If you do not know what really makes your Instagram Stories Ad work, you will not be able to reap the numerous benefits that it has on offer.
- You will need to know the right type of ads to choose so that it aligns with your business and product.
- It is also important to know about the right kind of content to use so that it can attract and engage the viewers in a much better way.
It is only when you use the right kind of element in creating your Instagram content you will be able to be most creative in the process because creativity is king when it comes to Instagram.
Since August 2016, Instagram has provided the individuals and the businesses alike a useful and effective way to share content as well as interact with each other. It has fast become the most popular social media networks among the netizens, especially the businesses.
Instagram Stories and features
In fact, it is the Instagram Stories that have made more than 500 million brands use this platform to showcase their products and promote their brands. They have been creating the best Instagram Stories that keep the users engaged all through the day!
However, this does not mean anyone who uses this platform or Instagram Stories is successful. This is because all of them may not know the best way to make the optimal use of the platform and its features.
Since then, different businesses and brands have been actively using Instagram Stories and integrated it with their social media marketing campaigns as an added way to:
- Boost their brand awareness
- Increase the followers for Instagram
- Enhance online presence and
- Drive more sales through the platform.
Using Instagram stories is a worthwhile strategy for marketing and to reach out to more potential customers who are using this platform already on a daily basis. The primary reasons why businesses use Instagram and Stories in their business promotion endeavor are:
- It allows them to tell their users about their products
- Enable them to consume their content in a more consumable way and also help them to
- Interact with their followers instantly and more effectively.
You will hardly need any evidence that it works because according to Instagram, nearly one-third of all Instagram Stories that are viewed mostly are created and published by different brands and businesses. If created properly, it is found that one in five Instagram Stories receives a direct message from the viewers, according to the Instagram reports.
Use a call to action:
Do you need your audience to take action after viewing your story? Tell them so. A compelling call to action can divert your Story from simple entertainment into a driver of real business. Specifically, if you are including a link in your Story, it can be a smart thought to include a call to action to urge people to swipe up.
When you add a link to your story, Instagram includes a small arrow and the text “See More” at the bottom of the post. But, this tells viewers nothing about what they will check whether they swipe up. Why should they bother? What will they find in the link? It’s your job to tell them. In any case, your calls to action can likewise direct your audience to make some other kind of action, such as visiting your store or sending you a message
Using Instagram Stories
Therefore, if you want to use this feature of Instagram you will first need to know the best ways to use Instagram Stories. One of such ways is to create and launch an ad in the dedicated space that you find in the Instagram Stories. The other useful ways to follow and the elements to add include:
Strong visuals:
Since Instagram was created to allow people to create, share and view visual content, it is not surprising that you will need to create strong, bold and compelling visuals in order to create a successful ad for Instagram Stories. For that matter, you can include different elements such as:
- Photos
- Videos or even
- A combination of these two.
At all times, you should ensure that the visuals created ultimately tell a story. It must feature your product and clearly illustrate how it should be used or a specific message that you want to convey across to your audience.
Sound:
Your video will not have any effect or to the amount, as you desire if it does not have sound. Ideally, the sound will create a bigger and stronger impact on the success of your visual content and Stories ad.
According to Instagram reports, 60% of Instagram Stories are viewed only when there is a sound in it, though a few people may want to watch it on the mute. Therefore, just like your video quality and selection you should also put sound similarly on the top of your strategy list.
You can be as creative as you want to be as well intentional at some parts with the sound you wish to include in your video. However, make sure that you send across the right message across to achieve your goal which is to:
- Inform
- Entertain
- Educate and even differentiate.
You may even add fun and humor to an appreciable extent to make your content more interesting. This will boost awareness among your users as well as make your content and Story stand apart from your competitors.
The most significant benefit you will get when you put sound in your video is that you will get a unique opportunity to speak to your audience, literally, when you want to teach them about something.
Brevity:
You will have to make sure that you are extremely clear and brief with your video and its contents. Typically, the users will know what you want to say and how better you are going to say it within the first two seconds. That is all the time you will have to ensure whether people will see your video or make a pass.
To achieve this, you will need to consider incorporating the three elements as follows:
- Intriguing imagery
- Bold text and
- Unique sounds.
That means you will not only need to create Stories that are captivating but are also concise. This will prevent them from swiping too soon and reach to the point that will capture their attention as quickly as possible are the three elements to use to achieve this.
Embrace interactivity
60% of businesses utilize interactive elements in their Instagram Stories, including hashtags, @mentions, and interactive stickers. You can likewise use the polls sticker in Instagram Stories ads. Since there’s no like or comment option for Instagram Stories, interactivity features are one of the most ideal ways to create engagement
Polls and questions can also give you great insight into your crowd. For instance, the clothing brand Collusion used an Instagram Stories poll to ask whether clothes should be gendered.
The final thought
You will have to put in a lot of thought into making your Instagram Stories. It is important that you target the right audience. For this you will need to know the basic parameters that defines your audience.
Last but not least, you will need to consider adding a clear call to action in your content. You will need to first know what specific action you want your users to perform when they see your video and use the call-to-action accordingly.
Cover Image credits:Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels