One of the best features that Instagram has implemented into its platform in recent years is Instagram Stories, which can create great opportunities for building brand awareness, growing engagement, and driving sales for businesses. For businesses to really know whether they are using this feature as professionals do, they have to look over their analytics.
Instagram Stories have become essential for successful campaigns because about half of the platform’s monthly users use this feature. That’s about half a billion people posting a billion stories every day. And over 60% of these people have stated that they’ve become a lot more interested in a company after seeing an Instagram Story from that company.
One of the best things about Instagram Stories is that they are continually evolving and introducing more features for businesses that can drive more engagement, get real-time feedback from the target audience, and humanize every brand.
5WPR Insights
Engagement
Although Instagram already has plenty of features for posts, they have just as many, if not more, features for stories that are easy to use and encourage the audience to engage with the content. For example, poll stickers are quick and easy when companies are looking to engage with the target audience, and this feature is a great option for an instant boost in engagement – the more simple they are, the better they work.
The emoji slider stickers are also another way to engage the target audience easily. They are very versatile because they can be used with practically every emoji – and top brands have found even more creative ways to use this feature. Question and quiz stickers have been popular since the day they were released because they work very well when businesses look for fast responses from the audience and add to the user experience.
Finally, the chat sticker is a great way to set up a quick chat room with the target audience, which is useful for testing product ideas or marketing concepts in a similar fashion that focus groups have.
Sales
Another bonus for businesses who smartly implement Instagram Stories in their campaigns is converting those viewers into loyal customers. With a Business Instagram account, companies can add product strikers to their posts that allow users to tag a specific product, and the viewer can easily purchase that item.
For companies with a decent number of followers – specifically, over 10K followers, they’re also able to add direct links in their stories, which encourages conversions. And for those companies that are yet to reach those numbers, they can add the same link in their profile’s bio and add the CTA to the Instagram Story.
A great way to build buzz and hype around upcoming releases or events is to add a Countdown sticker. While businesses that are just starting in testing these features, the best way to go about it is by simple Instagram Stories Ads that can showcase a brand and its products to an already engaged audience.