Last year, Instagram announced that their Stories feature had over 500 million daily users.
The feature’s popularity has skyrocketed over the past few years and they’re now considered just as important as in-feed posts. Creating engaging Stories and making use of Instagram’s features – like their Stickers and ‘swipe up’ – can help creators and brands grow their following and form deeper connections with their followers. To find out how, we spoke to @Benmack_ about making IG Stories that hook viewers from the first, to very last frame. Here’s what we learnt:
Ben told us that, as a photographer, he rarely shows his face on his feed. It’s a highly- curated collection of his best work. So Instagram Stories is a great outlet for him show his audience who he is, in a less polished and more relaxed way. Whether that be piece-to-camera videos, images of a recent shoot that won’t make it onto his feed or even sharing the work of fellow creatives.
If you’re in the same boat as Ben, use your Stories to share content that just isn’t feed worthy, but you know your audience will want to engage with, because it’s sharing a piece of you. You have the flexibility and freedom to share more personal videos and images, without interrupting your beautifully curated feed.
Another great tip Ben suggested was, when sharing a longer Story sequences “keep more value up front”. Those first few frames should be as engaging as possible. Then use ‘swipe up’ links towards the end of your sequence. Don’t steer your audience away from your Instagram too early on, otherwise you’ll lose that engagement and your story completion rate will lower.
These were Ben’s top three pieces of advice for building engagement through Stories:
#1 Consistency “Every social media platform rewards consistency and it works in your favour with your audience, as well as future followers.” Try to stick to a regular posting schedule on Instagram Stories, and you’ll be keeping your audience engaged with your profile.
#2 Quality “Focus on making quality Instagram Story content, as part of your strategy. Provide high-quality content and people will want to come back for more.” Even if your videos or images aren’t as polished as your in-feed posts, make the story you’re telling worthwhile.
#3 Authenticity “This is one thing I always tell people about authenticity; if you’re not being authentic, it’s going to be hard to do that long term. If you’re being someone else on your Stories, it will be hard for you to maintain that same energy for a long period of time.”
Upcoming Instagram Lives:
- 7 July 6pm AEST: The dos and don’ts of community management with @biancabeers
- 9 July 6pm AEST: How to grow your Instagram following with @Romeosfashionfix
- 14 July 6pm AEST: How and why to use the Paid Partnership and Branded Content tools with @iansangala
- 16 July 6pm AEST: How to create engaging video for Instagram with @nickehfilms
