You’ve probably already heard of Snapchat Stories, but what about Instagram stories? Your story on Instagram is a way to share your photos in a limited, 24 hour period – similar to Snapchat’s system of deleting photos and videos after a short while.
You can add any of your recent photos to your story, providing it’s been taken in the past 24 hours. The story can be viewed separately from the rest of your photos, giving it a sense of exclusivity.
As for using it for business, there are several ways to make the most of the platform.
Use it to promote sales or limited time only offers.
People love a good sale – and one that’s only around for a limited time is sure to drive a lot of sales at once.
Use your Instagram story to share a unique offer or coupon code for your store. People will get excited about their exclusive discount and it can also be used to drive followers from other platforms to your Instagram page.
Show users the process behind the products or services you offer.
Sometimes it can be cool to learn more about where your products came from. While you love the product itself, its story can be interesting too!
Show off your creative process as you work on something new. This could start with an original idea, explaining concepts, sharing prototypes and more, right up until the final product is ready.
By that point, your followers should be pretty excited for the release!
Give your followers an idea of what goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to showing more of the story behind your products, Instagram Stories are a chance to give users a deeper insight into the way things work at your office, factory or workplace.
This doesn’t have to be anything formal – in fact, a casual approach could be best! It will inject some personality into your brand and show your consumers that the company really does have a ‘face’ – real people providing a real service.
Plan a takeover to garner attention and attract new followers.
Using Instagram stories is the perfect opportunity to host a social media takeover. Having another business personality or an industry influencer take over for the day attracts a whole new audience to your content, as their followers will follow them to your platform to see what’s going on.
If you do the same in return, this mutual favour can benefit both parties involved – allowing you to grow each others’ audiences.
Any (or all of) those ideas could be a fantastic way to learn more about the Instagram process as you try them out for your business, especially as you’re sure to see results the more you utilise the feature.
Have you tried using Instagram Stories for business? If not, it’s always worth trying something new when looking to promote your brand online.
If you have tried Instagram Stories, how did using them work out? We’d love to hear about your experiences, so tell us about them in the comments below!
