even texts. You can make them both interactive and creative. This is a great platform to connect and engage with your users on a long-term basis.

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There are a lot of brands out there who utilize the power of Instagram to build their audience and promote their products. Promotion and brand awareness is very easy and flexible compared to the other social media platforms out there. If you have not started using the power of Instagram, you must start and see the improvement, or if you need some tips, we are here to guide you, read on to learn more.

 1. Leverage Story Highlights

 Any idea that what to do after 24 hours of uploading your story? Don’t worry as Instagram has kept a backup for you. Really! Yes, there is an option called highlight, just use the “Add to Highlights” option and guess! Your stories can be watched on your account in the highlighted area.

This highlight feature allows brands to run multiple stories simultaneously so that audience can connect with your brand anytime, this will definitely make your content everlasting.

You could highlight interviews of experts in them or off-camera footage of any events you were a member of. You can even feature photographs of your customers utilizing your items, or on the other hand, consider sharing special and great features of your products.

2. Use Polls, Quizzes, or Share Trivia

The poll feature in Instagram Stories is very interesting which keeps users engaged in your post. Also, it gives information about the likes and preferences of the viewers.

These amazing features can assist you in creating content that connects with your visitors very well. When you query about their perceptions you get significant information and that will make them more valued and engaged with your brand.

This method is also the best way to get customer feedback. It can help you understand how your online followers and customers respond to you, and this feedback can help you improve your products in the long run.

3. Leverage User-Generated Content

The best way to use your stories to engage and build an audience is to leverage user-generated content (UGC). Motivate your followers to feature your brand in their stories and tag your brand in their stories.

You can motivate a user to share their experience with everyone by offering some incentive. And an incentive of featuring them on your Instagram profile can also be a good idea.

User-generated content has many advantages. It enables you to promote your products in organic ways. It also increases the trust of the audience. It makes a better connection with an audience.

4. Leverage Influencers

Influencer marketing is the best way to promote your brand and products. It can help you get new audiences and increase conversions by allowing consumers to discover your products easily.

You can leverage Stories for influencer marketing in two ways:

• 1. You can ask influencers to feature your brand in their Insta stories area.
• 2. Or you can share your photos and videos with influencers and ask them to share their stories.

If you have a limited budget you should consider working with micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are very cost-effective and their engagement rate is comparatively lower. They help to generate more ROI from your influencer campaign.

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You need to work with many of them to reach more people. Working with an influencer will help you to grow your campaign. You can ask them to use your brand hashtag(#) or insert your website link. Make sure your influencer tag your brand in their stories.

For the success of your campaign, make sure your influencer is relevant and expert in their niche. They must have a relevant number of followers and a good engagement rate.

5. Share Personal Stories

Almost every active Instagrammer stay curious about what’s trending on Insta, to tap that curiosity you can attach stories of your brands and products, customer testimonials, the procedure each product has undergone during their making, and to say the least, you can share about your employee experience too.

It is our suggestion that you personalize your experience of your audience with stories that occur behind the scenes which help you grow your brand and engage with your brand at a core level.

6. Use Videos in Stories

Instagram provides an option to share recorded videos and live videos in stories. According to research, 90% of all web traffic will likely be video traffic. So don’t miss it.

Instagram is a crowded place. A live video is a great option to get more visibility. In this platform, you will definitely get noticed even if there is high competition in your industries.

You can share tutorial videos about how your product is manufactured or how can they use it. Even you can share your pre-recorded video that defines the beauty of your product.

Videos are the best way to learn about the new product so sharing videos about your product will boost your brand awareness.

You must focus on your videos in a way that it must be with some creative thought and unique in presentation. Don’t focus completely on promoting your products.

Engage your audience in such a conversation where you can showcase to your viewers how your product can be beneficial for them.

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Your videos could be about:

• Events you organized or participated in.
• About product launch
• Live and exclusive interviews
• A newsletter

7. Add Hashtags to Your Stories

Hashtags are the best way to help your content get promoted.

Creating a better Insta Story takes time, effort, and ideas. Hashtags can ensure that they get the views they deserve.

Hashtags can expand the reach of your post. Also, they help to connect with other Instagram communities. The user can also add customized hashtags to their stories.

You can also add a location to your story so that your post can be shown to a particular location. Adding location stickers in your Stories will help you to show up in more searches and people will be able to find you easily.

Also, tag yourself in your Stories; this will send the user to your profile. Don’t forget to tag influencers and other people you mention in your Stories too.

8. Promote Your Stories

Instagram permits you to run story ads so they are visible to other users to get viewers to your profile. It can be a single image or 15-sec videos.

Ads are included taking in mind the theme and format of the message. To promote your images or videos to get a new audience and boost brand awareness.

Conclusion

It is certain that Instagram has a huge role to play in the future of social media marketing. If you are not out there to grab your share then you are missing out on a lot of advantages. It has got everything to convert your potential customers into actual ones.

If you have not started leveraging on its potential yet, you must start it right away. And if you got any suggestions and query please share them in the comment section.