The marketing industry is always changing strategies. Whenever a new social media platform is introduced, or an internet algorithm shift occurs, companies will need to develop a new approach to promote their business to create strong brand awareness.
If you know how to use social media platforms to your advantage, you can easily monetize your website and gain more revenue for your growing business. Social media advertising revenue was forecasted at $51 billion in 2018 and was predicted to grow by 10.5% annually.
One such popular social media platform is Instagram, which has over 1 billion users worldwide. That’s why marketers are using Instagram Stories to their advantage by promoting their businesses through the channel. To find out how you can use Instagram stories to market your business, keep reading.
Also read: 3 Instagram Rule Of The Thumb For Your Fashion Website
What is Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories is a feature within the app where users can capture videos, images, or upload content in a slideshow format. Instagram Stories use the same concept of SnapChat because the clips are short, and the content will disappear after 24 hours after posting.
Other features in Instagram Stories include:
- Filters
- Augmented reality
- Emoticons
- Color changing text
- Hashtag feature
- Date stamps
- Link attachments
- Tagging
The purpose of Instagram Stories is to share moments of the day with your audience in a visually pleasing set. Instagram Stories make it possible for users to share as many images and videos as they like without overflooding their main page with content.
This means you can maintain a clean main Instagram page while promoting your business on the Story feature.
Why Use Instagram Stories for Marketing?
The Instagram Story feature is already used by 70% of business owners in the USA as their main marketing platform. Because of this, 7 out of 10 hashtags are already branded. Business owners use Instagram Stories because it drives an engagement rate of 4.21%.
Another advantage of Instagram Stories is the higher return of investment. About 30% of Instagram users admit to purchasing an item they saw on Instagram. One out of three Instagram users purchased after seeing the product on Instagram.
An Instagram Story is a way to promote daily deals, seasonal sales, and new products in a quick, flashy & aesthetically pleasing way. It’s a fun technique to promote your business because you can add stickers, hashtags, and emoticons to your content to add excitement & gain more content engagement.
How to Use Instagram Stories for a Marketing Campaign
If you don’t already have an Instagram account, it’s easy to set it up. You can use the app on your computer or Smartphone. When you start an Instagram account, you’ll need to consider what you want your visual identity to be.
The purpose of Instagram and the Story feature is to market your business easily without the use of professional graphic designers and content creators. You’re able to be more creative and spontaneous with your posts, and this allows you to connect with your audience on a personal level.
Consider the internet culture of today. People love the use of Emoticons, memes, and references to movies, comic books & TV shows. You can use these elements to create content that is friendlier and less stagnant.
But keep in mind that your content should still be visually appealing and have a professional approach. This means you should never use offensive language and always adhere to the platform’s policies.
Here are ways you can market your business based on the type of products and services you’ll be advertising on Instagram.
Also read: 6 Ways To Get More Views On Instagram
Product Based Content
If you have an online shop that sells clothing, accessories, and homeware, you can include flash sales or post snippets of the items on Instagram Stories with a short phrase. This method creates intrigue in what your brand has to offer, which can develop a higher click-through rate on your products.
When you’re selling products, be sure to make the content stand out by using flashing images with bold colors and texts.
Travel Agents or Flight Centers
People love beautiful pictures of different countries and the cultural vibe these regions can offer. If you’re a travel agent or flight center, be sure to feature places of interest on your Instagram stories. Offer to feature your audiences’ experiences on your Instagram Stories if they send you their posts via your DMs (Direct Messages).
This is an excellent way to get more people to book flights and tours with your company because you’ll be giving your audience a visual of what they can expect when they use your services.
User-Generated Content
User-generated content is utilizing content from your audience to market your business. You can create competitions by asking your followers to send in their best experiences they’ve had with your brand. Feature this content on your page and develop more audience engagements.
Another way to develop user-generated content is to create promotional memes. Ask your audience to caption an image you’ve uploaded, and offer them prizes or discounts on your products or service for their content. You can feature all the captioned memes and reveal the winner of the competition on your Instagram Stories.
Feature a competition for more user-generated content every month. It will help you develop brand awareness, and you’ll have an increase in followers the more you post & engage with your audience.
Directing the Audience to Your Website
If you want to get more click through rates to your website, Instagram Stories is the way to do it. As mentioned before, using short clips of what your company has to offer can spark intrigue. Inform your audience that they can find out more by clicking on the link attached to the story.
Depending on how many Instagram followers you have, it will direct all your social media traffic to your website where people can shop for your products and services.
Tips on how to drive Story engagement include:
- Creating polls by asking your audience questions
- Mention followers or influencers who promote your brand
- Include relevant hashtags in your posts
- Add music to your posts
- Mention celebrities who’ve used your products and service
Check Instagram Story Views
It’s important to check whether your Stories are receiving views because you want as many people as possible to see your content. Each Story you upload will have a ‘views’ tab at the bottom left corner. Click on the tab to see how many people have seen your Story and swipe up to see the names of the people who have viewed your content.
Final Thoughts
Using Instagram Stories to market your business is a budget-friendly option. It’s free to post content, so it’s an easy way to create brand awareness for your growing business.
If you want to increase your click-through rates and company revenue, Instagram Stories can help you accomplish these goals.
Also read: The Ultimate Small Business Guide to the Most Popular Social Media Apps
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