Struggle motivating yourself to show up on Stories? THIS will change your perspective.
Think Stories are pointless and just an afterthought? Think again! Sometimes the stories that seem the most “random” are actually thoroughly thought through.
Showing up consistently on Stories allows you to:
- increase visibility
- test-drive content
- increase engagement
- connect with your customers
- qualify and convert leads
- stay top of mind
- help your audience get to know you
Testing content is one of my favorite ways to use Stories strategically.
Here’s how to use Stories to test content.
Rather than trying to guess what your audience wants, why not get their feedback before you invest a lot of time into creating new content? You can test content in Stories a few ways:
Ask your audience
Want to know what your audience wants more of? Why not ask them?
- Post a poll asking them what they want you to post next
- Post a question sticker for feedback on what they want more of.
Don’t just talk AT your audience. Talk TO them. Ask them questions. Have them help you make a choice. When they feel like they have a stake in the outcome, they will be more invested in tuning back in.
The bonus of this strategy is you are also boosting your engagement at the same time. Two for one on strategy there!
Look at your Stories analytics
Your Insights are a gold mine of information and can often surprise you.
Where to find them:
- Go to the “hamburger” menu
- Select Insights
- Scroll down to “Content You’ve Shared”
- Click on Stories (change the time period and metric according to your goals)
What metrics matter?
The metrics that matter depend on your business goals. Here are a few examples:
Goal: Growth
Metric: look at FOLLOWS and PROFILE VISITS
Goal: Engagement
Metric: look at STORY INTERACTIONS
Goal: Website traffic
Metric: look at WEBSITE TAPS and LINK CLICKS
How To Put stories insights Into Action
You might be surprised what content gets the most engagement. I have found it’s usually the things we think are the most simple, straightforward things we do every day. Remember your audience on Instagram wants a quick win. They don’t have the capacity while scrolling for a deep dive. Make them feel like they are getting something out of following you by giving them a quick win.
When you find a Story topic that resonates with your audience, leverage that and turn it into content for your feed. Turn it into a Reel (p.s. if you can do Stories, you can do Reels). Create a carousel post with the tip.
Bottom line: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every post. Repackage what works and repurpose it. This will make content creation easier for you AND give your audience more of what they are telling you they like. A win-win.
amanda holliday 