A Small Business Guide to Instagram Stories

80 # 147 A SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE TO INSTAGRAM STORIES Instagram Stories is a collection of 15-second photos or videos that stay viewable for just 24 hours.' It gives you an opportunity to informally promote your business and brand identity, but using it to connect without being too pushy is key. WHY USE INSTAGRAM STORIES FOR BUSINESS? Instagram Stories is a powerful way for small businesses to engage with their existing followers and new leads. 250 million 28 minutes the number of active the amount of time daily users of Stories? Stories increased Instagram use by 33% 20% of the most popular of stories posted by businesses result in a direct messages stories are from businesses It goes without saying: Instagram Stories is popular. And by applying the right tools and techniques, you can turn it into an effective marketing channel for your business. MASTERING INSTAGRAM STORIES FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS Follow these tips to create stories that connect with your audience. POSTING AN INSTAGRAM STORY [6] Instagram A To start your story, tap the camera icon at the top left of your screen. Your Story luv_green_tea mrs_cool catdeercat dor [7) 16] (8] e 2 Aa COFFEE TIME! 000 Next > Save Your story 2 Tap the circle at the bottom of the screen to Add media from your library by sliding up on the screen to open the photo picker. Remember: the media must have been Swipe right or left to change filters on your story. Add stickers or text by using the icons at the top right. take a photo for your story, or hold to take a video. taken in the past 24 hours. Your Instagram story is now ready to be published! MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR STORIES 2 Plan a cohesive story Choose the best time ahead of time to post MT W Th F S S Mon Tue You can add photos or videos up to 24 hours old. Make a plan detailing what you need User engagement levels are highest on Mondays and Thursdays from 7-9pm. Avoid posting between 3-4pm.10 to create in order to tell the story you want. 3 Shoot your Story vertically Make an impact in the first 4 seconds % Viewers start to drop off after 4 seconds, so get your pitch in early or provide a hook that keeps them watching to the 94% of smartphone users hold their device vertically. Make sure your Story material is vertical and easy to view.12 end.1" UNDERSTANDING INSTAGRAM STORY FEATURES Use geotagging to specify your audience Add a link to follow through with followers jack edit 365 231 CROISSANT? SWIPE UP! WANT FREE 89 24 15-25% of Story viewers swipe up to follow a link and engage directly with a brand's website. Create a simple arrow to nudge your viewers to do the same.8,11 Posts with a geotagged location hashtag get 79% more engagement. You'll also benefit from improved visibility through inclusion in that area's Story ring.13,14 Turn one long video into multiple Stories Include focused hashtags #coffee #espresso #breakfast #coffeetakeaaway #coffeefresh Posts with a hashtag have over 12% more engagement than those without. Using a relevant hashtag will also see your post included in its Story ring.14,15 Apps like CutStory separate your video into pieces and post them as a series of 10-second Instagram Stories, allowing the whole video to flow naturally.16 USING INSTAGRAM STORIES FOR MARKETING 10 Use Calls to Action Host a Takeover M NOW 120 million users have Businesses have boosted engaged with businesses after seeing an Instagram ad. Add a CTA button or finish your story engagement by nearly 20% when hosting an employee, influencer or expert "takeover" of their Instagram Stories for a few days.18 with a solid screen CTA to encourage engagement.174 12 Give your Stories viewers unique of fers Go behind the scenes FREE 1 BAG OF COFFEE 83% of consumers enjoy their brand being friendly on social media. Use Stories' informal Run competitions and give discounts on Instagram Stories to cultivate brand nature to build rapport and show your followers what goes into planning an event or launching a product.19 loyalty that rewards people who check out your content. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INSTAGRAM STORIES POLLS 13 14 Crowdsource opinions from your customers Adding the "POLL" sticker YES NO O LOCATION 75'F 12 34 HASHTAG TUESDAN After you've created your story, the "poll" sticker allows you to ask your followers a question and customize the possible answers.20 Polls allow the audience to get involved with your business. Gather their opinions on products or decisions.1 15 Keep your question and design simple There is a 27 character limit, so keep the question short and the design simple to avoid distracting your audience away from the poll itself.22 DONUT OR MUFFIN? DONUT MUFFIN ..... SOURCES 'A new way to bring your business story to life on Instagram. business. instagram.com Castillo, M. 2017. Instagram Stories passes 250 million DAUS. cnbc.com Chaykowski, K. 2017. Instagram Debuts Full-Screen Ads In Stories, Reaches 150 Million Daily Users. forbes.com 42017. The Top Instagram Stories Statistics. mediakix.com Constine, J. 2017. Instagram Stories turns 1 as daily use surpasses Snapchat. techcrunch.com *Page, S. 2016. How to add photos and videos from your camera roll to your Instagram story. idownloadblog.com "Hines, K. 2016. How To Create Instagram Stories. socialmediaexaminer.com *Hasnain, Z. 2017. How to use Instagram Stories like a pro. theverge.com *Walters, K. 2017. How to Use Instagram Stories: The Complete Guide for Business. hootsuite.com 10Sydney. 2017. The Statistical Best Time to Post on Instagram. techjunkie.com 11 Julian, J. 2017. Instagram Stories: Five Things Marketers Need to Know. socialbakers.com 122014. Mobile Overview Report. Scientiamobile 19Instagram Study 2014. Simply Measured 14Elliott, M. 2017. How to use location and hashtag Stories on Instagram. cnet.com *Kolowich, L. 48 Instagram Stats That'll Help You Improve Your Posting Strategy. hubspot.com 16CutStory 1?Gotter, A. 2017. How to Create Instagram Stories Ads for Traffic and Conversions. socialmediaexaminer.com "Lua, A. 2017. AlIl You Need to Know About Instagram Takeovers: How to Host a Takeover in 6 Simple Steps. bufferapp.com 192017. Q2 2017 Sprout Social Index. sproutsocial.com 20Wylde, K. 2017. How To Make A Poll On Your Instagram Story With The App's Coolest New Feature. bustle.com 2IMyers, J. 2017. Eight Ways to Use Polls in Instagram Stories. jaimeemyers.com 22Lydon, E. 2017. We Tested Instagram Stories Polls: Here's What the Results Looked Like. iconosquare.com 2aPeterson, 2016. Instagram Story links get 15-25% swipe-through rates for brands, publishers, marketingland.com This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License - www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 HEADWAY CAPITAL. CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES .....