It's time to start thinking of Instagram Stories as a way to increase your follower count. Instagram reports that there are half a billion daily users of Stories—this is a lot! So if you're not already using Stories to their full potential, now is the time to start. In this video, you'll learn how to create Stories that increase your reach, boost engagement, and get you more followers.
What Are Instagram Stories?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know what an Instagram story is. It’s a disappearing post that appears as a bright circle around your profile photo. It stays up for 24 hours unless you add it to your highlights. Instagram Stories have massive growth potential, and they are an easy and authentic way to connect with your audience. Plus, since Stories are temporary, they’re the perfect testing ground for new ideas.
How to Post an Instagram Story
To post an Instagram Story, follow these steps:
Tap the plus icon at the top right corner of your screen (next to your notifications and messages).
Select Story from the options.
Take a photo or record a video, or swipe to access your camera roll to upload a photo, graphic, video, or Boomerang that you’ve already made (just make sure they’re in a vertical format).
Edit your photo or video using Instagram’s various editing options.
Tap the Your Story button to post it publicly, or the Close Friends button to send it to a specific group.
And that’s it! That’s the easy part. Now, let’s talk about the hard part—creating content that people will want to come back for.
Pro Tips for Increasing Your Instagram Following
Use Highlights
When a new customer visits your profile, having highlights is a great way to showcase who you are and what you do. For business owners, you can include FAQs, testimonials, or how-to content. Content creators might want to include categories like outfit inspiration or behind-the-scenes highlights. Sharing useful and entertaining content in your highlights is a great way to turn viewers into followers.
Do Takeovers
Collaborate with other brands or content creators to do a story takeover. A story takeover is when you create exclusive content for someone else’s stories. Make sure to include a call-to-action and your handle so followers know where to find you. While this tactic was trendy a few years ago, it still works and helps you connect with other brands and influencers, boosting your follower count.
Create Shareable Content
To make your content go viral, ask yourself:
What job is this content doing for my followers?
Is it inspiring, funny, educational, or impressive?
What would I share with my friends?
When creating shareable content, aim for a hook that captures curiosity or generates an emotional response. People go through Stories quickly, so your content needs to stand out immediately.
Plan Your Content
If you don’t want to stress daily about what to post, treat your Instagram Stories like a TV network. Schedule programming for the week or create recurring episodes. Planning themes in advance will help you create addictive content that keeps viewers engaged.
Run a Giveaway via Stories
Offer a prize in exchange for sharing your content. To enter, followers must follow you, which is a great way to grow your follower count. You can give away physical products, coupon codes, or even team up with a brand to give away products. This will help you reach a new audience and grow your following exponentially.
Utilize Instagram Story Features
Use Stickers and Interactive Features
Increase engagement by using Instagram’s interactive features, like question stickers, gift stickers, and music stickers. These features make your Stories more fun and engaging, which helps increase interaction with your audience. Don’t take yourself too seriously—have fun!
Use Geotags for Local Reach
To reach more people locally, tag your location in your Stories when relevant. Instagram will show your Stories to people checking in at that location, which can help you grow your local following.
Be Present and Authentic
Don’t be afraid to get in front of the camera! Your audience wants to see you and the people behind your brand. Talking to your audience like friends can make them feel connected to you, which may encourage them to follow you.
Post Consistently
Consistency is key to growing on Instagram. Posting consistently will help you appear higher up in your followers' Stories feed. Aim for 1 to 7 stories per day—any more than that, and your engagement will start to drop off. The more you post, the more interaction you’ll get, and the more you’ll appear on the feed.
Run Instagram Story Ads
If you want to bring even more attention to your Instagram account, consider running Instagram Story Ads. These ads appear between users’ organic Stories and are a great way to boost your follower count or drive sales. Ensure that your ads have a clear goal in mind, like gaining followers or increasing sales.
Drive Traffic to Your Online Store
Instagram Stories offer an excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your online store. You can link products directly in your stories, making it easy for customers to purchase. Plus, Instagram’s shopping on Explorer feature makes reaching new customers simpler than ever.
Conclusion
Are you using Stories as part of your Instagram strategy? Do you have any tips that I haven’t shared? Make sure to share them in the comments below! Thanks for tuning into this episode. If you're new here, don’t forget to subscribe for more content on starting, running, and growing your online business. My name is Michelle Bailey—hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, and give me a thumbs up to help the video do well. I’ll see you in the next one! Bye!
It's time to start thinking of Instagram Stories as a way to increase your follower count. Instagram reports that there are half a billion daily users of Stories—this is a lot! So if you're not already using Stories to their full potential, now is the time to start. In this video, you'll learn how to create Stories that increase your reach, boost engagement, and get you more followers.
What Are Instagram Stories?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know what an Instagram story is. It’s a disappearing post that appears as a bright circle around your profile photo. It stays up for 24 hours unless you add it to your highlights. Instagram Stories have massive growth potential, and they are an easy and authentic way to connect with your audience. Plus, since Stories are temporary, they’re the perfect testing ground for new ideas.
How to Post an Instagram Story
To post an Instagram Story, follow these steps:
Tap the plus icon at the top right corner of your screen (next to your notifications and messages).
Select Story from the options.
Take a photo or record a video, or swipe to access your camera roll to upload a photo, graphic, video, or Boomerang that you’ve already made (just make sure they’re in a vertical format).
Edit your photo or video using Instagram’s various editing options.
Tap the Your Story button to post it publicly, or the Close Friends button to send it to a specific group.
And that’s it! That’s the easy part. Now, let’s talk about the hard part—creating content that people will want to come back for.
Pro Tips for Increasing Your Instagram Following
Use Highlights
When a new customer visits your profile, having highlights is a great way to showcase who you are and what you do. For business owners, you can include FAQs, testimonials, or how-to content. Content creators might want to include categories like outfit inspiration or behind-the-scenes highlights. Sharing useful and entertaining content in your highlights is a great way to turn viewers into followers.
Do Takeovers
Collaborate with other brands or content creators to do a story takeover. A story takeover is when you create exclusive content for someone else’s stories. Make sure to include a call-to-action and your handle so followers know where to find you. While this tactic was trendy a few years ago, it still works and helps you connect with other brands and influencers, boosting your follower count.
Create Shareable Content
To make your content go viral, ask yourself:
What job is this content doing for my followers?
Is it inspiring, funny, educational, or impressive?
What would I share with my friends?
When creating shareable content, aim for a hook that captures curiosity or generates an emotional response. People go through Stories quickly, so your content needs to stand out immediately.
Plan Your Content
If you don’t want to stress daily about what to post, treat your Instagram Stories like a TV network. Schedule programming for the week or create recurring episodes. Planning themes in advance will help you create addictive content that keeps viewers engaged.
Run a Giveaway via Stories
Offer a prize in exchange for sharing your content. To enter, followers must follow you, which is a great way to grow your follower count. You can give away physical products, coupon codes, or even team up with a brand to give away products. This will help you reach a new audience and grow your following exponentially.
Utilize Instagram Story Features
Use Stickers and Interactive Features
Increase engagement by using Instagram’s interactive features, like question stickers, gift stickers, and music stickers. These features make your Stories more fun and engaging, which helps increase interaction with your audience. Don’t take yourself too seriously—have fun!
Use Geotags for Local Reach
To reach more people locally, tag your location in your Stories when relevant. Instagram will show your Stories to people checking in at that location, which can help you grow your local following.
Be Present and Authentic
Don’t be afraid to get in front of the camera! Your audience wants to see you and the people behind your brand. Talking to your audience like friends can make them feel connected to you, which may encourage them to follow you.
Post Consistently
Consistency is key to growing on Instagram. Posting consistently will help you appear higher up in your followers' Stories feed. Aim for 1 to 7 stories per day—any more than that, and your engagement will start to drop off. The more you post, the more interaction you’ll get, and the more you’ll appear on the feed.
Run Instagram Story Ads
If you want to bring even more attention to your Instagram account, consider running Instagram Story Ads. These ads appear between users’ organic Stories and are a great way to boost your follower count or drive sales. Ensure that your ads have a clear goal in mind, like gaining followers or increasing sales.
Drive Traffic to Your Online Store
Instagram Stories offer an excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your online store. You can link products directly in your stories, making it easy for customers to purchase. Plus, Instagram’s shopping on Explorer feature makes reaching new customers simpler than ever.
Conclusion
Are you using Stories as part of your Instagram strategy? Do you have any tips that I haven’t shared? Make sure to share them in the comments below! Thanks for tuning into this episode. If you're new here, don’t forget to subscribe for more content on starting, running, and growing your online business. My name is Michelle Bailey—hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, and give me a thumbs up to help the video do well. I’ll see you in the next one! Bye!
It's time to start thinking of Instagram Stories as a way to increase your follower count. Instagram reports that there are half a billion daily users of Stories—this is a lot! So if you're not already using Stories to their full potential, now is the time to start. In this video, you'll learn how to create Stories that increase your reach, boost engagement, and get you more followers.
What Are Instagram Stories?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know what an Instagram story is. It’s a disappearing post that appears as a bright circle around your profile photo. It stays up for 24 hours unless you add it to your highlights. Instagram Stories have massive growth potential, and they are an easy and authentic way to connect with your audience. Plus, since Stories are temporary, they’re the perfect testing ground for new ideas.
How to Post an Instagram Story
To post an Instagram Story, follow these steps:
Tap the plus icon at the top right corner of your screen (next to your notifications and messages).
Select Story from the options.
Take a photo or record a video, or swipe to access your camera roll to upload a photo, graphic, video, or Boomerang that you’ve already made (just make sure they’re in a vertical format).
Edit your photo or video using Instagram’s various editing options.
Tap the Your Story button to post it publicly, or the Close Friends button to send it to a specific group.
And that’s it! That’s the easy part. Now, let’s talk about the hard part—creating content that people will want to come back for.
Pro Tips for Increasing Your Instagram Following
Use Highlights
When a new customer visits your profile, having highlights is a great way to showcase who you are and what you do. For business owners, you can include FAQs, testimonials, or how-to content. Content creators might want to include categories like outfit inspiration or behind-the-scenes highlights. Sharing useful and entertaining content in your highlights is a great way to turn viewers into followers.
Do Takeovers
Collaborate with other brands or content creators to do a story takeover. A story takeover is when you create exclusive content for someone else’s stories. Make sure to include a call-to-action and your handle so followers know where to find you. While this tactic was trendy a few years ago, it still works and helps you connect with other brands and influencers, boosting your follower count.
Create Shareable Content
To make your content go viral, ask yourself:
What job is this content doing for my followers?
Is it inspiring, funny, educational, or impressive?
What would I share with my friends?
When creating shareable content, aim for a hook that captures curiosity or generates an emotional response. People go through Stories quickly, so your content needs to stand out immediately.
Plan Your Content
If you don’t want to stress daily about what to post, treat your Instagram Stories like a TV network. Schedule programming for the week or create recurring episodes. Planning themes in advance will help you create addictive content that keeps viewers engaged.
Run a Giveaway via Stories
Offer a prize in exchange for sharing your content. To enter, followers must follow you, which is a great way to grow your follower count. You can give away physical products, coupon codes, or even team up with a brand to give away products. This will help you reach a new audience and grow your following exponentially.
Utilize Instagram Story Features
Use Stickers and Interactive Features
Increase engagement by using Instagram’s interactive features, like question stickers, gift stickers, and music stickers. These features make your Stories more fun and engaging, which helps increase interaction with your audience. Don’t take yourself too seriously—have fun!
Use Geotags for Local Reach
To reach more people locally, tag your location in your Stories when relevant. Instagram will show your Stories to people checking in at that location, which can help you grow your local following.
Be Present and Authentic
Don’t be afraid to get in front of the camera! Your audience wants to see you and the people behind your brand. Talking to your audience like friends can make them feel connected to you, which may encourage them to follow you.
Post Consistently
Consistency is key to growing on Instagram. Posting consistently will help you appear higher up in your followers' Stories feed. Aim for 1 to 7 stories per day—any more than that, and your engagement will start to drop off. The more you post, the more interaction you’ll get, and the more you’ll appear on the feed.
Run Instagram Story Ads
If you want to bring even more attention to your Instagram account, consider running Instagram Story Ads. These ads appear between users’ organic Stories and are a great way to boost your follower count or drive sales. Ensure that your ads have a clear goal in mind, like gaining followers or increasing sales.
Drive Traffic to Your Online Store
Instagram Stories offer an excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your online store. You can link products directly in your stories, making it easy for customers to purchase. Plus, Instagram’s shopping on Explorer feature makes reaching new customers simpler than ever.
Conclusion
Are you using Stories as part of your Instagram strategy? Do you have any tips that I haven’t shared? Make sure to share them in the comments below! Thanks for tuning into this episode. If you're new here, don’t forget to subscribe for more content on starting, running, and growing your online business. My name is Michelle Bailey—hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, and give me a thumbs up to help the video do well. I’ll see you in the next one! Bye!