5 Reasons Your Small Business Should Be Using Instagram Stories
Instagram stories allows users to post photos and videos which will be deleted in 24 hours. Although to some this may seem like a pointless activity, many businesses use Instagram stories in their marketing strategy and it's been proven to improve engagement and visibility!
If you're not a regular poster to Instagram stories, or unsure why you should be uploading stories, keep reading for 5 reasons why your business can benefit from using Instagram stories:
1. To stay on the top of people’s minds
Posting frequently to your Instagram stories is a great way to regularly engage with your audience. If you are continuously popping up at the top of people's feeds, it will encourage them to engage with your profile - something which is particularly useful with the new algorithm changes which means many businesses posts are going unseen by their followers!
2. To preserve a high quality feed
Let’s face it, the majority of us only want to post our best content to our instagram feeds. This often means for businesses, planning their content in advance. But what do you do with all those photos and post ideas that didn’t make the cut?... Post them to your stories!
Posting to stories allows you to reap the benefits of real time marketing, without cluttering up your Instagram profile with photos that aren’t the best quality/don’t fit in with your theme. This will allow you to preserve your Instagram profile, ensuring only your best content is displayed.
3. To post during events or ‘behind the scenes’
Holding or speaking at an upcoming event? Instagram stories are great way to reach your target audience when it matters! Posting straight to instagram stories as things are happening can not only attract more attention and encourage people to attend but it fills those who can’t make it in on what is happening - both of which will help your followers feel more connected to you as a brand. Posting to stories is also a great way to show your followers ‘behind the scenes’ of what goes on in your business, which also helps your audience feel more connected and involved.
4. To connect with your audience
As your story will only be visible for 24 hours, there’s no need to spend a lot of your time creating amazing, high quality photos. This not only makes posting to your stories super quick and easy to do - but it will help you connect with your followers on a deeper level. Aim to make your Instagram stories raw and relevant to something, this will help ‘humanize’ your business, make you appear more down to earth and help people feel connected with you on a deeper level.
5. To utilise Instagram highlights!
You’ve probably seen people on Instagram using Instagram highlights - these are the small wheels located just below your bio and right above your feed. The purpose of highlights is to hold stories you don’t want to delete after 24 hours. Many have named and branded their highlights as a way to categorise their stories, which will allow your audience to discover your different stories at their own convenience. Whatever your business, categorising your stories is a great way to 1) Show your audience you know your stuff and build your brand 2) Promote your products and 3) Drive traffic to your website or blog!
Got a question? Get in touch! - @lucyhitchcock_ @sassydigital