insta stories for business

Insta Stories for Business: How to boost your engagement

Looking to give your business a social media boost? Then you’ll definitely want to jump on the Insta Stories for business bandwagon!

Instagram Stories have taken the digital world by storm with their stunning images and entertaining structure. Since its modest beginnings in 2016, they’ve grown into the go-to source for many brands and marketers who use Instagram stories to increase brand exposure, engage their audience, and increase sales.

And considering that one-third of Instagram’s most-viewed Stories are posted by companies, this is a chance you can’t pass up.

If you’re ready to step up your Insta game and take your business to the next level, you’re in luck: We’ve created this in-depth guide to help you craft a killer IG Stories strategy that will set your brand apart from the competition!

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The benefits of using Instagram Stories for your business

Woman scrolling through her camera roll

If you’re looking to increase interaction on your brand’s Instagram profile, there’s no better tool than Insta Stories for engagement!

Here are some key benefits of using Instagram Stories:

  • Improving Brand Visibility: Due to their colorful design and position at the top of the Instagram home screen, IG Stories are much less likely to be missed than regular Instagram feed posts. That’s why coming up with cute Instagram story ideas will increase your chances of getting your target audience’s attention. 
  • Direct Interaction With Your Audience: The immediateness and interactive nature of Stories allow you to interact with your followers and learn about their needs first-hand through interactive elements like question stickers, polls, and quizzes. 
  • Instant Market Research: You can get instant feedback on your new services or product features through carefully designed questions. Talk about a time-saver, huh?
  • Marketing In Real-Time: Brands can promote, make announcements, sell, and analyze – all from one spot and in real-time – with Instagram Stories.
  • Conversion Channel: You can unlock the full potential of your sales funnel with strategically placed Swipe Up calls-to-action in your Stories. By guiding your audience-turned-leads to take action, you can increase conversions and drive more revenue for your business.
  • Boosting Engagement: A carefully implemented Insta Stories strategy can improve your overall engagement. The more Stories you post, the more opportunities for engagement you’re creating. 

Instagram Story Ideas: How To Use Instagram Stories To Boost Your Engagement

Get other users to view instagram stories

Although Instagram Stories can be entertaining and immensely popular, you might think that everyone and their mother is jumping on the bandwagon.

So, how do you actually make your audience stop tapping forward and engage with your next Story?

Short answer:

You make your Instagram Story super enticing. 

For a more in-depth answer and Instagram story ideas, continue reading. 

Ask Questions

Let’s start with Questions stickers.

As one of the most popular Insta Stories stickers, Questions are super powerful interaction catalysts – especially for brands and influencers whose audiences love having direct conversations with their favorite people and businesses. 

questions sticker on Instagram Story

Ask your audience questions; it’s a great way to drive engagement.

If you’re just starting out on Instagram, using a Question sticker could be a fun way for your audiences to get to know you. Each time you’re coming out with a new product, feature, or update, you can let your customers in on what’s going on behind the scenes.

Use the opportunity to continue the conversation by posting answers in the following Story or in a dedicated Q&A session.

Create Polls in your Insta-Stories for business strategy

Quick, fun, and super-engaging, Poll stickers are perfect for instant interaction with your Instagram followers. 

You’ve probably noticed influencers using this sticker for the most random dilemmas, like which flavor of ice cream to get and what shade of nude lipstick to put on. 

As a business, you shouldn’t go that random – but still keep it fun. You can ask your followers to help pick the design for your new product, decide on a color scheme for your design project, share their preferable items for different occasions, share feedback on your new features, or give opinions about an upcoming event.

Example of a poll on Instagram Story

Even a popular hot topic that aligns with your brand can be a cool poll idea. 

In addition to substantially improving interactions, Polls are helping create a tight-knit community around your brand as it gives your audience a sneak peek into your business’s day-to-day life and company culture – and a sense that their voice is being heard and that their opinion matters to you. 

Quizzes For Your Audience

The Instagram app also offers quiz stickers that can help you test your audience’s knowledge in a playful way. It’s human nature to want to be reassured about their knowledge on any topic.

So, play into this trait and get those clicks.

The quiz sticker functions similarly to the poll feature, with the exception that just one correct answer may be chosen.

Depending on your target audience, this could be anything from a quiz on your company milestones, a fun test on the specific makeup routine, or on how to use a feature in your product or service. You can also pick a popular current topic that’s somehow related to your brand values and post an engaging Quiz. 

Solicit feedback with creative Emoji slider sticker

Emoji slider stickers are a cool way to bring more fun into your Instagram Story game – and get a ton of useful input and engagement as a nice bonus. 

Instagram users enjoy this interactive game when they’re offered to express their opinion in a simple way by dragging the emoji left or right. 

You can play around with almost any emoji and even combine them with other Instagram stickers to get more detailed feedback from your loyal fans. 

Emoji slider sticker

For example, you can ask your current followers to rate your latest video, product, or feature and get real-time insight into how others responded. Additionally, you can create content that includes a question and an emoji slider to determine the specifics of your followers’ needs. 

Cash in on exclusivity with Chat stickers

Use Chat stickers to nurture the sense of a close community, reward your most engaging followers, and improve your metrics – and your bottom line. 

The chat sticker allows you to create a chat forum for 32 participants, creating that element of added value. 

You can do nice limited-time deals for the first 32 who join the chat, design a special Q&A for your dedicated customers, solicit feedback, or test out the new product line. 

Go Live

As one of the most effective Story features, Instagram Live streams offer the best bang for your buck. 

In addition to showing up first in your audiences’ Story feeds, Instagram Live will also help you with the following:

  • Get a more favorable position in the IG algorithm. Let’s not forget that Instagram offers more opportunities for engagement boost to users utilizing the Live feature.

  • Improve brand awareness. The more unedited and light-hearted vibe of the Live video, the better brand-client relationship you’re building. Let your customers in on the more human side of your brand and on the behind-the-scenes content.

  • Get direct feedback. Instagram Live Chat lets you get real-time feedback on your performance and your overall brand image, as you can monitor your audience’s comments and reactions.

Plan your Instagram Live stream when most of your audience is online and do a useful review, a fun Q&A, a guest interview, a tutorial, a sneak peek, a live event coverage, or ask an influencer to do a Live Takeover. Either way, it’s a win-win situation.

Build hype with Countdown stickers

Adding a pre-sale, pre-launch, or pre-event countdown sticker to your Instagram stories will build hype, boost engagement, and improve sales. 

Countdown timers are a powerful way to create a sense of involvement and commitment. Plus, your Instagram followers are getting that feeling of expectation and excitement. 

For instance, you can use them to promote an upcoming launch, limited-time discounts, and contests. Ask them to set a reminder for the beginning of the event to be among the first to buy a product, visit the store, or try the service. 

Adding a pre-sale, pre-launch, or pre-event countdown sticker to your Instagram stories will build hype, boost engagement, and improve sales. 

Countdown timers are a powerful way to create a sense of involvement and commitment. Plus, your Instagram followers are getting that feeling of expectation and excitement. 

For instance, you can use them to promote an upcoming launch, limited-time discounts, and contests. Ask them to set a reminder for the beginning of the event to be among the first to buy a product, visit the store, or try the service. 

Use Hashtags/Location Tags

If you want to make your Instagram Stories more discoverable, then hashtags and location tags are your new best friends!

By using relevant geotags and hashtags, you can increase engagement and reach a larger audience.

When people search for a specific hashtag or location, they’re shown a feed of all the stories that have included that tag.

For example, if you’re a fashion blogger and you use the hashtag #ootd in your stories, then anyone searching for that hashtag will be able to see your fabulous fashion choices.

Not only does it help you get more views on your Instagram stories, but it also helps users find content that they’re interested in.

So, go ahead, start using hashtags and location tags on your Instagram Story – and watch your reach soar!

Satisfy their curiosity with Product stickers

If you’re selling physical products, Story Product Stickers are a great way to provide more info on the product and boost engagement and sales. 

The streamlined Instagram shopping experience is available for Stories, as well. Plus, you can add Shoppable Instagram Story Stickers to photos and videos. They’re super customizable, allowing plenty of room for versatility and personalization. 

Of course, you can always go for a completely branded look – and create your own Instagram Story stickers. 

Add a Swipe up

If you’ve reached that holy grail of Instagram for business, a.k.a. the 10K, be sure to use every opportunity to add the Swipe Up link in your Stories. 

Depending on your goals, this can be a link to your eCommerce store, a blog post, a new product line, a sale, or a YouTube video. 

As one of the key indicators of your engagement, the “Swipe Up” feature is your best shot at Insta success.

That’s why we have an entire blog post dedicated to it; be sure to check it out. There, we also discuss the Story Highlights feature and how to make it more eye-popping on your Instagram page.

Use User-Generated Content

Instagram posts that express positive user experiences with a brand’s product or service are user-generated content (UGC) and are often made by the brand’s customers, followers, and fans.

UGC, such as video testimonials, may be an effective business marketing strategy:

It allows you to demonstrate your brand’s values in a manner that’s genuine and engaging to your target audience, strengthening your connections with them.

Boost Engagement When Sharing Posts From Other Accounts

When it comes to Instagram Stories, sharing is caring!

Sharing posts from other accounts on your own Instagram Stories is a surefire way to get more engagement.

When you share other brand’s feed post to your Story, they’ll get a notification letting them know that you’re vibing with their content.

And who knows – maybe they’ll even re-share your Instagram Story with their own followers, bringing you even more exposure!

Re-sharing posts is a wonderful way to show your audience that you’re down to cooperate and spread the love on the platform – and a terrific method to curate material for your audience.

So, don’t be shy about sharing content from companies and users you look up to; doing so is a great way to make new friends and increase your engagement.

Plan When To Post A Story

When it comes to posting on Instagram, timing is everything!

Posting at the right time can make all the difference in boosting your engagement rates and getting your content in front of more IG users.

Luckily, Instagram Insights can help:

You can check when your followers are most engaged on Instagram by monitoring your Insights – and then schedule Stories appropriately.

That way, you won’t have to keep checking your phone and stress out about missing the ideal posting window to ensure your Instagram Story reaches the right users – and at the right time.

How to Measure Your Instagram Stories Engagement

Measure your Instagram Stories Engagement and optimize your strategry to get more viewers

Once you’ve created and implemented a strong Instagram Story strategy, it’s time to see how it stacks up. Having cold hard data is essential for optimizing your strategy and learning about your audience’s preferences. 

Essentially, there are two important metrics to analyze when it comes to your Stories engagement. 

  • Swipe-Ups show how many link clicks your Story has received. You can find this metric in Instagram Insights in the Interactions section. If you’re not happy with the number, you can add a more prominent Swipe Up sticker or GIF to point your users in the right direction. 

  • Replies can be found in the same section, under the “Link clicks,” and they indicate how many DMs your Story has received. Unlike the Instagram posts’ comments, Story replies are private and show up as regular DMs. 

Pay attention to what type of content drives the conversation and entices your users to respond – and keep that in mind when coming up with content ideas for a new post.  

Pro Tip For The Under-10K Accounts:

In addition to adding the link in the bio, get proactive about building that follower list. Flock Social is your best ally in this. We’re dedicated to bringing organic, real, and super-targeted followers fast and completely safe.

Get started today and get your IG growth on autopilot!

Why You Should Consider Running An Instagram Business

Florist using their phone to come up with Instagram story ideas

When you have an Instagram account for your business, you can connect with your audience in a fun and unique way.

Here are some reasons why having an Instagram business account can be awesome:

  • Quality Brand Building: If you want to establish or improve your brand’s identity, Instagram is a great place to do so. Showing off your company’s personality, beliefs, and mission with visually appealing content is a great way to build rapport with consumers.

  • Influence On Consumers’ Behaviors: Instagram’s popularity translates into influence. Many consumers rely on Instagram to discover new businesses and make purchase choices. You can use features such as Instagram shoppable Stories and posts to create engaging content and attract new customers.

  • Building Customer Relationships: Instagram is an excellent platform for interacting with and building connections with your fans. Responding to comments, starting conversations, reposting user-generated material, and organizing giveaways may help you build a devoted following that will return to your page for more.

We’ve barely scratched the surface here. From building brand identity to reaching a larger audience and boosting sales, Instagram offers an array of features to help businesses grow and succeed.

Instagram Story Ideas For Business: Key Takeaways

Use Instagram Story ideas to increase interaction with your followers

Insta Stories for business have become an essential tool for any brand looking to stay relevant and engaged with its audience. With features like filters, stickers, polls, and Story highlights, there are endless opportunities to create engaging and interactive content that will keep your followers coming back for more.

But with many other brands competing for attention, it’s essential to have a solid social media strategy in place.

That’s where Flock Social comes in:

Our Instagram growth service can help you increase your reach and grow your following, so you can get the most out of your Instagram Stories.

So, why wait?

Ready to spark conversations with like-minded people and start your journey to Instagram success? Sign up now.

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