Influencer marketing is really big on Instagram. 97% of companies vouch for Instagram as their go-to platform for all things influencer and 87% of influencers say they make their highest earnings on Instagram.
Instagram is one of the most fluid, dynamic and creative arenas for influencers to work their magic. Every year, new Instagram trends surface, which make influencer marketing all the more challenging and enjoyable.
2018 has also seen the rise of a handful of trends that have shaken things up for Instagram influencers. But the one that’s offering the most scope for creativity and productivity is the new Insta stories voting system.
Instagram stories poll: The new giant in Instagram influencer marketing
If you’ve created an Instagram story recently, you would have noticed how the app gave you the option of adding an emoji slider to your story. This slider, which resembles an on-screen volume or video slider, can be slid backwards and forwards to get information from the viewer. A question related to the story can be set, and the answers can be received through a simple slide of the emoji slider. The farther to the right the emoji is on the slider, and the more is the viewer in concurrence with your views.
This binary polling system has been a huge hit with users already and in particular with corporate users. Take Burger King for example. The F&B giant recently used the Instagram stories poll to understand which toppings were the most loved by consumers in the United States. In appreciation for their participation, the company sent select poll takers a coupon which they could use to redeem free burger toppings of their choice.
Instagram marketing experts believe that the world may soon see more brands use the Instagram stories polls to interact with users, and the first people to experiment with these polls for commercial success will be the influencers.
How can influencers use the Instagram stories poll in their campaigns?
Whether they’re working on their own content or they’re working for a brand, Instagram influencers will find this user-friendly voting system to be very beneficial for them. They can use these polls too:
- Encourage audiences to discover more of their work
A prerequisite to participate in any poll is to have prior knowledge about the subject the poll deals with. By using polls in their Instagram stories, influencers can incite viewers’ curiosity and encourage them to search for their posts.
If the stories are engaging enough, the polls will only serve to create a “desire to know more” in the viewer by actively asking them for their opinion about the content.
- Get viewers acquainted with the brand
The job of an influencer is to put their brand partners out in front of the target market and to promote their products or services. The Instagram polls can be a great way to introduce the brand to followers, while also testing the waters to see how receptive the target market is during the initial promotional campaign.
For example, influencers can pit the new brand against an old favorite and ask the viewers to pick their preference.
- Get insights into customer purchase preferences and psyche
This is something similar to what Burger King did (see above for example).
Instagram stories polls are extremely helpful in finding the most minute details about the customer’s shopping preferences. These polls are also excellent tools to understand how factors like culture, income, occupation, tastes etc…affect purchase decisions.
In fact, influencer marketing agencies like ifluenz recommend that influencers & brands use the same poll to seek insights from customers of various target markets and time zones to understand what makes the customer tick.
Summing it up
Instagram stories polls are here to stay, and it will add true productive value for influencers and brands alike. If brands wish to remain relevant on Instagram, its time they brought out the slider in their stories.