6 Creative Instagram Story Ideas For Your Business
You may think that Instagram Stories are just a fun way of interacting. Reality is that today they hold a huge significance for a successful business social media strategy. Do you need some Instagram Story ideas for your business? You’re in the right place.
According to recent studies, there are 300 million people using Instagram Stories every single day. This makes them an important source of engagement with your fans. Also, they are a perfect way to build a strong bond with your customers.
Knowing this, the next logical question would be: how can I use Stories to grow my Instagram profile? We wrote a list of 6 basic ways of using Insta Story to improve your social media presence. You might think they’re too obvious. But in fact, many businesses and brands still do not use this option enough or not at all. So, let’s start!
#1 PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT
Instagram Stories are a great place to boost the visibility of your Feed posts. On a daily basis, Instagram users tend to scroll less and less through their Feed. Instead, they’re mainly focused on viewing Instagram Stories a few times per day. They are quick and simple to consume. So, use them wisely.
When you publish a new feed post use the option Share to your story. It is placed beneath your post and allows you to share a particular post directly to your Instagram story. This is a great option as people who are going through their Stories might show interest in your post. One simple tap on a picture will lead them to your profile where they might like or comment on your picture. Which may lead them to further explore your profile.
By not doing this, you risk much lower visibility of your feed posts as the Instagram algorithm is ever-changing. For some of your followers, your post might not even appear on their feed while others are too lazy to regularly check their feeds and they just go through Instagram Stories of people and brands they’re following.
Instagram Stories are also a great way to promote your blog content. If you’re a strong Instagram brand with over 10,000 followers, we definitely recommend using a convenient Swipe up option which makes visiting blog landing page much easier for consumers.
Instagram: kontraagency
If you’re still not quite near 10K follower mark, don’t worry. You can always remind people of interesting links you have in your Bio. Create visuals for your blogs and share them through Stories. There are plenty of fun GIFs with a Link in Bio text which you can use for this kind of Story content.
You should also utilize Bio by using Linktr.ee or other similar solutions and keep the available links over there fresh and interesting to your audience. If you want to find out more on how to make outstanding custom content for your social media channels, read our blogpost Custom content – the shining star of social media.
#2 SET A POLL!
Another fun Instagram option is a poll. People nowadays just love to be asked for their opinion. On everything! So, why not use this fun Instagram feature in your advantage? For example, if you’re a brand who has a lot of products to offer, set a poll and ask your followers to choose which one, they’d like better in their home. This way, you’re not only creating a bond with your followers, but also collecting valuable data on what they love and prefer.
The question doesn’t necessarily always need to be connected directly to your products. For example, if you’re a brand connected with the food industry, ask your followers which dish they’d rather taste today. Or let’s say its time of summer vacations. Ask them if they already have gone on their summer vacation or they are still counting down the days.
Instagram: bazaaruk
The poll options are really endless. As long as you are creating engagement with your followers and posting fun content, it’s all good. Insta stories are a less structured way of communicating with your customers as a brand. Consider them a place where your customers can get to know your brand on a more personal level. So, post as much as you can and have fun with it.
#3 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS DAY
If you manage social media for any brand, you’d know that the number of questions received every day can be quite high. The funny thing is that questions are often quite repetitive. And here conveniently comes Instagram. It offers you an option of people sending you their questions on which you can then provide an answer and share it to your Insta Story.
You can use this feature and organize a monthly Q&A about your brand. This way people will get answers on their most burning questions about your products or services. On the other hand, you’ll get a lot of awesome Instagram Story content. Make sure to save all the content to your Highlights which you can then name Q&A.
Instagram: nakdfashion
This comes especially handy when asked already answered questions in the comments and DM. You can write them a short answer and just direct them to your Highlight where they can find all the needed information about your products or services. Q&A sticker is also a great way to find new ideas for content if you’re stuck in a rut.
#4 INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER
Instagram Story takeovers are always exciting. Through them, you are again showing your followers a different side of your brand. Takeovers usually consider giving a 24h access to your profile to a person who doesn’t usually manage it. Of course, they can last less or more depending on many factors and your vision.
The most common takeovers are by influencers who usually have large audience who they previously invite to join and watch their Stories on your Instagram profile. This way, you as a brand benefit get new followers and content. The published content generally depends on what your brand represents and is highly individual.
From cooking, make-up tutorials, a day in my life content – it’s all allowed and welcomed. The main point is to show your followers how to use your product in everyday life and connect it with an influential person that is the right match for your target audience. So make sure to do your research right before contacting influencer you want to collaborate with.
Instagram: netflix
If you want to have fun with it, you can also organize an employee takeover where your employees’ show behind-the-scenes look through Stories. They can show office spaces, new stores, making of products and lots more interesting content for your followers.
#5 COUNTDOWN TO AN EVENT
Events are a sort of peak of your marketing strategy and all the effort put into it. They are an opportunity to have all the important “players” at one place – from sponsors, influencers, clients and possible customers. Naturally, a key to a good event is organization. You can’t expect for people to show up on your event if it was not immaculately promoted.
Social media is perfect for this kind of promotion. Whether it’s a closed or public event, you can use it in your advantage to show people what you’re celebrating and why. Instagram Stories have a great feature which you can use just for that. A countdown sticker. You just need to set the sticker to countdown to your event and customize it with a title to let people know what you’re counting down to.
Instagram: lancomeofficial
A great idea is to not only use this for events but also for new product release, upcoming sales, different brand anniversaries, the opening of a new store and much more.
The amazing thing is that your followers can set an alert for when the countdown is over by tapping on the sticker. They can even share the countdown with their followers and spread the word even further.
#6 SHARE CONTENT YOU’RE TAGGED IN
Lastly, be sure to share the Stories of you’re followers when you’re tagged in them. You don’t have to share every single one, but we’re sure there are some great ones. Which again makes perfect organic, UGC content for your Stories.
This way you’re showing everyone that your customers are happy with your product. There really is no better advertisement than a satisfied customer. If you’re interested in more information about a similar topic, read our blogpost, Branding through social media.
Instagram: reformation
Now that you know everything about Instagram Stories, get started with posting and have fun with it.
