Can Instagram stories from influencers boost your brand? The answer is yes. Creating brand awareness has evolved from huge signboards to small screens that fit in your hands, and this is now more effective than ever. Bigger is not always better after all. If you have an Instagram account, you have probably noticed that you are exposed to a number of brands every day. In the 21st century, social media, Instagram in particular, has become a hot spot for brands all over the world.
With 1 billion active users every month, the photo-sharing app really is the perfect platform for brands that want to increase awareness around them. With help from Instagram influencers, many brands in all types of industries can reach a wider audience, and Instagram stories have proven to be a great medium to achieve just this. Influencer platforms like iFluenz.com are a trusted and popular place for brands and influencers to connect.
How Instagram stories work
Instagram launched its Story feature back in August 2016, and ever since then, it has become a huge hit. At first, many were skeptical because of its similarity in concept with Snapchat’s story, but now, two years later, it has won over every user.
Especially for brands and social influencers, this feature became a huge advantage. In fact, a report from Instagram has confirmed that stories have indeed encouraged app users to go on the app more frequently, and when they do visit it, spend a longer amount of time on it. This is excellent news for brands and influencers as it allows them to make the most of all the app has to offer.
On average, around 2 to 5 percent of linked Story impressions result in actual swipe-ups. Even though the number may seem small, most of these swipe-ups result in sign-ups. This makes providing links in Stories the perfect tool for acquiring a larger audience.
Ways to make the most of Instagram Stories
Here are some of the most effective ways for influencers to make the most of Instagram stories in order to boost brand awareness.
- Provide links to websites/online stores on your stories
Providing direct links on your stories to relevant pages is one of the most effective ways to capitalize on Instagram stories. As mentioned before, these result in a huge number of sign-ups. What makes Instagram so unique and powerful is that it allows tagging, hashtags and linking on its stories. This makes it incredibly easy for others to find you.
- Make use of polls on your stories
Instagram polls are a powerful tool to engage your followers and gain valuable insight and feedback at the same time. You can easily know what your followers think by simply spending a minute or two to create a poll, thereby saving your brand a lot of time, energy and money.
- Share your story digitally and engage through stories
Remember that it’s all about the power of visual story-telling in a digital platform. Make sure to create visually appealing stories which are also informative and engaging. You can make use of GIFS, different fonts, and emojis to make your story more creative and engaging. The quality of the content also matters a lot. Provide your followers with valuable content that they cannot get anywhere else except from your Instagram story. Behind-the-scenes, or a tour of your home, etc are some examples.
- Make sure to have an effective CTA
Especially if your story is promoting a brand, remember to include an effective CTA (call to action) that would encourage your followers to take the action you want them to. Also, clearly state the action you want them to take.