Instagram and Facebook Stories are a powerful tool for keeping your brand at the tip top of your audience’s mind. You can boost engagement, drive traffic, and develop deep trust all by using Stories posts on Instagram!
How often do you post in your brand’s Stories on Instagram? How often do you watch Stories? 500 million people use Stories each day and ⅓ of the top viewed Stories on Instagram are from businesses. (Source) Chances are, your ideal clients make up some portion of that 500 million people using Stories. I’d say you’ve got some pretty good stats stacked in your favor.
When I started using Stories intentionally for Bad Axe, my audience started knowing me better. They started engaging with me more; asking questions, signing up for the newsletter, and hiring me. I made a lot of changes this year to my social media strategy, but I rank consistently using Stories as one of the top three most impactful things I changed on Instagram for my business this year. (The other two things? My DM strategy and using Reels)
SO. How do you make an impact for your brand on Stories? I’ve got five tips for you:
TIP 1: Do it Daily
I am all about mindful social media use, and showing up on Stories daily is one way I keep my social presence intentional and impactful. That might seem ridiculous! How can I limit my social media use while checking in daily?! By scheduling other content in advance, I free up 10 hours a month on average. I put those hours TO WORK by engaging with my audience. When I check in on Stories daily, I’m popping up in my audience’s mind daily without having to design a feed post. Even if they don’t open my Story, they may see my profile pic across the top of their feed, depending on how much they engage with me regularly. Just seeing me show up in that space is often enough to start building that trust and goodwill.
TIP 2: Set a Theme
When you post on Stories, have a goal in mind. Do you want your audience’s opinion on something? Do you want to show a process you are doing? Do you want to help educate them on something? My Stories usually mirror what I’m posting in my feed the rest of the week, which correlates to a larger monthly theme. See? When you plan things start falling into place!
TIP 3: Drive Engagement!
Use stickers like DM me, Poll, Questions, and Countdown to drive engagement and make your Stories interesting. I love to use Stories as a space to gauge what my audience wants to learn in coming months. When I get replies regarding their marketing pain points, I know what content will provide a value to them later! Win win: show up in Stories AND get ideas for future posts!
TIP 4: Talk & Text
Show your face in your Stories and have a bit of a chat! Talk with your audience so they can get to know you, like you, and trust you. <--- That translates to sales when you are ready to make your pitch! When you speak on Stories, highlight the key points by typing captions. Many folks watch Stories with the sound off!
TIP 5: BTS & FAQ
If you aren’t sure where to start, share some behind the scenes (BTS) footage. Show off how hard you are working being an expert in your field! Another good way to start is to think about your brand’s FAQ and answer some in Stories. This helps educate your audience and it positions you as an expert: you are answering their questions before they even asked them!
Want more video tips and 10 prompts for showing up on Instagram Reels and Stories? I’ve got you covered. Be sure you sign up for the Bad Axe Newsletter in Oct 2020 for your free download!
Do you show up in Stories for your brand? Has it been beneficial to you? Let’s chat in the comments!
Stay Bad Axe,
Carolyn
New Bad Axe Blog posts get published on Mondays weekly. I explore all things digital marketing: from websites to social media, graphic design to branding and so much more. Become a site member and never miss a post!