Article by Nathan Todd, Business Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre
Instagram Story Benefits
Are you a business that is currently on social media but not taking advantage of Instagram stories? As a business owner it may come as a shock to you, but Instagram stories are used by 500 million users every day and one third of the most viewed Instagram stories are from businesses.
To put it simply, Instagram stories is a feature within the Instagram app where users can capture and post related images and video content in a slideshow format. The content you post is available for only 24 hours from the time of posting. Stories allow the addition of text, drawings and emoticons to images or video clips. The main benefit of using Instagram stories is that you remain at the top of your followers feed. Stories are located at the very top of the app which makes you be seen first, as the news feed almost becomes secondary because of the positioning. Instagram stories have become very interactive and can be very beneficial to a business. You must make sure that you are posting content with the aim to get your following interacting.
Instagram now allows you to create polls, give followers the chance to ask questions, give a rating on something or even have a countdown. Polls are a fun and easy way to get your audience engaged and hear their thoughts on any and all topics. By having the opportunity to get your audience’s two cents on a point or decision, you could save your brand time, money and energy. Can’t decide on what colour/type of product to release? Create a poll. Ratings can also be used for this to gather your consumers insight into a product/service you are looking to launch.
Giving followers the chance to ask questions can also be a great tool to find out what they want to see more of or could even be the gateway to another great idea. For businesses, the countdown option would be useful to create suspense for the release of a new product or an announcement. Combine this with a post for the news feed also to create the biggest impact.