Instagram Stories: Tips for Small Businesses

Have you looked at other businesses like yours and wondered why they have the success they do on such a huge platform like Instagram. It may be because they are using all the tools that are out there for them like Stories. This blog post will give you some of the best hints and tips we have discovered to take your business to the next level online.

Interact

Instagram was originally created as a simple and fun way to share images but has since become one of the biggest tools for businesses and their sales. This however does not mean the fun needs to be taken out of it, if anything instagram could use a little bit more fun and joy. Why not have a some fun and allow your audience to feel apart of your business by playing games on your Stories. Try 'this or that' using images that relate to your company or products. You could run a poll to see what the next product launch should be. This will allow you to learn more about your audience and produce content they want to see and engage with.

Behind the Profile

Instagram is a platform that allows you to dive deeper into the business. You can give customers a little more insight into you core values and where you would like it to go in the future. It is in people nature to be curious and a little nosy so why not let them see behind the scenes. You can give them an insight to the day-to-day running of the business be that a day in the office or showing them the development of a product from the initial idea to the completion stage. This also provides you the opportunity to allow them to meet the team, different products and what could be coming up in the future.

Collaborate

Instagram can feel like a lonely, competitive place some times. however this can be rectified with a collaboration. Why not get involved with another small business or influencer. If they share your business and you share theirs, it will help you both reach new audiences. You could take this one step further and collaborate on a shared competition which can boost your reach significantly.

Question Time

People will have questions regarding your business which may come up time and time again. To help with this you can upload FAQ's on your stories and answer them. A Bonus time is to save these stories to your highlights so people can revisit it time and time again.

You could go one step further in your interaction with your audience and add a question box to your stories. This will allow them to send you questions directly that you may not have answered before. You never know they may present you with idea you other wise wouldn't have come up with.

Remember your instagram stories should serve a purpose, don't post for the sake of posting and get lost in the crowd. Instagram stories are there for a reason, use them to connect with your audience and show them a different side to the business.

If this still feels like a new world for you and your small business, get in touch with us and we can help you with audience engagement to get the most out of social media.