With more and more users flocking to Instagram to share snapshots of spicy tuna rolls and airbrushed selfies, it’s never been a better time for your brand to start making the most of Instagram Stories. The Stories feature is a powerful way to boost engagement and truly connect with your audience, near and far.
At Clearbridge Branding Agency, we audit our clients’ audiences, services, products, and creative assets to tell just the right story on social—and that includes Instagram Stories. We take it frame by frame for optimal impact—and so should you for your business.
Here’s how to make the most of Instagram Stories for your business, no matter the industry you’re in.
Highlighting Your Story: Instagram offers the option to save and segment your Story in its Highlights feature. Unlike the 24-hour expiration of a Story on Instagram, these highlights will stay at the top of your profile for your audience to view for as long as you decide. The Highlights feature is a great way to break up your Story into bite-size pieces and categorize portions of your Story based on topic or theme.
For example, if you’re a hair salon, one Highlight (no pun intended) might display before and after shots of clients while another Highlight gives your audience at-home hair care tips. Tackling a variety of topics and themes in Highlights will give your audience more to view, more to consume, and more to keep coming back for.
Living for Live Streaming: As social media trends are teetering toward relatability and experience-based content, maintaining a veil of transparency is key to social media success. Behind-the-scenes video via live streaming is a great way to make your brand real and relatable, giving viewers an exclusive look at your business and making them feel like they’re part of the brand.
After going live on Instagram, you have the option to share your video to your Story and save it as a Highlight. That way, your audience always has access to your live streams.
Styling Your Stories: It’s never been easier to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary with a few taps of your finger on a smart phone. Making use of Instagram’s filters, stickers, GIFs, and more can make any frame of your Story pop. And if you’re looking for something more, there are plenty of apps out there that can supercharge your Story for success.
In our experience, a little goes a long way with filters, stickers, and GIFs. Finding the right balance for your brand may hinge on the business you’re in. You don’t want to go overboard when styling your Instagram Stories, but the platform is about having fun—so, have some and start connecting with your new and existing customers in a engaging way.
As originally published on Forbes.com. Clearbridge Branding Agency is a digital marketing agency located in Glassboro. Visit ClearBridgeMedia.com.
