Stories on Instagram are a truly unique marketing tool. First of all, it brings a lot more personality in your brand – you can give your subscribers a chance to get a glimpse into what stays behind the curtain and products.
Secondly, Instagram stories are about much more fun, light-headed content. Since stories are there only for 24 fours, you do not need to think about whether it will fit in in the aesthetic of your feed, they are usually quite spontaneous which makes them more lively.
Thirdly, it is the perfect tool to find out more about your target audience. Instagram stories have a lot of tools: ask a question sticker, voting between 2 options, multiple-choice, etc. You can ask them questions about your brand, about their shopping preferences, their thoughts on your new product. It also makes your content more engaging, which means a higher ranking in the feed!
Fourthly and most importantly, it has amazing advertising potential. 57 percent of brands believe that stories have been “somewhat effective” or “Very effective”, and 61 percent are going to invest more into stories in the upcoming years. You can use the scroll up option, tell a story, or let people know about current sales in there.
Instagram Stories Is a Great Marketing Tool
So stories do an amazing job for marketers by helping to create a brand image and personality, creating room for funny stuff (which every user enjoys), and getting their reach and interaction to the next level!
Now that we are clear about why everyone should use Instagram stories, let’s see how exactly one can use them, in order to get the most out of them. All the benefits that we stated before would be nothing if your stories are dull and pretty much the same. Be ready to open up 6 secrets of setting up targeted Instagram stories!
6 Effective Tips to Set Up Targeted Stories
#1 Mind Optimal Publication Length – From 1 to 7 Stories
No matter how entertaining and engaging stories are, people are very unlikely to go through all of them if they see that there are a lot of stories from one account. It is applicable not only for businesses but for users` accounts as well. Try not to spam with the stories, and people will not just scroll, without seeing all of your precious content.
However, like anything that involves social media, it needs experiments. Some brands claim that the more they post, the better. So try to set up 1-7 stories per day and switch to 12-20 (the difference between 12-20 is less significant than between 1-7 by the way) afterward. For example, a Chinese tutor can post up to 20 stories if they make you learn new words or explain grammar.
People will watch this because every frame has new information on it. However, if it is a sales announcement, one story will be enough for an Instagram user. They get all the relevant info in one story. So our best advice is to look at your statistics and find out what works best for your brand and your customers!
Source: later.com
#2 Remember That the Best Time to Post Is Hours Off Work
Posting time is actually a key to success or to flop if you do not post them when you should. Here is why. You post a story while everyone is doing their business and phones are silent. Instagram algorithms see that nobody watches your story, consequently, it means that they are not interesting enough and are not worth showing them to people. When primary hours come, people will not see your story because it got lost among the people who got the time right and received a lot of engagement in the first minutes.
In order to avoid this horrendous scenario, try to post when people are off work and have time to actually open the Instagram app:
04:00 – 06:00
08:00 – 10:00
12:00 – 14:00
20:00 – 22:00
People tend to get on their phones before the working day starts, during lunch break, after work is done and at night hours to loosen up the stress of the day to fall asleep.
#3 Remember that the More Content, the Wider the Reach
As we have already mentioned before, algorithms and users love accounts that post often. We are all kind of thirsty for the freshest updates and new information. There is something satisfying about refreshing the feed and seeing that there is always something new to entertain you.
Moreover, stories last only 24 hours that means more space for new and fresh content. Post regularly to fill in this space by your brand. Your competitors are about to get lost!
#4 Use Some Statistics to Help You to Shape Your Stories
The Average Reach in Instagram Stories for Different Accounts
For media, entertainment, brand, and sports this number is about 5,82%. If you think about it as not enough, this percentage means around 1,62 million people! Moreover, reach is drastically different between these 4 types of accounts.
The Average Length of Stories
In 2018, it was 7,6 stories per day. However, the media got the longest of them all – 8.5.
The Average Reach
There is a tendency that the bigger your account, the fewer people are likely to see your stories. For instance, brands with less than 10K followers get 8,4% and those with more than 200K get only 2.3%. It is very natural, however, it is recommended to post regularly and create engaging content.
The Average Frequency of Publications per Month
Accounts do not post every day. On average, they post 10,4 days per month. The situation is likely to change since stories are getting more and more popular. They do get more competitive too.
Source: wordstream.com
#5 Utilize Best Instagram Stories Promotion Strategies
Publish the Best Content First
You need to grab the attention of your customer so make sure the best is to be seen first. Otherwise, they will get bored and not see the last of your frames. Thus, the best content is being neglected.
Upload Stories Regularly
Make your customer get used to seeing your brand in their stories feed consistently.
#6 Analyze Your Own Data
Data collection helps you to understand what works for your account and what does not. However, there are so many metrics – which one should you pay attention to?
Take a closer look at this:
- Inspection rate
- Reach and impressions
- Bounce rate
- Post time
- Length of Stories
Conclusion
Those were 6 secrets to setting up targeted stories that will make your brand stand out among any other competitors. Do not forget to check your data and ask your customers. This is the only way to find out a key to success and create your own marketing secrets that work for you!
Source: socialmediaexaminer.com
