Whether you’re a world-famous brand with millions of fans around the globe or a small business that is just starting out, social media presence is a must. Not only do your potential customers spend a considerable amount of time on social media platforms, but they also use these networks as a source of information where they can learn more about any business, discover your products, and even make a purchase.
As a small business owner, it’s more likely that you can’t afford to use all social media platforms for two main reasons: it’s expensive and time-consuming. Looking for the right platform to boost your business, lay a bet on Instagram. And if you’re thinking whether you should invest time and effort into creating short-lived content like Instagram Stories, the short answer is ABSOLUTELY!
Why Use Instagram Stories for Small Business Growth?
At first sight, it seems weird for small businesses to create short-lived content that will vanish within 24 hours. However, the popularity of Instagram Stories is constantly growing and it’s one of the best content formats for Instagram users.
Look: Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users and half of them create or watch Stories daily.
With Instagram Stories, you can reach an engaged audience. But here are several more reasons to use Instagram Stories for small business growth:
- Beat the Instagram algorithm. People upload a great number of posts daily and Instagram prioritizes content from friends and family. For brands, this means a great probability to make their content unseen. Instagram Stories appear on a separate feed and people see a bright circle if they haven’t watched your content yet, so using ephemeral content helps to beat the Instagram algorithm and cut through the noise.
- Make your target audience curious. Stories are available for 24 hours only, so they create the fear of missing out that encourages viewers to watch your content in order not to miss out something important. As a result, people are curious about new Instagram Stories which give you an opportunity to interact with a hooked audience.
- Reach a wider audience in-app. Users are fond of watching Instagram Stories, so they use the explore page to find more Stories, relevant to their interests. With the right Story stickers like geotags and hashtags, you can include information that can help you reach your potential customers who don’t follow your brand in-app. As a result, you can reach a wider audience.
The bottom line? It’s no wonder that Instagram is a great platform for digital marketers who want to interact with engaged users. What is more, Instagram Stories offer many ways for small businesses to reach out to the right audience, start a conversation with potential customers, and engage them in meaningful conversations that can result in more sales.
Ready to understand how to use Instagram Stories? Here are six Instagram Story ideas that work best for small businesses:
- Tell More About Your Small Business
Before making the purchase decision, customers want to make sure that your business (and products) is right for them. Thus, they crave for more information about your company, its values, views, etc. As a result, it’s important to tell more about your small business unless you have a great number of fans who know about your business, love it, and recommend it to their friends and family.
With Instagram Stories, not only can you keep all content about your small business in one place (Instagram Highlights), but you can also avoid clogging the main feed up with posts about your business.
What is more, there are many ideas on how to tell more about your small business without boring your viewers to tears. For example, you can create a series of video Instagram Stories with your CEO, publish your achievements, introduce new team members, etc.
Tip: include the ‘support small business’ sticker to encourage your fans show love to you
- Showcase Your Products in Action
Having a great variety of products is great. It allows you to satisfy customer needs and wants, acquiring more customers with different preferences. But when it comes to online shopping, it’s important to show off your products as all of us rely on visual content when deciding whether the featured item is right for us or not. What is more, showcasing your products in action (not just professional photos) is highly important to hint potential customers at what they can get with your business.
And if you want to create cohesive Instagram Stories that match your brand identity without hiring a professional designer, you can rely on a graphic design tool like InstaSize as it has a variety of templates, fonts, and filters.
Tip: use Instagram Story Highlights to make navigation easier for visitors.
- Announce a New Product Launch
Practically every business owner aims at growing revenue. Thus, many businesses use marketing channels where their potential customers can buy products or services. So, who else wants to boost Instagram sales?
If you launch new product lines, this means your business is growing and it also gives you an opportunity to build anticipation and curious your target audience if you announce a new product launch in advance. From sharing teaser videos to giving sneak peaks of your products, there are many ways to interest your followers in a new product launch and create a buzz around it.
Tip: include the countdown sticker to inform interested users about the launch.
- Take Users Behind the Scenes
The number of products and services is growing, so people face the overchoice effect. In other words, it’s difficult for them to make the right purchase decision and buy from one company. However, all people want to buy from authentic brands, so they are interested in companies with high brand trust.
The question is: how to increase brand trust? Take users behind the scenes! This tactic makes people a part of the creation process, so they feel closer to your brand and it also increases brand loyalty and trust. Moreover, Instagram Stories disappear within 24 hours, so you don’t bother people with behind-the-scenes content.
Here are several ideas on the behind the scenes content for Instagram Stories:
- Introduce your CEO
- Post short interviews with team members
- Show a typical workday at your company
- Demonstrate the product creation process
- Give updates on products, services, projects
Tip: use geotags (hashtags and locations) to attract local visitors.
- Ask Instagram Influencers for Product Reviews
Influencer marketing is taking the world by storm. Since the number of paid ads bombard users from all sides, customers trust real people more than brands. Plus, practically every Instagram user follows at least one influencer on the platform which proves that people trust opinions and recommendations of influencers in-app.
If you believe that working with instagram influencers isn’t for your small business, we have the good news for you. People trust nano-influencers more than popular celebrities as they have personal connections with following and look authentic. What is more, these influencers are happy to review your product in exchange for it which gives you an opportunity to work with opinion leaders without spending much money.
Tip: ask influencers to share their reviews in their Stories to reach more customers.
- Feature Your Happy Customers
People trust real people. Before making the purchase decision, they seek out customer testimonials: reviews, fan-made content, customer stories. Today, every business owner knows about the importance of user-generated content.
As a small business, it’s important to show the popularity of your products among other customers to encourage other people to give them a try. Thus, feature your happy customers to provide visitors with social proof and help them make the purchase decision faster.
Here are several ideas on how to use this tactic in action:
- Repost UGC
- Upload customer stories
- Ask people to share their thoughts about your product
- Take screenshots of customer testimonials
Tip: repurpose your customer reviews for Stories to increase brand loyalty and trust.
In a Word
The average attention span is shrinking, so more and more people prefer ephemeral content with a short lifespan. The popularity of Instagram Stories is growing, so small businesses get a new opportunity to interact with hooked and engaged audiences without investing much time and effort into content production. Why? Instagram Stories are authentic, so people don’t expect brands to post overly-polished visuals.
At the same time, Instagram Stories have many functions like clickable links, shoppable stickers, or question stickers that help small businesses interact with engaged people and achieve their goals. If you haven’t implemented Instagram Stories into your Instagram marketing strategy for your small business, it’s high time to jump on the bandwagon and make the most out of this trend.
