Many people seem to be using Instagram stories these days. The appeal of having short term content publishing with the option of keeping it permanent with Highlights just increased every man, woman, and brand’s excitement to use it on a daily basis. You can keep your Story as simple as you want, or work as hard on it as you would a post that goes on your feed. It’s totally up to you! It also comes with tools and features that allow you to get creative, and businesses have been using it to increase their sales.
Yes, you can use Instagram Stories to boost your sales!
Here are a few of choice Instagram Stories features and how you can use them to get your followers to engage with you, your brand, or your business in a profitable way easy way:
Use geotags and hashtags to gain exposure
Adding a location sticker or a hashtag on your post does more than just decorate your post and inform your existing followers of where you are. A geotag also adds you to the collection of Stories under that particular location or hashtag. This means there is endless potential to pull in new Instagram users that are at the same places, or using the same hashtags as you are.
Make sure posts that include location and hashtags are well worth any viewer’s time. Be entertaining, interesting, and don’t forget a powerful call to action to give you a new follower.
Add links to your Stories
Speaking of calls to action, Instagram has rolled out a linking feature for some accounts enabling them to redirect a viewer by swiping up on a story. The sales possibilities are endless! You can easily link followers to a product, a sign-up page, or your newest blog post. For your reference, here's an easy to follow guide on the technical aspects of selling on Instagram.
With great features come great responsibility, of course. You can’t always try to redirect your followers out of the app with every story. Just as you wouldn’t want to be too pushy on other social media profiles, balance out your promotional posts with other types of Stories as well. Give your audience an inside peek at your life and link them to the products you genuinely use and love. This will help build a trust factor between you and your followers and they'll be more likely to swipe up on future product posts.
*Bonus tip: spending a little more time on your announcement posts will show off your creative side and will make your stories more engaging for eager eyes
Get your followers to engage using questions and polls
A simple sticker can give you valuable audience data right on Instagram Stories. Add an Instagram poll to a post and you can get your followers involved in any decision you're looking to make from your office’s new set up right down to your product’s packaging.
Give a peek behind the scenes
Instagram Stories is all about connecting with your audience in a more authentic and “raw” way. You impress them with your carefully managed Instagram feed, but you relate with them by taking them on your journey to build a product or craft a post.
Instagram’s Stories is the perfect platform to tell your brand’s story. You can post as many as you want in a day. Showing how your brand gets from one point to another sophisticated your business, showing your followers exactly how much work goes into the product you want them to buy.
With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry too much about timing posts precisely when your audience is most active. Your stories remain for a full 24 hours, and if you'd like to save them on a more permanent basis then make use of your Story Highlights reel. Here's more information on How to Create a Story Highlight. Instagram Stories is a great platform to test ideas and see initial reception, or even tease products or posts. Think outside the box with it!
Utilize Story Analytics
Instagram allows its users on a business account, which you should be signed up with, and if you aren't check out our post to find out how to update your profile access to a ton of awesome analytical data about your followers. Stories work in a very similar way and you should be paying attention to the data that it gives you! To access this information watch your personal story and swipe up on each slide to see your analytics. This information will give you a better idea of what's working on your Instagram Stories and what isn't. It's vital to track your marketing efforts, and the tools on Instagram will give you some valuable insight to do so.
