With more than 300 million people using Instagram stories each day, the platform has a significant marketing potential for any business. More than 2 million businesses are active on Instagram stories, and one third of the most popular stories are from businesses. If you can effectively utilize the platform, you can reach and grow your audience and convert views to sales. You may dabble in sharing photos or videos to your stories from time to time, but you can always do more to make them as successful as possible. Here are four ways to take your Instagram stories to the next level.
1. Shoot vertically
It may be no shock that 94 percent of smartphone users hold their phones vertically, according to a report published by ScientiaMobile. While you might think video should be shot horizontally like in larger screen formats, the fact is that people are holding their phones vertically when they're scrolling through their Instagram feed. Especially if you’re taking a photo or video outside of the app to upload later, it can be easy to forget to hold your phone vertically. Make sure you shoot your video this way so it’s properly formatted for the medium.
2. Geotag your posts
Geotagging your posts is a great way to increase your visibility and introduce your business to new audiences. A geotag simply adds your story to your chosen location’s Instagram story, creating another place on the app for users to see your content. Posts with a geotag get 79 percent more engagement, Simply Measured reports.
To use a geotag, simply take your photo or video, click on the face icon on the top right corner and select “Location.” Type in whatever location you’d like, whether it’s a city or a place. It doesn’t even need to be the city that you’re currently in, although you might want to just focus on your city to target potential local customers. Just make sure the location tag you choose relates to your story and isn’t randomly included for no reason. Use these tags sparingly so you don’t start to look desperate to your followers.
3. Include a call to action
Calls-to-action are an important part of any social media post, as they let viewers know what they should do next. Ending a story with a call-to-action can help increase engagement. The specific wording of these vary based on what your content is, but these can range from “click the link in the bio,” to “check out our site” to “order online” or “come down to our sale this weekend.” Developing strong calls-to-action will help you zero in on the purpose of your post. While not every post needs one, ending a story or series of posts with a call-to-action can help really drive your point home to your audience and encourage them to keep engaging with your other channels.
4. Utilize sound
Instagram says that 70 percent of Instagram stories are watched with the sound on. Take advantage of this by utilizing the video component of stories and capturing interesting sound. This could be anything from the sound of wind and leaves moving from the porch you just designed or some great tips from one of your associates on camera.
What’s your Instagram story strategy? Let us know in the comments!
