Are Instagram Stories Good For Business?

Wondering if Instagram Stories are worth spending your time and efforts on? We have the answer

You have probably seen many people in public places that just can't stop looking at their phones. We don’t know for sure, but roughly half of them are browsing through Instagram Stories. Some might say it’s a blessing, some might say it’s a curse, but at Webxloo we call it a business opportunity. Read on if you want to know why.

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are a series of images and videos that appear at the top of a user’s feed. They exist for 24 hours in chronological order and give you as a business more options to engage with your online audience.

Instagram Stories have a very addictive design: once you start watching them, you just click forward until you have had enough of it or until your boss is looking for you. An innocent click to check out a close friend’s story can result in a half-an-hour trip across 30+ other people’s stories mixed with ads.

The psychology behind Instagram Stories has made them so popular that in 2019 they are viewed by nearly one and a half times the population of the United States (500 million people) daily.

Use Instagram Stories for a deeper connection and more engagement

Stories are a great tool to connect deeper with the people that are already following you. Once you have managed to get a follower, you need to retain them as long as possible. And that is no easy task. You need to provide a continuous flow of relevant and engaging content on your Instagram page.

There is a rule that applies on social media: more activity leads to more engagement.

However, cluttering up people’s feeds with 5+ posts a day might not be a good idea, but posting 5 Instagram Stories is okay since this content will be gone in 24 hours.

What can you post on Instagram Stories?

Anything. Highly relatable content. Stories were created with an urgent nature that says: hey follower, you need to see this now! Regular posts vs Stories is like evening news vs breaking news: people expect to see something that is worth to be at the top of their feeds.

• Announcements

This is of course the best way to utilize this feature. If some of your items are currently on sale or there is a new spot that opens up tomorrow, or perhaps you just have a piece of news that your audience will appreciate - announce it.

• Polls

People love to share their opinions because this way they feel listened to. By offering your audience a poll, you show that they are important and you also can collect some valuable insights for yourself.

• Questions

As much as sharing their thoughts, people like to ask “burning” questions. Of course, it’s a bit risky to put a question sticker with “Ask us anything” on it because after that your Direct can explode. But when the dust settles, you can have a very nice conversation with your audience and get to know what bothers your followers.

• Countdown

The countdown sticker allows you to create a sense of anticipation. For example, if you run a competition on your website, add the countdown sticker on Instagram to let people know when to visit your website to see the results. Your followers can set up a deadline reminder and you will see how many people were involved.

• New posts announcement

Once you have crafted a new post, invite people to visit your profile and check it out via your Story.

• Instagram Stories Ads

You can also run an ad campaign on Instagram Stories. Your ad will be shown to users between their friends’ stories, which makes it less intrusive and more natural.

The Last Word

With Instagram Stories the possibilities are endless. But if you think that your time is best served elsewhere but you still want to leverage this opportunity to the greatest extent possible, use our Social Media Management services.

We have been creating successful content strategies for many of our customers who either don’t have the time or experience with Social Media sites including Instagram. If all of those features, stickers, polls, Q&As, stories, insights, etc are too much for you to handle, we can help. Just contact us and we’ll make Instagram Stories a business tool that you can use today!