Are you posting Stories regularly but aren’t getting the desired results? Look no further, because in this article we’ll be sharing We have put together 7 ways to effectively engage your followers on Instagram stories to ensure better engagement.
The stories feature has opened up the doors to sharing highly interactive, and engaging content for just 24-hours (unless you add it to your highlights).
It’s reported that over 500 million users of the app use stories daily!
Additionally, research shows that 70% of Gen Z and 59% of total millennials watch Stories on Instagram, making it a highly popular area for content creators and brands to focus on. Stories have a fantastic way at giving audiences personal insight into creators and companies, whilst advocating for deeper interactions than just through typical posts on your feed.
Creating captivating Instagram Stories doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process. Check out our top tips below for elevating your posts to the next level.
Getting fancy with font
We’re taking you right back to the basics with this first tip. Experimenting with font styles, and colors, can really help bring your Story to life.
Instagram currently has very limited font options to be used as pre-sets in Stories, however, a little tip is to hold your finger down on each color at the bottom of your screen, in order to select from a larger color palette. Additionally, you can use the ‘eyedropper tool’ in order to opt for a color that matches from colors within your Story, this really helps tie everything together cohesively.
For those who are really looking to experiment and play around, there are countless tools online to customize your own font. Here, you can choose a font that Instagram doesn’t currently have and simply copy the text onto your Story to post.
Take it up a notch with templates
Professionally designed templates are one of the best tricks to make your Stories stand out and engage your audience.
We’re here to tell you that no, you don’t need to be a tech-wizard to do so. Websites such as Canva have thousands of pre-existing templates that you can use, and edit to your preference.
All you have to do, is establish what vision you’re going for, and ensure that your template aligns with your branding.
Add value with interactive stickers
One of the easiest ways that enables you to engage in direct dialogue with your followers, whilst making sure your content still pops, is by adding Instagram’s interactive stickers.
There are various stickers to choose from, including quizzes, polls, animated GIFs and questionnaires to name a few.
By adding stickers to your Story you can open up that avenue to speak with your followers, but also maintain that authenticity.
Match the vibe with music
A trend that definitely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon is adding music to the background of your Stories.
How does this engage followers? Well, if you monitor songs that are currently popular and use them, chances are people are going to react to your Story. Reactions = engagement.
Improve your layout with multiple photos
A fun way to get creative and to steer away from Instagram’s ‘Layout’ function (not the best options), is to play around and paste the same photo multiple times in a cool layout on one story.
The easiest way to do this without using an external platform?
Start off with a plain background, copy an image from your camera roll and go back to the app. Here, you should be asked automatically by Instagram to paste that picture for you. If that doesn’t seem to work, just tap on the screen and paste the same way you would with text.
Doing this instantly boosts your Story to the next level, appearing much more unique and creative to viewers.
Strengthen your SEO with links
If you have a website, or even a YouTube channel, adding a link to your story is a wonderful way to engage and redirect your followers.
For those of you with over 10K followers, you can enjoy the “swipe up” feature with your followers as a valuable tactic for drawing leads into your various sales funnels.
Fire it up with filters & effects
The final tip to taking your stories to a whole new level is making very ‘basic’ photos much more visually appealing with filters.
These are especially great on photos of people and scenery, whereby you can pick from thousands of filters on the app to fit the aesthetic you were going for.
Instagram also has a bunch of fun effects to experiment with, some that move, some that you can draw, all it takes is some good planning and imagination to make your Stories stand out.
So there you have it, 7 ways to spice up your Stories and ensure that they are engaging enough for your followers.
This is evidently highly important, when strategizing your promotion, as data has proven marketers and creators are placing a big focus on leveraging IG Stories as part of their success.
What’s your secret to the perfect Instagram Story? Tweet us @itpliveme.