#1: Show a “Day in the Life” of Your
Business
You
can use both still photographs and videos to create Instagram stories. Your
videos don’t have to be anything spectacular. In fact, videos can be a great
way to show your audience a unique view of the day-to-day happenings at your
business.
New
York City restaurant Union Fare uses Instagram Stories to share video from
their restaurant’s operations using informal captions. The videos give viewers
an inside look at the restaurant and some of the delicious food on their menu.
If a hungry viewer happens upon these videos at lunchtime, you better believe
they’ll think about heading there for some grub.
Capturing
video in Instagram Stories is simple. After you navigate to the main Instagram
Stories screen, hold down on the middle button at the bottom of the screen to
take a video (tap to take a picture).
After
you create it, simply upload the video to your story with or without a caption.
You can draw text onto an image or video, or simply type it in. This is an
opportunity to be creative and make the experience more interactive.
Takeaway:
One of the best things about sharing video with Instagram Stories is that you
can do it quickly and spontaneously. While you can put a lot of planning into
your videos, sometimes a simple snippet of daily life can be very effective in
promoting your brand.
#2: Turn Your Blog Content Into
Mini-articles
Looking
for a new way to display your editorial content? Use Instagram Stories to put
together short how-to articles on just about any topic. Many Instagram users
are looking for cooking and decorating ideas and other household topics, and
Instagram Stories lets you share this kind of information in an interesting,
digestible format.
Real
Simple, a popular lifestyle magazine, publishes condensed versions of their
online content with Instagram Stories. These mini-articles convey useful
information without being difficult to absorb, and at the end of the story,
people are directed to the Real Simple website.
To
create a similar story for your business, first take a look at the content you
publish on your blog. Chances are you’ll find an article that you could easily
break down into a few slides to display visually. For example, if you’re a
contractor, you could easily translate an article on trends in home improvement
into a story like the one shown below.
After
you choose a topic, use your graphic design software of choice to create the
images and then upload the images in sequence to create your story. If you want
to create a story similar to what Real Simple did here, include a cover page
with an engaging image and a conclusion image with a call to action and a URL
that people can visit for more information.
Of
course, you’re creating a story like this to engage your audience, so once you
have their attention, it’s important to close with a directive that lets them
know what to do next. Without that step, people who might otherwise be
interested in your company may leave without interacting further.
Takeaway:
Content has come a long way and there are now multiple ways to display
information beyond a simple blog post. Take a tip from Real Simple and create
fun mini-article stories out of your blog content.
#3: Tease a Facebook Live Broadcast
Facebook
Live is another new social media tool that many businesses use. Have you
thought about using it in conjunction with Instagram Stories? Post an Instagram
story to notify people about a Facebook Live broadcast to get more viewers for
your live video.
Food
Network used Instagram to promote a Facebook Live video at Amorino USA that
shows viewers how to make gelato roses. They posted a simple, one-slide story
with brief text and a drawing embellishment on it to direct their Instagram
followers to their Facebook page. The story piqued their Instagram audience’s
interest and directed people to visit Facebook to view the whole video.
To
use this tactic to promote your Facebook Live videos, create a brief teaser
story that gives a taste of what the Facebook Live event will be like, and
include a URL for people to attend it. Make sure the URL is short because users
can’t click through a URL on an Instagram story.
Tip:
Trying to slant text? Place two fingers on a section of finished text and pivot
to slant the text at whatever angle you choose. You can also pinch and widen
your fingers to either reduce or increase the size of the text.
Takeaway:
If people like your Instagram content, they’ll probably like your Facebook
content as well. Use one platform to promote the other and get more engagement
on both sides.
#4: Show Your Product in Action
If
you want to promote a product, Instagram stories are a great way to show
viewers what that product can do. Give people ideas for using your product or
show them what they can do or create with the product if they buy it.
Vitamix,
a popular blender brand, uses Instagram Stories to show their blender in
action. This video shows a pumpkin-inspired, blended dessert being created from
start to finish in their test kitchen. Viewers can see the product in action
and get a novel idea for how to use it.
This
idea can be effective for a variety of physical products. Makeup tutorials with
a specific makeup brand or tool, hair tutorials with a curling iron, and
impressive skateboarding videos for a skateboard company are just a few ideas
of products that you can demonstrate with Instagram Stories.
Here
are a few tips from the Vitamix example:
Choose
your colors wisely. Pick hues that work with your theme or brand colors. Note
that Vitamix uses several similar shades. You’re not bound by the color options
that appear when you first navigate to Instagram’s drawing feature. Simply hold
down on any color and a color palette will appear, allowing you to select just
about any shade you want.
Make
sure the lighting is clear enough to see what’s happening in the videos.
Always
offer a way for people to get more information if they want it. By not sharing
exact ingredients and amounts, Vitamix may persuade more people to visit their
website to get the recipe.
Takeaway:
Ultimately, your content should entice people to purchase your product or
service. If you can do that in an entertaining and genuine way, you’ll be able
to draw more people to your website and avoid potentially annoying them with
aggressive sales messages.
#5: Celebrate a Company Milestone
Combine
interviews and other tactics to tell an engaging story to highlight company
events and milestones.
Southwest
Airlines created a lengthy Instagram story to describe the retirement of their
737-500 planes. They used a short video to explain the purpose of the Instagram
story and then continued to add a mix of content related to the 737-500s.
Got
a company milestone coming up? Create a story like Southwest did to highlight
your company occasion and look back on all of the great things your company has
accomplished. Take a tip from Southwest and add variety to the story by
interviewing customers or employees about their best company memories.
Like
Southwest, remember to stay on brand! Evoke your brand personality with the
right colors and tone, and remind the employees who appear in your video that
they’re acting as the face of the company.
Takeaway:
Your business probably has more stories than you realize. Treating them like
exciting events is a great way to humanize your brand and keep your customers
interested in what you do.
Conclusion
Are
you intrigued by Instagram Stories but unsure how you use this feature in a
creative way that will interest your audience? There are plenty of great
examples of companies, publications, brands, organizations, and even government
agencies using Instagram Stories exceptionally well as part of a larger content
creation strategy.
Using
Instagram Stories for your business shows that you’re not only knowledgeable
about new social media trends, but also agile enough to apply them to your own
business.
What
do you think? Do you have any other great examples of businesses using
Instagram Stories? Share them in the comments below!
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