Instagram Stories : 5 Tips To Improve Engagement

Mar 24, 2021 3 min read

What Are Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories, introduced in August 2016, is a feature that lets its users post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. It became extremely popular with users straight away, boasting 200 million active daily users as early as April 2017, and that was just the beginning.

Why Instagram Stories

86.6% of over a billion monthly active users post stories daily. Thus creating a huge potential for brands looking to get their content out to their followers.

In a study, Instagram found out that 39% of its respondents are more interested in a brand/product after watching a story that features it. Also, over a third of the most-viewed Stories are from businesses. Consumers don't just look at them either; 15–25% of them swipe up on a link within a brand's story.

Statistics below show growth of IG stories Vs similar story formats of other networks.

Instagram-stories-growth

Source: Statista

Here are some tips to increase engagement on Instagram stories.

1. Host Q&A Sessions To Build Personal Relations

Followers have a lot of excitement about being able to talk directly with their favorite brands. With Instagram Stories, brands get the chance to go back to social media's roots and engage with their followers on a personal level. The best way to get feedback on your products or services is by going straight to the source – users.

For example, we see brands running Q&A sessions via Instagram Stories with people sending questions via Instagram Direct or question stickers, and the brand answering them within their stories.

Instagram-stories

Source: Instagram

2. Post Consistently

Getting a follower base is hard; sustaining a follower base is harder. It demands a consistency of thoughts, purpose, and action over a long period. Consistency is the key to maximize social media engagement. Since stories only last 24hrs, you need to post new content daily to keep your audience engaged with the brand.

Consistently doesn't mean you should post-story content for the sake of it, but if you want to increase your engagement on Instagram a well-thought-out and structured stories are a good way to go.

3. Use Stories As Ads To Boost Engagement And Reach

Use Instagram stories to advertise new product.
For example, Michael Kors, a Major fashion label, made use of New York Fashion Week to invite different influencers to model their clothing. These influencers were photographed roaming on New York City streets in their outfits, which the brand then added to their Stories.

Instagram-stories-influencers

Source: Instagram

You can also use story ads with a call to action. For example in the spotify story ad gives you an option of sign up by swiping up.

Instagram-stories-ads

Source: Instagram

4. Publish Variety Of Content

Combining images, videos, or boomerangs in stories increases your the chances of visibility and engagement.

5. Timing Is Everything

For maximum engagement, a post should be scheduled between Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Instagram Stories are a good way for brands to make full use of their existing Instagram audience and connect with future customers.

Reinforce your marketing efforts on Instagram using Statusbrew. Multiply returns on your marketing efforts on Instagram and turn your audience into customers by managing Instagram for brands with your team.

Try Statusbrew

Anjali Kandey

Anjali is a marketing manager at Statusbrew. She likes to write content that addresses a solution. She can be found in her garden when not on her computer.

Explore the Statusbrew range of social media tools

Cancel anytime!