Forget Swiping Right — it’s the year of Swiping Up!
In June 2016 Instagram made a change to their algorithm which meant users would see a feed based on relevancy (based on engagement through likes and comments) rather than in chronological order. They faced a massive backlash from users — the engagement on brand posts is higher so they were getting pushed to the top and users felt like they were missing out on posts from their friends and family. As a result of the backlash Instagram has recently started making changes to show more recent posts to users rather than those with lots of engagement.
Now that you’re caught up on the algorithm you’re probably wondering what all this swiping stuff is about, right? Since the algorithm changed back posts by brands are no longer at the top of people’s feeds. This massively decreases their reach. As a result of this, they’ve taken to using Instagram Stories to push themselves to the front of their follower’s minds and increase conversions — and the ‘See More’ feature is the best way to do this!
Brands can add links to their Stories which creates a ‘See More’ button at the bottom. People can then swipe up and they will be redirected to the link the brand has included. Having a ‘See More’ button on a story can increase sales, generate leads and gain traffic to a website. The call to action makes people curious about what they could be taken to and will massively increase conversions to the link the brand included — which is just so awesome. This method works really well for retail businesses like Kylie Cosmetics (pictured below) who can post images of their products and have a link directly to where they can be purchased. It’s also great for getting users to their website, blog, video or newsletter sign up page.
Unfortunately this feature is currently only available for business accounts with over 10k followers but I have my fingers crossed it becomes available for everyone soon. Some similar but admittedly less effective options for smaller businesses is to include a short URL as text on your story or direct them to the link in your bio.
It’s so much harder for businesses to stand out in the digital space these days, which is why it’s super important to be aware of all the different options across social media platforms and how you could potentially utilise them for your business. I love seeing social media evolve and discovering new ways for it to improve business, and I’m sure there will be plenty more happening in the coming months!
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If you’re not even sure how to create an Instagram account and how to use it for your brand to get more business, or you have any questions about social media marketing then jump online here or email us at team@startsocial.nz today and we’ll help you find the best course for you.
Have a fab week, everyone!
Wendy, CEO & Founder, Start Social
