4 Ways to Use Instagram Stories To Scale Your Business

By Guest Blogger Alex Slichnyi

The hype about particular social media platforms seems to come and go. A few years ago, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing someone using Snapchat. Today, it is all about Instagram.

Instagram Stories is gaining popularity by the day as this feature allows users to take a behind the scenes sneak peek at new products, services, and events.

Launched in 2016, Instagram Stories became an instant hit, adored by 300 million daily users.

On average, users under 25 spend around 32 minutes a day on Instagram, while those in older age groups spend more than 24 minutes per day.

Considering these stats, it’s clear that this feature offers an amazing opportunity for businesses to reach a broader range of audience and promote their brand, taking the engagement on a whole new level.

In fact, according to Instagram, 1 in 3 of the most viewed Stories are from businesses.

With over 50% of businesses on Instagram already using Instagram Stories, this feature is definitely something to consider for your social media campaigns.

1. Plan Less And Publish More

If you post content on your feed every day, there is a chance that you will be marked as spam or you could annoy your audience so that they unfollow you.

Stories are different, you can post as many as you like and users have the option whether they want to watch it or not. Really, the more you post, the better.

Plus, because the content will only be around for 24 hours, it doesn’t have to be too perfect or planned. In fact, a non-planned post can help the brand look more human and relatable.

2. Go Live

Live marketing and Instagram Stories go hand in hand. Consumers are becoming increasingly attracted to live streaming, with more people watching live content every year. Instagram Stories gives you the option to stream live, so as a business you could use this to stream events, have a live Q&A session, or capture a spontaneous moment in the office.

3. Drive Engagement

If you have over 10,000 followers on your Instagram account, then some cool new features will become available to you. You can use the swipe up function to lead people to links, which is a great way to help drive traffic to specific web pages.

Other cool features include inserting a poll or a question into the Story, which offers new opportunities for engagement.

4. Boost Organic Reach

Ranking on Instagram can be a confusing process, but you may notice that accounts that have active Stories tend to show up in the search results related to the searched hashtag or location. Plus, as you are able to place hashtags and locations on your Story, it offers more opportunities to appear in related searches.

If you are interested in using Instagram Stories on your own account, you can take a look at the infographic below to find some examples of how other brands use them successfully.

Alex Slichnyi, community manager at 99firms.com, is an avid learner of all things IT. He is a savvy SEO specialist who loves traveling because it allows him to experience hands-on the many facets of life. This hands-on approach can be seen in his work, which is meticulously crafted with daring vision by an open, yet methodical mind that likes to probe, test and improve. Communicating and learning are Alex’s core values that drive him forward.