Using Instagram Stories for Business: A Guide

Do you want to use Instagram stories for your business but don't know how to get started?

If you are new to Instagram Stories, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Not only do you have to learn how to use the platform, but you also need to figure out how to tell your stories in a way that will resonate with your audience.

Thankfully, there are several important things you can focus on to get started promoting your business. If you want to find out how to use Instagram Stories for your business, read on and we'll tell you everything that you need to know.

Why Instagram Stories Can Be a Great Tool for Your Business

Since this social media feature is used by more than half a billion people every day, it's clearly an important way to promote your business. It's also worth pointing out that about half of the platform's users say that they're more interested in a brand after they see one of its stories. If you've been on the fence about using it, don't hesitate any longer.

What Are Instagram Stories?

Instagram stories are full-screen videos and photos that disappear from the platform after one day. Though it's part of Instagram itself, the stories appear at the top of the app instead of the news feed.

There are several unique features that you can use, such as filters, polls, music, and text.

How to Make Your First Instagram Story

Open the app on your phone or tablet and click the "plus" icon, which is located in the top portion of your screen. Once the menu comes up, click the "story" button. If you want to use the selfie camera, click on the "switch camera" icon, which you'll find on the bottom right of your screen.

From here, there are several things that you have the option of doing. If you want to take a photo, you can click the white circle that's located at the bottom center of your screen. You can also make an upward swipe with your finger to use photos and videos that you already have saved on your phone.

On the bottom of your screen on the left side, you're able to select a format that you can experiment with. You'll see options for Create, Hands-Free Layout, Multi-Capture, Boomerang, or Level.

How to See Your Instagram Stories Views

If less than 24 hours have passed since you've posted your story and it is still live, all you have to do is click your story page that's located on the main page of the app to see how many people have seen your story. You can also take a glance at who has seen it. You can do this by clicking on the number on the bottom left of your screen.

How to Get Insights After Your Story Disappears

Even though your story will disappear 24 hours after you post it, you're still able to see insights such as how many unique accounts viewed your story and how many times your story was viewed.

You can do this by going to the Instagram homepage. From here, click your profile photo, which you'll see at the bottom right of your screen. Then tap "insights." Select the period of time you want insights for: seven, fourteen, thirty days, the last month, or a custom timeframe.

Scroll to find the content that you shared and click "stories." Select the metric you want insights on and select a period of time.

Make Use of Instagram Stories Shopping

One great feature for Instagram Stories for small business is Insta shopping. Before you try this out, make sure that you set up your business account for Instagram Shopping. Once you've done this, all you need to do is use the shopping sticker to make your Stories shoppable.

Make Sure to Shoot Your Stories in Different Orientations

Though it's a good idea to shoot most of your stories in the vertical format, you should also experiment with different video formats such as creating animated videos and 360-degree videos.

But you don't have to worry too much about being a pro influencer to use Insta Stories. You might be surprised to know that stories that people shoot and edit on their mobile devices outperform those that are shot and edited in a studio by more than 50 percent.

The reason for this probably has to do with the fact that content shot on mobile devices has a similar feel to content typical users create and post. People will therefore trust this type of content more because they don't feel like they're being marketed to.

Develop Your Brand’s Visual Identity

Even though you don't need to use professional equipment when filming and editing content to make the best Instagram stories, it is still important that you have a grasp on the basics of visual branding.

If you are consistent with your visual presence, it's easier to develop a meaningful relationship with your potential clients. Your goal should be for them to be able to recognize your brand's voice without needing to take a look at your username.

A good strategy for getting started with establishing your brand voice is to make use of Instagram Stories templates. This will help you to establish consistency in the way your use things such as colors, fonts, and gifs.

You can also use a style guide to keep track of your design decisions. This is especially helpful for those who are working as a team because it helps you to coordinate with each other.

Editing Strategies for Engaging Your Viewers

If you're searching for how to improve your Instagram stories, it's important to focus on how you are editing your videos.

Even though images are shown for only five seconds within the app, most users spend less time than this when looking at images. In fact, research shows that the average user spends less than three seconds looking at the average Insta Stories ad. This is why your photos need to be as engaging as possible.

An easy strategy to create motion in your photos is by using gifs or animated text stickers.

Just like photos, videos on Insta Stories need to be attention-grabbing as well. This is why the most interesting videos get their message across within the first three seconds. Other helpful strategies for making engaging videos on Insta Stories include working with tempo, doubling up angles, and creating look effects.

You should also consider making use of stickers features that the program allows you to do.

Schedule Your Stories Before You Post Them

If you want to build an audience that stays engaged, it's important that you post as regularly as you can. But if you're scrambling every day to put together the content that you want to post for your next Insta Story, you're going to probably feel overwhelmed and burned out.

This is why you should start scheduling your stories. With the help of social media scheduling apps, doing this is easier than ever. It's a good idea to schedule your posts to go live at least a few days in advance.

Ways to Make Use of the Stickers Function

The sticker function is a great marketing tool for your business. There are many features that you can take advantage of. Here are some ways you can get started with using them today.

Use Stickers to Hear What Questions Your Audience Has

If you're looking for people's answers to questions that you have related to your brand, question stickers can be helpful for this. They let you ask questions and hear people's custom responses. They all offer the chance for users to DM you to encourage more interactions between your business and its potential customers.

Use Quiz Stickers to Create a Quiz

Most people enjoy having to opportunity to show what they know. Insta Stories quiz stickers offer users the chance to post multiple-choice questions that viewers can answer by tapping the answer of their choice. Once they do this, they'll find out if they got the answer right.

To start experimenting with this feature, use quiz stickers to make it easy for viewers to engage with your brand, then track your results. Possible quiz questions might include things like "what do you think our bestselling product is?" Or "what year do you think our company was founded?"

Hold Chat Sessions on Insta Stories with Chat Stickers

This is a feature that makes great use of Instagram's popular DM function. It is one of the most effective ways for how to interact with Instagram stories. To use it, simply add a chat sticker to your Instagram Story and choose up to 32 participants for a live chat.

For users to participate, they need to request access to join, and you need to approve. Once you decide on a topic to chat about, all you need to do is to start the conversation.

Maybe you want to get client feedback on one of your products. Or you could try to find out about new product ideas. You could also hold a chat session to find out what general questions users have about your brand.

Be Sure to Add a Call to Action

All those who market their businesses should include a call to action in their Instagram Stories. To make the best possible call to action, make sure you understand what it is that you want your viewers to do next.

Do you want them to visit your website? Do you want them to contact you to find out more about what you're offering? Do you want them to buy your product or service?

Whatever the next action is that you want them to take, make sure that you make this clear and easy to do within your Insta Stories. One very common call to action is to "swipe up," which is what users need to do to access your shop.

Study What Top Influencers Are Doing and Learn from Them

Though it can be helpful to find inspiration from businesses that are using Insta Stories in unique ways, it can also be a good idea to watch what other influencers are doing. When watching their stories, be sure to take notice of things such as how often they are posting, what kinds of cuts and angles their videos include, and how they are engaging with their followers.

When you see things you like that others are doing with their Instagram Stories, start experimenting with these strategies for yourself. Over time, you'll find out what techniques will work best for your business.

Get Started with Instagram Stories for Your Business Today

It's not too late to get started with using Instagram stories for your business. The most important thing is that you help users to recognize your brand identity and that you create content that is to the point and includes a call to action.

Once viewers start viewing your content and find their way to your website, you want to make sure that videos look professional. We can help you do this with our SmartVideo, which includes features such as instant start, optimized experience across devices, and world-class support.

Find out more about what Swarmify can do to help your business thrive.