Who you should follow on Instagram Stories this week.
A new series where we show you who’s innovating on the ‘Gram.
Last Summer, Instagram decided to roll out a feature called “Stories” that allowed users to give quick, more personal updates, that would time out after one day.
Before Stories, content creators, personalities and brands had one way of reaching their audience, and that was through the native feed. It was no secret that the best way to gain a following was through a highly curated feed, but because of this it was rare to see a unfiltered take. This all changed with Stories. We reached out to a few Instagram photographers to learn more about how they use the Stories feature.
@Jacques_Crafford Followers: 17.2K
Full-time Freelance Travel & Tourism Photographer & Filmmaker
How do Stories play a role in your work or do you only use them for personal use?
Stories for me is a way to show a behind-the-scenes look into my work life (rarely personal), but also an extra channel to promote information I can’t necessarily get across on posts or that goes missing between all the busy feeds.
How often do you post a Story?
I try not to post more than 5 a day, but my solid average is 3. I try to stick to this limit so that my audience knows what they’re going to get when they click my story Icon. This is from my own personal experience. I know how it feels when someone posts too many Stories, you just don’t have time to watch them all, and if it’s boring you end up not clicking that person’s icon anymore, so I noticed a steady growth in viewers since taking on this approach.
How do you like to engage with your following via Stories?
I give them the option to reply via message and I ALWAYS reply, most of the time within 24 hours while the story is still active. But if not, I still reply and sometimes with a question if I’m not sure what they are referring to, but always keeping the interaction going.
How do you think your Story affects your follower’s perceptions of you and your work?
I think it makes them appreciate my work more because they get to see the raw side of things. For example, when I’m hiking to get a shot, they get to see the effort that goes into my work and puts more value on the final shot when I post it. For example some [viewers] would comment saying, “I was waiting to see this picture, I remember it from your Stories”.
What type of stories do you find create the most engagement?
Definitely when I’m out hiking to get shots… in other words beautiful nature scenes around the world. Mountains and lakes seem to do the best!
When do you find yourself creating a Story?
Whenever I’m doing something interesting with work, either a really beautiful scene or something interesting that the average person doesn’t come across everyday, and I find that leads to people telling other people to watch my Stories.
Can you describe your best Story?
My best one was when I arrived in Switzerland in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I played some music in the background and filmed some shots out of the train window as we made our way up to the village at the top.
The music really complemented the scene and it was such a beautiful start to my trip in Switzerland. It got the most replies of people saying how amazing it was!
What tips would you offer to someone who wants to improve their Instagram Story game?
It’s okay to post personal stuff but keep it interesting! Don’t post the average day-to-day things like coffee/food etc. Pets can work as long as they do something cute–– but not too much. Rather focus on the work you do by giving people facts about the RAW side of it. For example, how long it takes to edit a picture or how far you have to hike to get one shot, how early you had to get up etc. Most of all, always try to give people value, something that will enrich their daily lives even if just in a small way.
