Over the last decade, social media marketing has grown leaps and bounds in promoting products/brands globally.
Even though Facebook continues to be the big guy on the campus, as of June 2018, Instagram has grown to a whopping 1 billion monthly active users. It has updated and developed its capabilities for businesses to reach prospects in new ways of promoting their products/brands. IG stories are one of those ways to market your products on Instagram.
With more than 500 million daily Instagram Stories, it has become the most effective way to reach out to the prospects under Instagram Marketing Strategies.
Instagram | IG Stories
Like Snapchat stories, they appear in a bar at the top of your feed and have a 24 hours shelf life. The content is in chronological order from oldest to newest. The stories are in two forms – photos and videos. You can either tap to go back and forward or swipe to jump to the next story.
While promoting your product/brand, you can add emojis, GIFs, and engaging texts that can make your Instagram Stories stand out from your competition.
Ideal Length of IG Stories to promote your products
Photos: IG Story with photos show for five seconds.
If you hold on a screen, it will pause the time, and you will have a longer time to look at the photos.
Videos: IG Story with videos are 15 seconds long but can be up to a minute.
You can use CutStory to break the video into 15-seconds stints and make a one minute video (or longer if you need it.)
Instagram Stories are great for showcasing limited time promotions, product demos, behind the scene videos, and so much more. To promote your products through IG Stories, you must have a clear idea about different types of IG stories you can create.
Types of IG Stories Formats
1. Live – Toggle on the screen to the Live option, and you can start shooting and broadcasting live on Instagram to promote your products.
2. Normal – Tap once to take a photo or hold down to record a video. Share whatever you have captured by swiping up on your screen and browsing your gallery.
3. Boomerang – Use a video, replay it back and forth like film looping GIFs up to three seconds long with this mode and create an eye-catching promo for your product.
4. Superzoom – It is a video recording lens that zooms in closer and closer to the product. It is best if you want to highlight a specific part/design of your product.
5. Rewind – A film video in reverse, a fun way to showcase the method or assembly of a product.
6. Stop Motion – You can use several different still images and weave together in one seamless video with it—another engaging way of showcasing a product creation process.
7. Hands-Free – Set up the camera, tap on the icon, and record a video, especially if you want to speak in it. It benefits from talking freely about your product/brand, without getting bothered about shooting the film.
IG Stories are an appealing way of creating a promotion for your product. Take a photo of your product, add a sticker, emoji, or text icon, and include a call-of-action button, your promo is complete. Further, make sure your CTA button takes interested viewers directly to your website.
Tips on How to Use IG Stories to Promote Your Product
1. Use the Countdown Feature and create a sense of urgency
To promote your product fruitfully, you can use the countdown feature of IG Stories.
It is a sticker in IG stories that you can access through the smiley face icon with a folded corner. It is a powerful marketing tool that you can use to promote any product launch event, new product design, as well as special offers on special occasions.
With this feature, you can create a timer on your next podcast episode, vlog, video, courses, product, or sale, and generate a buzz with your followers.
The moment your followers check out the IG Story and click on the countdown, they will have the option to turn on the reminder and get notifications.
You get the notifications via Direct Message whenever a follower opts for it. They can also share your timer on their stories, thereby expanding your promotion further.
This feature creates a sense of urgency in followers every time they see the clock ticking. Hence, it is a powerful tactic to engage your followers and promote your product smartly.
2. Take advantage of IG Story Highlights
In contrast to regular IG Stories, IG Highlights can live permanently on your profile. Instagram Stories Archive feature is a blessing for business as it eliminates the stress around losing valuable content. They are like prime locations to promote your product/brand.
It is directly under your bio and above your Instagram feed. It gives the viewers a quick idea if the content is for them or not.
Whether you are in e-commerce, fashion, lifestyle, or any other business, this spot is the perfect place to lead followers to your most valuable and captivating content. You can use this space to showcase your collections, newest arrivals, behind-the-scenes developments, upcoming events/sales, and much more.
For example – Take a look at how @kotn has promoted their BOGO (buy one, give one) sale through IG Story Highlights.
The Kotn’s promote their product in a unique way. They have turned a simple sale and presented it as an opportunity to support a good cause through IG Story Highlights.
The BOGO highlight shows how they have promoted their products and build awareness about the good they do. Check out their BOGO Highlight image below!
It is an effective marketing tool, and you can use it to increase your Instagram traffic. Use the IG highlights to share customer reviews, wins, portfolios, testimonials, or blog posts.
You can also use IG Story Highlights as a powerful knowledge tool to showcase tips, tutorials, and tricks.
Another great option is using the highlight section for your IGTV channel. With IGTV in the IG Story Highlight section, you can save all of the IG Stories. It allows people to swipe up to view your IGTV videos. They can instantly and easily window-shop your videos to see which story matches their interests and swipe up to view directly.
3. Use IG Story Images to Convey Scarcity/Limited Stock
Using scarcity/urgency is an old marketing tactic for promoting products. But if you are using IG Stories to convey it, make sure you show it with a clear image of limited stock.
Convey your limited stock update by creating a grid showing the total stock of a product and then let your audience know in every few hours how many are left. It will not only generate urgency but also act as social proof.
You can also convey scarcity with a time-bound offer promotion.
Remember that you do not convey false scarcity/urgency, as it will ruin customer loyalty and alienate them.
4. Take advantage of Q&A in IG Stories to add a human touch to your business
Questions are a great way to create interest and visibility of your product. Take advantage of the questions sticker to enhance follower engagement in your IG Stories. You can access it through the smiley face icon with a folded corner and then tap on the question icon to add it to your post.
Make sure the Q&A is available on the post for up to 24 hours. It allows the followers to ask you a question about your product and the promotion. You can reply to their question through Live IG Story or by texting the response directly on the IG Story post.
When you choose to reply to the queries of your followers through a Live IG story option, tap on the question icon on the screen and pick the question you want to respond to in your live feed.
Live IG Story option to respond to the questions of followers is the most effective way of promoting your brand/product. The viewers feel more connected and bonded emotionally with your brand. Make sure you respond within 24 hours of the IG Story post, or the questions won’t be available for you to answer.
Another engaging way you can take advantage of Q&A in IG Stories is using IGTV to reply to the followers. It gives the option to respond to numerous questions in one continuous video.
Check out how Condé Nast Traveller did an IGTV segment wherein the magazine’s EOC (Editor in Chief) responded to travel questions from readers.
Such a type of smooth edit IG Story with a 10-minute Q&A with your CEO can not only build trust in your product but also add a human face to your brand.
5. Use a poll feature to involve followers in the decision-making process for promoting your product
It is a recent addition to IG stories. It allows you to survey your followers about anything related to the story itself.
Post a picture of your product variations, click under stickers, and select “poll.”
You can check the votes when you click on the IG Story and slide up on your screen.
This feature not only increases rapport with your viewers but also engages them with product/brand through the decision-making process.
It is a superb option if you are planning to launch a new product or looking forward to modifying/ updating your existing product line. This feature gives you the market pulse and assists you directly to scope the demand for your product in the market.
Some Key Points to Remember while Using IG Stories:
1. Always provide context to your IG Stories, like it means something to your followers.
2. Be authentic. Let your audience know who you are and what business you do.
3. Share content that is valuable, informative, funny, or inspiring, not just mere promotional. If you make it too promotional, chances are viewers will swipe-off every time they see your stories.
4. Listen to your audience, get feedback, and understand what interests them.
5. Always make IG Stories keeping your audience in mind. Caption it and make it eye-catchy by adding GIFs, videos, and images that connect with your followers.
Conclusion
Instagram Stories are not just about the collection of images to engage your audience and promote your product. It is a platform where a brand becomes a friend of a follower. So, be like one.
When you showcase your product, aim to capture people in situations and real-life events. Promote your product by telling stories through your photos representing the ideal life your followers could have with your product.
Try the above tips today and promote your product with a captivating IG Story. If you have any questions or looking for Instagram marketing services, feel free to get in touch with me at Contact@SanjayB.com.
Don’t forget to check the Instagram Post Writing Tips here!