You may only know a few, but hundreds, if not thousands, of social media platforms, are on the internet. One such social media platform that has become more and more attractive to companies is Instagram. The venue boasts over a billion active users. For this reason, it is not a surprise that businesses are increasing their presence on the app. However, many of them do not use Instagram to its maximum potential. So, if you are interested in improving your followers and online reputation, take a look at my suggestions below.
What Are Stories?
As with any social media platform, it is a way for you to interact with your followers. Facebook uses the word story, as well. Mostly, both of these companies have added this to their application in response to the “stories” you can post on Snapchat. In both instances, you can have your story viewed by your followers for up to 24 hours. That does not mean that the time will be random. It only means that if someone comes to your story past that point, they will no longer be able to view it. That is unless you re-upload the content.
In some cases, this might be the right decision to make. For the most part, it is not a good choice to post the same content repeatedly. The point of content is to be new and fresh. When you recycle content, it does nothing for your SEO or ORM rankings. You would be better off to remake the content differently and then publish it.
Is This Different Than Posting on Instagram?
In a word, yes. Even though your company may have a presence on Instagram, it is crucial that you use all the different methods to engage your customer base. These stories add a level of engagement that you can’t get from a simple post. The reason is that when you share a story, you can share more than a picture. Stories can support the use of polls, stickers, external links, ranking bars, location, music, and so much more. It is not possible to post these using a regular Instagram post.
You will want to opt for stories because you can see how your story is directly impacting your click-through rate (CTR). It is vital to have a different landing page for your Instagram stories so that you can differentiate how the customer came to your page. I like to call this instant feedback. If you have the majority of your customers not “swiping up,” then it might be time to adjust your stories. Below, you will find a couple of different options to up your story game and increase the interactions with both your Instagram stories and your website.
What Kind of Stories Should I Post?
After you decide to start posting more stories, you need to determine what kind of story you want to tell. There are many different types of stories, and I am going to unpack them now.
- Tutorials
Tutorials can be used in many different ways. They can be anything from recipes to make up videos. Essentially, you will be sharing a step by step process that your customers can use to have the same result you have. Make sure that when you post these types of stories that you are not over editing your content. It will make it hard for the customer to follow, and they may lose interest in your brand. Additionally, they may unfollow you or never swipe up again.
- Behind the Scenes
You are more than the stories you provide to people. They like to see the process of how you go about making the content they know and love. Some ideas can be house tours, office tours, a video of you making the content, and even interviews with the people that make the magic happen. Think of behind the scenes stories as your way to let your hair down and show the customer the real you.
- Exclusive Promotions
As I said from the start, there are a billion active users on Instagram. Of those one billion, about five hundred thousand people interact with stories. That means that you have a fifty percent chance of a customer swiping up on your story. Let’s face it; only the most loyal fans of your work are going to swipe up when asked. For those people, you should provide them with a reward. It doesn’t have to be anything significant. Remember, customers, want to feel special. If they get a five percent discount the next time they come to your store, they will likely swipe more often. Don’t think of this as paying your customers to go to your store; think of it as rewarding a loyal fan.
- User-Generated Content
Have you ever had someone share your story? Have you ever had someone retweet your content on Twitter? I am speaking personally, not as a business. You feel pretty special that a content creator found your comment, post, or photo worthy of sharing with their followers. So, when you find some content that you think your community would like to see, do not hesitate to share it with your followers. The follower that made the content will feel special, and you will gain more loyalty from them as a result.
Conclusion
Content creators have limited restrictions on what they can and cannot post. Take advantage of these liberties and share some great stories with your community. Thinking outside the box is going to be your best friend here. If you can develop content that no one else is doing, you will likely see an uptick in your online reputation. The reason is that when your followers see this content, they will probably want to share it with their friends and family. Remember, more people see your content than you even have followers. Some experts say that as much as 25% more people will know what you post than you have followers. So, get out there and make some excellent content. Your brand will thank you for it.