TechCrunch says that Instagram Stories have more than 300 million active users. In a day! A creator worth their content already knows that the Stories are a boss way to connect with followers. But do you know that consistently publishing stories also impacts how well your posts perform?
The more a user interacts and engages with your Stories, the more likely it is that your post will show up higher on their feed. That’s just the way the Instagram algorithm works. In short, you’ve got to know how to use Stories like a pro!
Instagram Stories: Turning Up The Dial To Build Your Follower Number
The best way to optimize Stories is to make them personal. When you tell real, authentic narratives, they create a bond with the audience. So much so, that Instagram says 1 in 5 organic Stories lead to a direct message.
Excluding #KeepingItReal, here are some other tricks to upping your Stories game.
The Features, Peeps
The more time a user spends on your content, the more popular Instagram considers it.
What does that mean? You have to grab your followers’ attention and make sure they don’t swipe past your Story.
How do you do it? You use every feature available on Stories, peeps!
If you want to develop a relationship with the audience and keep them engaged with your content, pull out all the stops.
- Put a hashtag!
- Add a GIF to make them fun.
- Tag a location sticker. Oh, it also increases the possibility of your Story popping up on the Explore page (more visibility, yay!).
Get Them Talking
The race to get your Story to the beginning of the row is on! It is much like coming up on the first page of Google Search. Just like with Google search, there is a hack to ranking No.1 on Instagram Stories.
The first Story to appear on top is the one with which you interact the most. That interaction could be replying to the Story or sending the Story to another Instagram user.
So, how do you get your Story at the start of your followers’ feed? By encouraging conversations.
- Use the polling feature. It deepens engagement, gets the user talking, and ups the time spent on your content.
- The Ask Me Anything feature of the photo-sharing platform works in a similar manner.
Link It Up
Adding links on Stories is a big deal ‘cause except the bio, Instagram doesn’t allow links anywhere else. If you meet the requirements (read: business profile), then use it. It is an excellent way to redirect your followers to YouTube videos, blog posts or campaigns.
Get Additional Tools!
To add more firepower to your Stories’ arsenal, get cracking on tools. For example, utilize Instagram Story templates to make content that presents a cohesive narrative.
Plus, they’re great for optics! Believe us, once you start using apps that help create gorgeous Insta Stories, you’ll never go back to merely typing one!
When The Question Of
Incredible content is critical for a creator. It’s what attracts your followers. But even the most kickass content won’t help you if you are posting it at the wrong time.
That’s a rule of thumb, isn’t it? Thankfully, it doesn’t apply to Instagram Stories. Stories have a 24-hour lifespan.
How does it help a content creator? It doesn’t matter if you upload a Story when most of your followers are in the middle of their REM cycle. When they wake up, it will still be at the top of their feed!
Ergo, don’t stress about the right time to publish Stories.
Highlight Feature
If you feel you need more time (or more eyeballs) on a particular Story, add it to Highlights. Highlights don’t have a set lifespan, which makes them perfect for content you really want your viewers to see.
How Often, The Question Of
Spamming the feed of your followers is not the done thing. Instagram penalizes influencers who do so. That said, the rule doesn’t apply to Stories. You can post as many Stories as you want without the worry of the networking site downgrading your profile.
What you have to worry about are your followers. Experts say that if it takes more than 15 taps for a user to reach the Story of the next account, they might mute you.
As digital natives, who never take a seat on the porcelain throne without Instagramming, trust us. 10 is okay. Anymore taps and we mute the account.
What’s the trick then? Consistency. If you post one Story a day, your followers get used to that. If you post 9 a day, the viewers get accustomed to that.
Plan the Story content for the entire week beforehand and then start uploading. Just make sure that it’s not dull and dreary!
Get Your Instagram Stories Right!
We gave you the tricks. Now, get to creating fun and light-hearted Stories!
The only request we make as a community, building a more genuine Instagram Influencer world is to be transparent about your paid partnerships when you upload a Story.
