How to Improve Your Reach with IG Stories

Key takeaways

Social media, and consequently digital marketing has come a long way since the inception of Instagram in 2010.
Stories on Instagram last only 24 hours but that’s not always enough time for everyone to watch them.
Consistency pays off in the social media sphere, so get started and then slowly refine as you grow.

Improving Your Reach with Instagram Stories | Strategies and Tactics #

Social media, and consequently digital marketing has come a long way since the inception of Instagram in 2010.

Maintaining steady headlines in the news, while remaining a consistent player in the digital space, Instagram is here to stay. Instagram Stories, a relatively newer feature, began in 2016. With regular updates and improvements, Stories is leagues ahead of its competitors like Snapchat and Twitter Moments.

Over 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day out of which more than 200 million business accounts are viewed each day. As a growing business, that is a huge audience to potentially tap into.

58% of Instagram users have become more interested in products or the brand after seeing them on Stories. That’s over half of the 500 million Instagram users.

But as a business, using IG Stories is more than just posting frequently. In a noisy space, it becomes imperative to use content strategies and tactics to set yourself apart.

Let’s look at some of the best ways you can organically increase your brands presence and improve your reach using Instagram Stories.

Use a Business Account #

Before you start working on any of these, check if your brands account is a public business account. Just a professional or public creator account will not do - it has to be a business account.

With a business account, you have access to Instagram Insights which has several useful metrics such as:

Reach and impressions
Content interactions
Follower analytic
Audience demographic information

Along with this, you will also have the ability to boost posts and promote your content. You can choose to add your business information in the public business information section which has a contact button and quick reply options (You can even include your business’s physical address if you have one).

Once a user clicks on your brands account, they have several ways to get in touch with you easily. And don’t sleep on the replies - answer all queries as quickly as possible.

Know Your Audience #

Blindly creating content and advertising your brand will not get you very far.

It’s important to know who your current audience is and if they match up with your target audience goals. Do you have a niche product? Is there a specific demographic that you want to market to? What kind of content is your current audience actively responding to?

You can easily answer these questions with a little market research and analysis.

By using Polls, Ask Me A Question, Emoji Slider, and many other interactive features, your audience will tell you who they are and what they want.

45% of users prefer keeping up with new trends and brands through Stories.

Once you figure out the age, gender, and other relevant demographics of your audience, you can start catering to their needs and increasing your reach.

Don’t forget to use the data you gain from these while designing creatives and using language that is appealing to your audience.

Timing and Consistency #

In the words of Anna Wintour, “It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.” Timing is everything.

You may have the most creative designs and use all the features but if you don’t post on time it could be for naught. To gain maximum views you have to post when users engage with Instagram the most. If there’s a national ‘something’ day that is relevant to your brand make sure you’re ready to post when everyone’s waking up. If there’s a sale coming up soon you should post the Stories a bit earlier so that more people can get in on it before it goes live.

The best way to gauge when your audience is active is by using Instagram Insights on your business account. From which days of the week your viewers open up Instagram to what hours in the day they interact - it’s all valuable information that is at your disposal.

Apart from this, posting Stories consistently is key. The most sought-after ad space in the world is the audiences mind. Maintaining a presence there is the only way to gain loyal viewers and customers. By posting regularly and interacting with them, your brand will be in the best place to grow organically.

Collaborate With Influences #

As a brand, collaborating with celebrities and influences to promote your product/service to their audience is a fantastic way to reach new users and potential customers. Getting in touch with influences who are already in the same category as you is guaranteed to bring attention to your brand.

But if you’re a small business or in an especially niche area, finding an influence whose followers can most benefit from you or who is in a similar category is the way to go. No matter what your brand or business is, there will be an influence in that space. You just have to find them.

Once you have a deal with them and they’ve started promoting it on their Stories, get in there quickly and report them. A lot of small businesses shy away from Influence marketing because they don’t have the budget for it — but you can still collaborate with micro-influences using a barter system deal with your product or service.

Use Creative Story Templates #

In marketing, the best way to catch the customers attention is through design and style. Designing your content on par with your brands theme is important if you want to stand apart from others. A font or color change might completely shift the way viewers perceive your brand.

Not convinced? Ever heard of sensation transference, and the role it plays in color branding?

There are several Instagram template apes for Android and iOS devices. Our top recommendations would be Unfold InShot, and good old Canvas. You can also find free and stunning Story designs on freepik.com. The font, text size, text color, background color, and other parts of the template can be customized to your needs.

Template apes are a great way to design attractive Stories that are trending at that moment. Using a fixed template or theme for ad campaigns can boost your brands awareness. One-third of the most viewed stories are posted by businesses. When so many users are paying close attention to your Stories, it’s important to make them appealing.

Add Links to Websites #

A recent update enables anyone to add links in Stories, regardless of follower count. Adding a link increases your reach, giving users the quickest way to get to your desired page. Be it a particular product, a survey, or a service, one click on the link in your Stories gets them to see what you want.

Use Story Highlights #

Adding your Stories into organized Highlights on your brands profile is a great way to keep viewers coming back to your page. Stories on Instagram last only 24 hours but that’s not always enough time for everyone to watch them. Creating different highlights for different campaigns, events, and even products makes your information available at all times and easy to access.

You can go one step further and create a custom icon for each Highlight. Keeping your brands entire profile clean, creative, and concise paints a positive picture in your audiences minds.

Make sure you organize and label your Highlights clearly — this helps new users navigate content on your page quickly and easily. Having a Highlight with more than 15 stories is generally discouraged, split them up into multiples instead.

Conduct Contests and Giveaways #

One of the fastest ways to increase brand awareness is through contests and giveaways. This not only checks a lot of boxes for the sales part of your business but is also a great way to give back to the community.

Holding contests and giveaways open up your audience range in unexpected ways. Everyone loves freebies and the feeling of winning something. This motivates them to share your content and tell their friends and family about them - classic word-of-mouth marketing that works in your favor. When done regularly, contests and giveaways are perfect for improving your reach and gaining a loyal customer base.

Use More Videos, Boomerangs, and Host Live Sessions #

Videos are much more interactive than photos. It holds the viewers attention for longer and delays the dreaded swipe-left. You can get more engagement through videos, especially if you add stickers, links, and filters. Another pro - adding links and hashtags on videos as opposed to photos will keep them there for longer until the video ends. Videos go up to 15 seconds, while photos are only 7 seconds.

This means users will be looking at your content for more than double the time, increasing the chances of them interacting with it.

Boomerangs are a series of quick photos that plays and replays in reverse. It’s fun to watch and make - a unique and staple Instagram feature since it was introduced. Using short videos along with Boomerangs is also a fun way to keep your audience interested and engaged.

Going live is a fantastic way to meet and interact with your audience. Giving them a behind-the-scenes look, conducting Q&As, and bringing on guest speakers will boost your reach and bring in more viewers to your account.

Use Hashtags and The Location Sticker #

Instagram’s audience grows every day because everyone wants to get in on the fun and creative ways available on the app to express themselves. Loaded with features built for discovery and engagement, Stories have the potential to keep your target audience hooked.

Using unique or trending hashtags is a terrific way for your followers to identify you and for new viewers to find you. If you’re not sure exactly what hashtags to use, Instagram will suggest popular tags once you start typing while using the hashtag symbol or in the hashtag sticker. Keeping track of relevant hashtags is a huge part of many brands’ digital marketing strategies.

The location sticker is another excellent way for your target audience to find you. Try to add your location whenever you are organizing events and activities outside. It puts your brand on the Instagram map - anyone looking for something in that location will be able to find you easily.

Go a Step Further by Using AR Filters and Adding Audio #

AR (Augmented Reality) filters are a newer feature. It’s taken the Stories game to the next level. Apart from tacky face smoothening filters, many filters keep your audience hooked. You can create a special filter just for your brand using AR Spark. It is a powerful AR creation software that anyone can learn to use with some practice. If your filter is fun and catchy, it will spread like wildfire and bring you more viewers than any other feature on Stories.

Another way to keep your audience engaged and enthusiastic is through music. A lot of small businesses don’t pay enough attention to this feature. Using audio or music may seem tedious at first but with some effort, you can level up your Stories game. It adds flair and intrigue to your Stories that encourage more interactions and shares.

Curate User-generated Content #

UGC (or User-generated content) is content created by the users for your business. It’s one of the ways your audience represents you while also promoting your brand. We know that any PR is good PR - but we want it to be positive PR that will push your brand in the direction aligning with the goals you’ve set.

Add Call-To-Actions (CTAs) in your Stories and encourage your audience to tag your account whenever they post about you on their accounts. This way you can report them for additional content for your Stories. Doing this will portray your brand as one that cares about its audience and makes an effort to stay in touch with them.

For example, if you have a clothing brand, urge your customers to post a picture of themselves wearing your clothes, using your hashtags, and tagging you. Many potential customers look for pictures of the clothing they want to purchase being worn by regular people. The biggest pros of curating UGC are the additional content you will get and the extension of an audience through the users - making this a foolproof way to increase brand loyalty and your reach.

3, 2, 1 — Post! #

We’ve shared a lot of great ways to make the most out of the Instagram Story tool. Instagram is a dynamic and evolving platform, and stories might just be the tool that delivers exponential business growth and audience reach.

And while Strategies and Tactics can carry your content marketing plan, don’t let the pursuit of perfection paralyze you. Consistency pays off in the social media sphere, so get started and then slowly refine as you grow.

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