One of the biggest newsmakers of 2016 was the launch of the new Instagram feature- ‘Instagram Stories’. Recently, various studies have revealed that over 100 million active users engage with this feature on a daily basis. Consequently, it has also proven to be a big hit especially among brands since it offers intimate, raw, behind-the-scene glimpses into their day-to-day operations and functionalities.
Employing this brand-new feature of the ever-so-famous Instagram platform has been a highly profitable endeavor for the businesses as it is quick and offers real, unfiltered view of brands and enterprises alike. So, here, let me share my expertise on how you can elevate your brand awareness, garner engagement and reap extraordinary results from the new Instagram stories feature.
- Lowered Social Media Fatigue
Social media management serves as a full-time job and requires round-the-clock observation and maintenance. Ever since the Snapchat features such as ‘stories’ and ‘live’ have been craftily incorporated into the Instagram domain, it has become easier for brand managers to intelligently cash on this development and also, lower social media fatigue. Having become an all-inclusive platform, Instagram must be fully utilized by brands, eliminating the need of handling too many social media accounts.
- Anytime, Anywhere Availability
Through Instagram, you can go live anytime, anywhere in the world. Brands must take full advantage of this new-age ‘marketing portability’ by giving viewers sneak-peaks into new products and more. This creates a sense of excitement among followers since these stories keep changing every 24 hours. Through the medium of this new-fangled feature, brands can not only elevate their presence but also connect with their customers on a more personalized level.
- Innovative Content
Due to the lack of any apparent archive of past content and featured data in Instagram stories, viewers/followers are only served with fresh, relevant content every single time. This gives viewers real-time insight into the brand development, campaign launches and even deals and discount codes. Instagram stories further guarantee that brand followers and loyalists are not exposed to expired offers or overly filtered content but only original and up-to-date data.
- Immediacy
‘Instagram stories’ is one such advanced feature that allows you the luxury of posting raw, behind-the-scene content and getting almost immediate engagement, in exchange. This is of a great help especially in today’s modern era where customers want quick and immediate results. Instagram stories have successfully bridged the gap between brand and consumer by making deals, discounts and other novelties available almost immediately. At the same time, marketing professionals must remember to keep a close watch on the analytics and metrics to oversee which campaigns worked and which didn’t so that they can effectively replicate success over time.
- Rise in one-to-one conversations
Ever since the inception of social media, there has been a lot of buzz around accessibility and the ability to engage in direct one-to-one conversations with not just your favorite celebrities but also your beloved brands. ‘Instagram stories’ has taken this initiative a notch higher by giving brands and enterprises a chance to run Q&A sessions via ‘stories’, answering direct messages on Instagram and even sending one-to-one video messages to their followers. All such endeavors have led to an improved brand image and elevated brand engagement.
