TL;DR: Stickers, links to other channels, new post alerts, countdown timers, highlights, and a whole lot of patience are the key ways to increase engagement through Instagram Stories.
As a content creator, Instagram stories are one of the best ways to increase your reach as well as increase engagement. But here’s a stat that will blow your mind.
According to Meta, half of the people using Instagram use stories every day. That’s a user base of 500 million people. Per. Day!
That’s a lot of content, and if you want people to watch yours, you need to crush your Instagram game, and we’re here to tell you exactly how to do that.
Harness the power of Instagram’s inbuilt tools for more engagement on Stories
Use stickers in your stories to increase engagement with your content.
And no, we are not talking about using the ‘New Day, New Grind’ type of stickers.
1. Use poll sticker
As a content creator, audience feedback can be pivotal. It can help you navigate your content strategy more effectively, giving you insights into what they like and dislike.
Use the poll sticker to ask questions, get feedback and/or opinions, to up engagement of your Instagram account.
2. Use quiz sticker
A quiz is a fun way to educate, entertain, and engage your audience. Using Instagram’s quiz sticker, you can make interactive posts. Think helpful information regarding an issue you care about or a product you love.
3. Drive your CTA through stickers
Use animated GIF stickers to subtly emphasize your Call To Action. Stickers are a great way to to get your audience to:
- swipe up
- read more on the next slide
- buy now
- tap and hold to read more
Using these stickers is easier to do and looks way better than adding the text for the required action, making your post interactive and driving your CTA higher.
4. Countdown timer to increase anticipation
Countdown timers and reminder stickers are a great way to increase hype and create buzz. Use them to remind your audience about a new post, YouTube video (which you can link to by using a link sticker), or merch launch.
When your audience interacts with the countdown sticker, they receive a notification about it, prompting them to come back to your account. It not only boosts your current engagement but also boosts your future posts’ engagement too.
5. The questions sticker
By far the most interactive and engaging feature, the question sticker, is a game-changer. It helps you generate direct user feedback as well as help foster a community on a deeper level. Use them to:
- Get the conversation going and engage with your community
- Show your audience the real you (Think: AMAs)
- Address the pain points of your followers and share valuable resources and advice
- Develop your content strategy based on the audience feedback you will get
Get creative with your Instagram Story content for more engagement
1. Save Stories as Highlights
Instagram stories only last for 24 hours. That is both a good and a bad #thng. Good because you can post new updates without disturbing your profile layout. And bad because some Stories are important enough to be kept around.
Enter, Highlights.
Save your stories as highlights, and they will get pinned to the top of your profile page. Create different sets of highlights dedicated to one topic. Your audience will find it easier to navigate, resulting in less friction, and more engagement.
2. Use your stories to link to your other channels
If your Instagram audience is larger than other channels, then direct traffic out of your Instagram. You can use the ‘swipe up’ feature in your Instagram stories to drive traffic to other channels.
And that swiping up action? Well, that counts as an engagement tool. So, link your blog, your website, or your YouTube for your audience to go to.
3. Repost content on your stories
Reposting your feed post as your story redirects your audience to that specific post and counts as engagement for the algorithm. Put the image behind a sticker that hides the content of the post, and curiosity will do the rest.
This is a great way to promote your actual post and increase the visibility of the post. Just in case, you know, your followers haven’t put you on their ‘Favourites’ list. But make sure you don’t spam stories with the same link back to your post. One should be enough.
More ways to engage with the audience through Instagram stories
There is no magic wand and no handbook to increase your Instagram audience besides being consistent and maintaining your quality.
You need to Create. Content. Always.
As we said, stories are a great way to stay on top of your audience’s feed. Posting once might sound good, but with other content creators on your audiences’ stories too, yours will get pushed to obscurity.
So share some form of update throughout the day. A scientifically calculated (not) number of 3 Instagram stories spread equally across the day seems ideal to us, but you do you.
Share your BTS, a day in your life, how you do work, or anything from your routine that might be interesting to your audience. As long as it is on-brand for you, it is good to go.
Patience is the key, and perseverance at the start pays off later in the journey. Content creation is simple, but not easy, so make sure you are there for the whole ride and don’t bail out at the first sign of trouble.
Remember, whenever you feel the winds are making it difficult for you to sail, we are just a click away. DYT helps you navigate the high seas and take care of all the technicalities, so you can be relaxed and at your creative best.
