It can be easy to overlook Instagram stories because they are short form content, but 67% of people say that they have become more interested in brands after seeing them on Instagram stories (Meta). It is the short nature of Instagram Stories that makes them so easy to digest, it’s a hidden superpower really, one that you can harness to increase your brand awareness and engagement and amplify your social media presence.

Encourage Audience Interaction 

Social Media allows you to have a two way conversation with the consumer. By inviting the consumer to speak back to you through your Instagram story you can maximise your engagement. Make your audience feel seen and heard. Ask your audience’s opinions through polls or the emoji slider. Another great way to engage with your audience through your stories is to give them a platform and let them drive the conversation through the question sticker. This feature allows you to make a story asking for questions from your audience and make more stories in response. These examples just scratch the surface, read more about audience interaction: Interactive Marketing: Why it’s Beneficial for Any Business

Don’t Disregard User Generated Content 

User Generated Content (UGC) is exactly what it sounds like, content created independently from your brand by the consumer. USG adds a sense of authenticity to your content, after all, who does the consumer trust the most? A fellow consumer. The best way to collect UGC is by looking at your profile tags or searching a branded hashtag or geotag. If the content matches your brand tone and doesn’t feature a direct competitor, you’ve got yourself a post! Sharing a Customer photo to your story gives you a local tone, makes your audience feel included and seen by your brand and gives your brand new depth and relatable personality.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, find out more about User Generated Content: Using User-Generated Content to Benefit a Hyper-Localized Market 

Add Hashtags 

Adding hashtags to your Instagram stories is a no brainer for increasing your reach. Adding a hashtag or geotag to your story, means that people searching the relevant hashtags or tagged area can find your post. This gives you the opportunity to reach tons of new people and potentially gain a few new followers. Hashtags are easy to blend into your stories, they can be hidden under GIFs or stickers or change the colour of the text to blend into the image, there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be adding hashtags/geotags to your stories! 

Plan Your Stories Through the Digital Stack App

Did you know that you can plan your stories in advance through the Digital Stack app? Digital Stack makes it easy for brands to plan all their content stories and posts! To plan a story, simply log in to the Digital Stack app, choose a story template that has been provided by your Head Office, customise the editable elements to your location and schedule. When your story is ready to go out you’ll receive a notification to your device letting you know that you had a story planned to go out and giving you your assets ready to post. Sounds pretty cool, right? Request a demo here!

Keep Your Stories FOREVER 

What do consumers see first when they open your profile? Your Highlights! Your Highlights are Instagram stories that are saved permanently to your account, they give your account personality and allow you to tell an ongoing story as a brand. 

Having neatly structured highlights with clear and distinct covers reinforces your page’s branding and creates a unified look for your Instagram. When structured correctly Instagram highlights tell your story, they allow new customers to go back and relive events that they may have missed the first time around and quickly learn about your products in an easy to digest format

Instagram Stories are your opportunity to raise your brand awareness, engage your audience and easily share user-generated content. If you’re not already, take advantage of Instagram Stories and make the most of your social media strategy. Request a demo to find out how Digital Stack can help you with your stories today: https://digitalstack.io/request-a-demo