Marketing for Businesses: Instagram Stories — Desygner Blog

Tell a story

If you are already on Instagram and have active followers, then you should also make use of this new tool which allows you to create light-hearted and ephemeral content and to emotionally engage with your followers.

Even though Instagram is the ideal platform to showcase those special and exclusive moments in your life, with Stories you can share the goofy, fun and fleeting backstage moments. Tell the story that is behind the posts on your feed, a bonus for those marketing strategies that are based on content and storytelling.

This trend allows you to connect with your target market throughout the day using a favored content format to post spontaneous and organic content. The new approach for a company is to tell original stories that reflect authentic moments, instead of the traditional publicity that can be found on any other channel. In this case, your followers become a part of your day-to-day life and are not just customers. The interesting aspect of this approach is that although you need to constantly create content, the posts are easier to produce, take less time to make and can be easily edited with the included tools to add the necessary creative flare.

What contents can be created in Instagram Stories:

• Show what happens behind-the-scenes. Showcasing how things are done in your company can build and maintain trust among your followers.

• Share tutorials or DIY projects. Provide solutions and show how the company’s products or services are used.

• Limited time offers and promotions. Creating a sense of ‘urgency’ drives customers. Design a strategy of ‘flash’ sales that generates the need for them to purchase your product, or use your service, as soon as possible.

• Support communication from other channels. This remarketing action will remind customers that a purchase is pending.

• Invite your followers to see your latest Instagram post. In this way you can increase engagement with your content.
• ‘Teaser’ Campaigns. Since the information is available for 24 hours use this time to create engagement by suggesting that the users stay tuned to your profile to see a product or activity.

It’s not invasive. Followers choose whether to watch your story. You can constantly post content without being invasive.

It creates loyalty and interest. If you are able to create interesting and authentic content you will have followers watching your stories every day.

Constant presence. It creates brand recall and allows your followers to receive instant information. They can tell, and share, the story of your company. Share stories constantly, in this way you will continue to appear and be visible at the top of your followers’ feeds.

Make the most of your active follower base. You do not have to expend effort and grow your followers from scratch. You already have them, so it is better to focus on exploring the potential of this tool to broaden your base. Thanks to hashtags, location stickers and the Discover section you can increase your chances of being found.

Generate live content. Live streaming video has a ton of value and while Instagram does not allow very long videos to be shown, which is what happens with Facebook or Periscope, it could become a useful interactive feature.

Nowadays we live in an attention-based economy, which is why it is essential to tell stories and turn them into brand stories. Remember that since it is a visual social network the shareable content must be of high quality to grab people’s attention. Personalize your stories to stay consistent with your brand. The key is to adapt the content to the target market and to post at optimal times to gain visibility.

How can you add branding to your stories?

In any of the actions in which you use Instagram Stories, it is important to use the same design elements to maintain a coherent branding.

Fonts. It is important to limit the amount of fonts used so as to maintain brand identity. If you only have a logo at the moment and you do not have an identity manual, you can use a font that complements the one used in the logo, which can help to reinforce the message and create a connection to the logo.

Even though there are many fonts associated with other brands, the combination that you choose should focus on creating easy brand recognition.

Colors. Always keep in mind the color palette associated with the brand logo and image. It creates a uniform brand identity and allows followers to easily recognize your brand.

Images. They must reflect the personality of the brand which is defined by the graphic and textual elements. Choose images that represent your followers. If it is a very fun and energetic brand it is advisable to use bright, lively colors with little saturation. If you are trying to portray seriousness and professionalism, then neutral, balanced and minimalist colors should be used.

Standardize your posts. It is ideal to create predetermined design templates for different posts using the same style, colors and fonts so as to be able to quickly and easily make posts with great content. The public will recognize the post and quickly associate it with the brand.

The main goal of social networks is to generate brand presence. The brand is not just the image on the logo, it is the brand equity that is offered and which allows us to identify it over others, always with the same style and personality. The followers must be able to watch the story and associate it to the brand. To achieve this, a clear, coherent and consistent message must be broadcast that will capture their attention.

If you would like to communicate with your followers, the best tool to use in Instagram Stories to generate content that is coherent with your brand image while at the same time creating impact, can be found at Desygners. This platform allows companies to quickly and easily design graphic content that will impress their followers. With access to a large library of templates where your content can be constantly customized and personalized, Desygner allows you to customize your Instagram stories while keeping the same consistent design and brand identity, thus generating an impact each time your brand shares its moments to Instagram Stories.

Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or visit our Instagram to find inspiration @desygnerapp

Originally published at blog.desygner.com on November 18, 2017.