5 Instagram Stories’ Features Your Brand Should Be Using
Instagram is no doubt one of the highest-used social media platforms, with its user base doubling in the last two years with a whopping 800 million as of December 2017. It has been 7 years since Instagram came into our lives, little did we know how bigger it was going to get! Now it has over 500 million daily active users! It is no surprise that Instagram has become one of the biggest marketing tools for many brands, including small businesses. Therefore, it is important to know all the knick – knacks of this powerful platform to make the most of it for your brand.
Instagram launched ‘Stories’ in August 2016, and they’ve been a rage since then! The feature has been one of the most-used feature on this picture-sharing platform; we’re sure you agree.
Instagram now has over 300 million daily active Instagram Story users. This means that the users are interested in short and crisp content. This feature gives a great opportunity to brands to market their content.
Here are a few Instagram Stories’ features that one MUST use to get the best result within the 10 – 15 second time frame:
- Share UTM links on Instagram Stories
What is Urchin Tracking Module (UTM)? It is a code that is added to a custom URL in order to track how much traffic your posts are getting. Now, Instagram has made it possible for businesses to add UTM links to their stories, which means if you’ve a new blog, running a campaign, or a contest, you can now send people directly to those pages. This makes it a lot easier for users to access content and increases the rate of interaction with your new posts.
- Replay live videos
When live feature got added to Instagram, it was only for iOS. As it got expanded to Android, more people started interacting with the feature. Before, live videos disappeared after the streaming ended. Like Facebook, Instagram has enabled its users to save the videos to Stories so that it remains for 24 hours and people can watch it within that time-frame. That means, no one will be missing your live stream and people can still view important events.
- Use location & hashtags
Using Instagram location and hashtags will help you reach new fans and extend your reach. How does that help, you ask? Well, users can search and view public stories in any geographic location. With this feature plus adding relevant hashtags, it will help you increase the possibility of getting more people, especially if you have a specific target audience. It also makes it easier for potential customers to find your store, follow your brand during an event, or enter a contest.
- Interactive Polls
Just like Facebook, Instagram rolled out the poll feature for stories. It’s a fun way of getting your audience’s opinion on things. It allows you to ask your audience to choose one of two answers to your question. The default answer for Instagram poll is ‘YES’ or ‘NO’, but it can be changed as long as it’s under 22 characters. Polls help in generating content ideas that your audience will relate to and invest time on. The audience will also feel like an active participant for the brand and will appreciate the opportunity to express an opinion.
- Facebook Cross-Posting
The best and one of the most important features of Instagram stories is that whatever that you share on Instagram can be shared on Facebook as stories as well. This means, your Facebook followers can view your Instagram stories and actively participate even if they don’t follow you on Instagram. This results in increased interaction between the brand and its audience.
- GIFs, Filters, Stop-Motion, Type Mode, & more
Instagram is slowly rolling out more features specifically for stories. From GIF stickers to stop-motion, brands can get more creative with their content for stories. The more interesting your stories are, the more interaction you will get from your audience and further help garner more followers. It also has the newly-added ‘Type Mode’ option with different fonts to jazz up your story.
By following these features, you will be able to achieve better visibility, engage with your target audience, and potentially gain more followers. Clatter Chatter uses all these features to make push your brand forward and give it more visibility. Give us a call on +1 650-296- 2506 and let us help you build your brand.