Did you know that over 90 percent of people in the United States have at least one social media profile? That means it’s high time to stop thinking of social networks as virtual hangouts for teenagers and start realizing their potential to grow your customer base and increase sales. Instagram stories have become one of the more popular social media marketing tools, and they continue to grow in popularity with Instagram.
Even though Instagram stories can only last for up to 15 seconds each, they can leave an impression or lead to an action that could benefit your business long-term. Many Instagram users have successfully used Instagram marketing to reach their target audience and become influencers. Continue reading to learn some of the ways Instagram stories can help grow your small business.
1. Introduce a new product.
The key to marketing is meeting people where they are, and right now, everyone’s on social media. That means if you’re launching a new product and want to sound the trumpets, there’s no better way to do it than with a concise, engaging Instagram story.
One of the great things about creating Instagram stories is you don’t have to be a video production expert. The videos are quick, and you can even choose a template from a sample Instagram post to make creating captivating content even easier. Your background has a lot to do with how long people watch your video, and the longer they watch, the more likely they are to interact.
With the many tools and templates you have at your disposal, an Instagram story is one of the best ways to spread the word about a new product and meet your company goals. If your Instagram post goes viral, so will your new product.
2. You can use Instagram stories to boost sales.
One of the best things about Instagram stories is they have the potential to boost sales significantly. If you have over 10,000 Instagram followers, you can put a link in your Instagram stories, and when Instagram users click the link it could lead them to a product page where they can make purchases.
For instance, Influential Times is an online platform that teaches people about finances. They could create an Instagram story and invite people to visit their website, influentialtimes.com, or simply use a hyperlink and a keyword or phrase.
3. Instagram stories can draw Instagram users to full-length videos.
Oftentimes, Instagram stories are only snippets of a full-length video posted either to a person’s Instagram profile or Instagram TV. If you have a blog or podcast where you teach people how to use a particular type of product, you could use Instagram Stories as a great way to get new followers to watch your full-length material.
4. Get an influencer to feature or place your product in one of their stories.
Influencers are the self-made celebrities of social media platforms. They’re the ones who’ve found ways to get their Instagram posts to go viral using hashtags, captions, and backgrounds to elaborate on their stories. Working with an influencer is one of the best ways to attract new followers on any social network.
If your company is releasing a new product, getting an Instagram user with a lot of followers to showcase your product is a great way to build anticipation for your product as well as introduce your brand to new followers. A short, 15-second snippet of an influencer using your new product could do wonders to increase your brand awareness.
5. Instagram stories can help increase engagement.
Increasing the visibility of your company is great, but it doesn’t do you much good if that visibility isn’t converted into buying customers. One of the great things about Instagram stories is you can use them to get people to interact with your company. The bottom line that more people merely seeing your brand does you no good if they don’t become customers.
For instance, if you were a marketing consultant, you could quiz your target audience with questions that are simple yet spark their interest and show off your expertise. For instance, you could ask your Instagram followers a multiple-choice question such as, “What’s the OKR meaning?” By giving them several answers to choose from and showing the results that other Instagram users chose, you get your followers to feel more connected to you, each other, and your brand. Brand visibility is great, but brand connectivity is even better.
It’s too hard to quantify the benefits of Instagram stories for small businesses. As you can see, Instagram stories are a great way to connect with your target audience and grow your customer base.
The key to succeeding with Instagram marketing campaigns is to make connecting with Instagram users your top priority. Traditional marketing tends to talk “at” consumers rather than to them, but social media is all about connecting and finding common ground.
