The Importance of Instagram Stories
Every so often, we get asked: “Do I really need to use Stories to grow on Instagram?” It’s common: Camera shyness can be a real issue, but it doesn’t have to stand in the way of growing your influence, especially if you’re looking to enhance your content! In this digital age, it’s one of the best tools that you can use to grow, so why not use it to your advantage? Here are a few reasons why Instagram Stories are so important.
Growing Stories
Since its debut in 2016, Instagram Stories has grown exponentially. Approximately 500MM Instagram Stories users are active every day, according to TechCrunch (half of Instagram’s 1 billion users). Adding to the power that Stories has, Instagram has seen a 100MM user increase in just six months since reaching 400MM daily users in June 2018. To make that number even bigger, Stories were only used every day by 250MM people in 2017! It’s safe to say that most of your audience is on Instagram Stories and they can’t wait to learn more about you and your brand on Instagram Stories.
Watch-Time Is Increasing
Besides growing the user base, watch time on Instagram Stories has been rising at a rapid pace over the past year. As reported by TechCrunch, Instagram video watch time has increased 80 percent year-over-year, and the number of videos shared has increased fourfold. Users, as well as brands, have been increasing their stories usage to create more dynamic and engaging content, resulting in much more watch time. It may seem like you have more Stories to compete with, but it also means that you can get creative and see what other profiles do to engage their audiences. Take this as a chance to improve your content!
Ad Dollars on Instagram
Almost one in three brands invest their ad dollars on Instagram, which represents 23% of their ad budgets, mostly due to Instagram Stories. More brands are realizing the value of investing their ad spend on social media, but most importantly in Instagram and Instagram Stories ads, according to a recent Merkle study. While Instagram sponsored posts and ads do not allow you to create dynamic ads while users are watching Stories, Instagram Stories allows you to create an impact that will cause them to watch your ad and convert.
Increase Engagement with Stories
Instagram Stories can help you elevate your visual content strategy; the tools available in the application allow you to get to know and understand your audience 10x better. With Instagram Stories, you can learn more about your audience than just reading their comments on your posts. Using the Poll, Question, and Emoji Slider stickers on Stories, you can allow them to further engage in your brand conversation by allowing them to vote, rate, and express their opinions and thoughts. You can take advantage of these features to help you develop a content strategy based on audience responses and feedback.
Utilizing the See More Feature
With Instagram Stories, you can go beyond your bio link and drive more traffic to your website with the ‘See More’ option. In addition to engaging with your audience and displaying your brand’s personality, you can drive traffic to your site beyond just the link in your bio. Through the ‘See More’ Feature, you can take your brand beyond social and convert more followers back to your site if you have over 10K followers or are “verified” on Instagram. In addition, if you have a visually impactful Story with a clear call to action to drive followers back to your site, you will see your conversion rates increase over time.
Boosting Sales with Shoppable Stories
You can not only drive more views to your content but also increase sales with ‘Shoppable Stories’. For example, if your business sells products, then by creating Stories that visually market the products and illustrate how it’s used, your audience will be more likely to purchase. You don’t need to restrict yourself to one swipe-up link if you’re showcasing multiple products. As long as your Instagram account has ‘Shoppable Stories’ capabilities, you can tag the products from your product catalog just like you do when you tag another Instagram account and let your followers purchase directly from your Story.
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