Effectively utilizing social media is an excellent way for you to market your business. Keeping up with new methods to reach customers is essential to your business’s success and can make all the difference in reaching potential customers. One great way to do this is to utilize the “Stories” feature built into Instagram. This particular feature has increased in popularity recently because of its ability to allow brands to connect and interact with potential customers and generate leads directly on the platform. Instagram Stories offer a whole host of different ways for you to engage with potential customers and get them to interact directly with your small business. This feature is something you should consider incorporating into your social media strategy. Here are some of the specific ways Instagram Stories can positively impact your business:
1. Allows customers to connect with your brand on a more personal level
One of the main attractors of social media is its ability to directly connect businesses with customers. We see this every day on various forms of social media. Instagram boasts higher engagement levels than other platforms like Facebook, making it a better place for you to direct your social media efforts. Instagram Stories, in particular, allows for your small business to connect with potential customers on an even more direct and personal level. Stories are incorporated seamlessly into the Instagram experience, which makes it much easier for users to look at what your business is posting without thinking twice. Stories allow you to humanize your brand and business and show it off in a more entertaining and less-corporate way.
2. The platform offers interactive features that get your audience involved
The main reason Instagram Stories is such a great tool to interact with customers is that it offers a variety of built-in features that allow users to interact directly with your posts. Some of these features include polls, location tagging, hashtags, Q and A’s, and gifs. All of these features allow the user to directly participate in your brand, which can lead to them developing a connection and taking an interest in your business. Instead of just plain text, Stories add a more colorful and interactive experience for users and offer a change of pace from the more traditional social media strategies. By using these interactive tools in Instagram Stories, your business can gather more attention and increase the number of people who interact with your brand and business.
3. Ability to host “takeovers” with Instagram influencers
Influencers are a major part of social media advertising. Businesses often form partnerships with these influencers so they can show off their products to the influencer’s followers. Instagram is one of the main platforms in which this kind of advertising occurs. Stories offer a great way to incorporate influencers into your brand, which in turn can lead to your business gaining more followers and generating more sales. The two most common ways influencers are used is through the influencer hosting a takeover of your business’s Instagram account and Story or through your business hosting a takeover on their account. This usually lasts for about a day and offers a unique experience for users. This can be beneficial for your business because the influencer’s followers will be exposed to your products and will be more likely to connect with your business.
4. Can increase leads generation and sales by adding links
The main goal of using social media for your business is to bring in more customers and generate more sales. Instagram Stories are a great way to do just this because they do a great job exposing potential customers to your business. The main way they do this is through the “Swipe Up” feature. This feature lets you incorporate a link into the Story and allows users who view it to swipe up and view the link. This is such a great feature because it works seamlessly within the app and doesn’t interrupt the user’s experience. After swiping up to view the link, the viewer doesn’t have to leave Instagram, making it much more likely for them to interact with the story. By clicking on the links you use on the stories, users will visit your website and will be exposed to your products. This is an easy way to move prospects through the sales funnel because it requires very little effort on the potential customers part. The “Swipe Up” feature is a built-in conversion tool that effortlessly redirects potential leads to your business, which can help to boost your business sales.
Instagram Stories are a great way to boost your business and increase your sales. This tactic can prove to be an invaluable part of your social media strategy. The many features and tools allow your brand to interact with customers and create a positive brand image. By keeping up with the latest social media trends, such as this one, your business will be in a better position to target potential customers and increase its following.
If you need any help creating and implementing a social media strategy, we’re happy to help – just send us an email!
Danielle Foley, Owner
Foley Marketing Advisors
dfoley@foleymarketingadvisors.com
