By Natalie Just

What is an Instagram story and why is it so important?

Instagram’s story feature was established in 2016 and it allows creators to share more personal, every-day life with their followers. While this was new to the Instagram app, the public was no stranger to the idea of a “story” post for their followers to see. Instagram’s competitor, Snapchat, was the initial platform to offer this feature. In an effort to stay relevant, Instagram stole the idea but it might have been the platform’s smartest move to date. Since Instagram has released the story feature, users have been able to reach their audience in a whole new way. They are able to stay connected through more casual type videos, pictures and the additional features Instagram has to offer. So whether you are a business, influencer or creator, you will benefit from story views and engagement. In this article, we are going to be breaking down five simple and effective ways to increase your Instagram story engagement and connect with your target audience better than ever.

#1 Know when your audience is active

When planning out your Instagram stories, you want to be sure you post at the most optimal time so that as many followers as possible see it! To do this, go into your Instagram Insights and tap on Followers. Here you will be able to see what days and even what hours your audience is most likely to be on Instagram. Although your stories will last for 24 hours, you still want to post at the prime time so that it pops up on your follower’s home page as a new story. The more your story appears on the top of your follower’s home page, the more they are likely to click on it first, and the algorithm will pick up on the fact that that specific user likes your stories and will then continue to have your story be pushed to them first.

#2 Use Relevant Hashtags

There could be an entire blog about the importance of hashtags, but for now, I will summarize them as being a very important step to get your content seen by more of your target audience. People are now able to follow hashtags and hashtags even have their own story feature. So, when your story uses that specific hashtag, anyone following that hashtag or interested in it has the opportunity to see it. If they like your story, they might even follow you! To add a hashtag, all you have to do is type “#” and then your keywords, or Instagram has it’s own hashtag sticker you can click on as well. It is important to note that you should make your hashtags as relevant as possible. Meaning, use the hashtags to describe what is in that story that would interest a potential follower. For example, if you are a fashion blogger that posts a story of your outfit of the day, use hashtags like: #ootd, #fashionblogger, or #pittsburghfashionblogger. Which leads me to my next tip.

#3 Add Your Location

As you can see you want to be as specific as possible when it comes to attracting and engaging your target audience on stories. That includes adding your location. Utilizing a hashtag like #pittsburghhairstylist is a great way to include your location on a story, but Instagram actually has a location sticker available to you! Once your image is uploaded into stories, just swipe up to find all of your stickers and add location. When searching for the location to add, I would suggest putting the city where your HQ is located, the restaurant you are dining at, or the general area where you live and would like to attract followers from. Adding this sticker to your story will show Instagram that you are trying to target people in that location and will start to attract some followers from that area!

#4 Post with the Poll Sticker

This is a relatively new feature on Instagram stories and it allows your followers to directly engage with each story. Because they are taking the time to watch your story and figure out what they want to vote for on your poll, they are spending a longer amount of time than usual engaging with your content. This shows Instagram that your followers like to look at your content and will continue to push your stories to them. A great example of a story poll you could do as a business is ask your customers to help vote on which upcoming designs or styles they like best. Post an image with two different colors side by side and ask which one they like best for the spring collection. Your audience will leave your story feeling like they genuinely made an impact in your business, and you will have a better insight as to what your customers like, plus better story engagement! It is a win-win-win!

#5 Create a Conversation with the Q&A Feature

Conversing with your followers and customers on Instagram stories is a great way to keep them engaged in your business. The Instagram Q&A feature allows you to do that so easily! All you have to do is add that sticker to your story and wait for questions to roll in. Then, you can answer them by directly messaging the person who asked the question or you can share your answer to stories for everyone to see! General Q&A type stories are a fantastic way for your followers to get to know you better! One of my favorite ways to do this is by creating a themed Q&A. For example, if you are a beauty influencer, your Q&A topic could be all about skincare one day and all about eyeshadow the next! These Q&As help you and your audience get to know eachother better, and keep them entertained and engaged on your page for longer.