Full Service Social Media Marketing

You’ve heard time and time again how important it is to use Instagram Stories to elevate your visual content and increase your engagement. But, do you often find yourself wondering what to post? Don’t worry, you’re not alone!

Instagram Stories, although seemingly simple, can be daunting. There are SO many different features and ways to use them that it’s hard to know where to even start. Not to mention, business owners sometimes worry that what they’re posting isn’t interesting to their followers.

Worry no more! We’re here to help.

Here are 10 ideas of what to post to keep your Instagram Stories engaging and up-to-date:

1. Take your followers along for a day in the life

Although you may think this isn’t interesting to your followers, users often LOVE getting a behind-the-scenes look at their favourite businesses, as well as meeting the people behind the keyboard. It increases their level of trust in your brand, as well as boosts your overall authenticity! So, don’t be afraid to show your beautiful face or your work space! You might see it every day and think it’s boring… but they don’t!

2. Poll your followers

Wondering what your followers want to see more of? Just ask them! Followers love to feel seen and heard. The poll sticker feature is perfect for this, and for tons of other fun and exciting content. For example, you can use it to create quizzes, compare new products, educate your followers on your services, products, or mission, and for more lighthearted posts as well!

3. Q&A session

Answer your followers’ burning questions! This can be done through a Live video, or through the question sticker on Stories. Allowing your followers to ask you questions directly will help shed light on what topics they find most interesting to guide your future content, as well as create more engaged followers.

4. Shoutouts

Everyone jumps at the chance to get their 15 minutes of fame, so give some shoutouts to your loyal followers by tagging them in your Stories or by sharing their posts! This is a great way to interact directly with your customers and urge them to share and interact with your content too which will increase its reach.

5. Product promotion

Have new and exciting products/promotions going on in your business? Tease them through your Stories to generate enthusiasm and suspense! If applicable, you can also use the shoppable Story sticker to sell your products directly on your Stories. Make it convenient and they will click!

6. Event countdown

If you have an upcoming event, sale, contest, or launch, share a countdown on your Story by using the countdown sticker! The amazing feature of this sticker is that followers can tap on it to set an alert for when the countdown is complete.

7. Story takeovers

An Instagram takeover is where you allow someone who doesn’t typically have access to your Instagram account to post on it for the day. This can be an employee, co-worker, an influencer, or a partner. Takeovers are an incredible way for brands to collaborate and cross-promote content. Check out this awesome Instagram Takeover example by Goop!

8. Tutorials or how-to’s

Great marketing is all about providing valuable and informative content for your followers. It’s not just sell, sell, sell. What better way to inform them than by teaching them something new? Stories are the perfect platform for quick tips and advice.

9. Share a quote

We all get crazy busy, and sometimes it isn’t realistic to create custom crafted photos and videos for your Story each day. So, this one is simple: share a quote you love! It can be motivational, thought-provoking, funny, or all of the above. As long as it fits your brand, your followers will appreciate it. And, to easily make it more engaging, add some GIFs, stickers, and music! (Tip: Try to also include a popular hashtag with your quote to increase your discoverability. Want to learn more about hashtags? Click here!)

10. Make your content timeless

After putting so much thought and effort into your Stories, it can be frustrating to have them disappear after only 24 hours. So, create some branded Story Highlights and save your content! This way, viewers will be able to access it indefinitely (or until you remove it).

NOW GET POSTING!!

We almost always recommend our clients get involved with IG stories, but they love to leave the rest of their content to us. We handle all the strategy, content creation, and even provide them tips, recommendations and friendly reminders (like above!) about how to be effective when they are involved.

If you’d like to learn more, book a complimentary consultation today to discuss how we can help to ensure your content is always timely, thoughtful, relevant, and engaging!