Summary: Want to make your business heard above all the noise on the web and social media? Try these 8 tips.
Because of the internet and social media, it can be very hard to make yourself and your business heard above all the noise that people take in each and every day. It can also be hard to keep track as new forms of communication are constantly popping up and old ones are evolving. Remember back when Facebook was just for college students? Or even when Instagram was just for a square photo, not for slideshows, videos or live streaming?
Connecting with others has gotten considerably more complicated, but at the same time much simpler. It’s now free to reach hundreds of thousands of people. However, the problem is how do you get them to pay attention to what you’re putting out there over everyone else? How do you get them to see your content, connect with your content, and keep coming back?
One form of communication that’s particularly popular right now is Instagram Stories. You may love them or you may have never heard of them, but if you want to reach potential customers, jumping on this bandwagon quickly may be a great opportunity. Whether you already use them or you have no idea where to get started, there’s always room for improvement. To help you grow your business and reach more people, here are eight tips for using Instagram stories to your advantage.
- Direct people to new content. When it comes to Instagram feeds, people don’t actually see everything posted by the accounts they follow. In your story, take a snapshot of your profile page and circle that new post, indicating that they should check it out.
- Show your “behind the scenes.” What is your office culture like? Do you joke around and have fun together? How does your production work? What do you do on a day to day basis? People like to feel as though they know you, so share what’s going on behind the curtain.
- Add to the same photo. If you type too many words on one photo, many people won’t take the time to pause and read it all. Start with the beginning in one shot, then save that photo. In the next shot, upload that first photo with the original text and add the next phrase. Continue on that way until you’ve conveyed your message. You can also put one phrase per shot so they click through to read.
- Share a tutorial. Especially if you’re a food blogger, artist, or anyone that creates something for your business, create a tutorial that shows them how they can do something at home or how you make your product. Usually videos are best for this, just be sure to keep them short and sweet or you’ll lose people’s attention.
- Q & A. Asking people for questions always gets them more engaged. Put up a few posts or Insta-stories asking for questions and then share your answers. Be sure to post a few times before you share your answers to make sure people know when to expect your answers so they don’t miss out.
- Testimonials. Video testimonials are great, but you can also get a photo and a quote. Find customers and followers who have been personally impacted by what you put out into the world and ask them to share their story.
- Instagram takeover. Find someone in a similar industry as you or a popular instagrammer who loves your product and ask them to take over your account. This is a mutually beneficial deal because that person’s followers will come and see them on your instastory, being exposed to your product, and those following you will see that instagrammer and go to look at his or her profile.
- Challenges. Set up a challenge for a certain number of days, or just one challenge where people can enter over a few days. For example, if you are selling multiple products, have them post a photo of them using their favorite. Or if you’re a fitness instructor, give them a move to do each day and have them take a photo of themselves doing the move of the day. Just be sure to have a prize at the end! Make sure you require people to tag you in their captions and use your challenge’s hashtag to enter the contest.