Category: Blog
Social Media Spark: 4 Actionable Tips for Small Business Owners
Hey small business rockstars ???????? Ready to sprinkle some social media magic into your marketing strategy this year? Buckle up, because I’ve got four actionable tips that will take your small business to new heights in 2024 and beyond!
1. Define Your Brand Voice and Story
Imagine your brand as a character in a captivating story—you’re the author, and your audience is eagerly waiting to flip the pages. Define your brand voice and story to stand out in the noisy social media universe. What makes your brand unique? What values do you stand for? Craft a consistent and authentic brand voice that resonates with your audience. Whether it’s witty, informative, or heartfelt, let your brand personality shine through every post, tweet, and message. Remember, a good story always leaves a lasting impression.
2. Know Your Audience Inside Out
It’s time to put on your detective hat and get to know your audience like a best friend. Dive deep into understanding who they are, what they like, and how they engage on social media. Use analytics tools to uncover valuable insights about their preferences, behaviours, and demographics. Tailor your content to meet their needs and desires. By speaking their language, addressing their pain points, and offering solutions, you’ll create a strong connection that sparks engagement and builds loyalty. Remember, your audience is the hero of your social media journey.
3. Embrace Video Content Like a Pro
Lights, camera, action—it’s time to make your social media presence pop with captivating video content. Video is a powerful tool that grabs attention, evokes emotions, and drives engagement. Whether it’s live streams, how-to tutorials, product demos, or behind-the-scenes glimpses, video content is king in the digital realm. Don’t worry about being perfect; authenticity trumps polish. Grab your smartphone, hit record, and let your creativity shine. Your audience will love the dynamic and immersive experience that video brings. So, let’s roll out the red carpet for your video debut!
4. Engage and Build Relationships
In the fast-paced world of social media, building genuine relationships is the secret sauce to success. Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions. Show appreciation for their support, ask for feedback, and start conversations. Be proactive in reaching out to influencers, partners, and collaborators to expand your network. The more you engage and connect with others, the stronger your community will become. Remember, social media is a two-way street—listen, engage, and foster relationships that last a lifetime.
By defining your brand voice, knowing your audience, embracing video content, and building relationships, you’re on the fast track to social media success. So, roll up your sleeves, sprinkle in some creativity, and let these tips be the magic wand that transforms your small business into a digital powerhouse.
5 Realistic Social Media Goals For 2024
Are you ready to kickstart your social media success in 2024? Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if that’s your vibe) and get cozy, because I’ve got some intentional goals that will take your social media game to new heights. Let’s dive in and make your digital presence shine!
Build an Engaged Community
At this point, we all know that engagement is the name of the game on social media. In 2024, focus on building a loyal community of followers who are not just passive observers, but active participants in your brand journey. Encourage conversations, ask questions, and respond to comments. Show your audience that you care about their opinions and create a sense of belonging. When your community feels valued, they’ll become your biggest brand advocates, spreading the word about your products and services far and wide.
Nurture Authentic Connections
In the age of bots and fake accounts, authenticity is the ✨golden ticket✨. Small businesses have a unique advantage—they can showcase the personal touch that larger companies often miss. Share your brand story, introduce your team, and let your personality shine through. Genuine connections with your audience will create trust and loyalty. Remember, behind every screen, there’s a real person craving that human connection. So, let your authenticity be your superpower!
Get Creative with Content
Standing out in the noisy social media landscape requires a touch of creativity. In 2024, focus on creating thumb-stopping content that captures attention and inspires action. Experiment with different formats like videos, infographics, interactive posts, or behind-the-scenes glimpses. Don’t be afraid to add some humour, tell stories, or share valuable tips. Your content is your chance to spark joy and create memorable experiences for your audience. Remember, creativity knows no boundaries, so let your imagination run wild.
Harness the Power of Influencer Collaborations
Influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere, and in 2024, it’s still a valuable strategy for small businesses. Partnering with influencers who align with your brand values can help you tap into their engaged audience and expand your reach. Seek out micro-influencers or nano-influencers who have a niche following that resonates with your target market. These authentic partnerships can create a buzz around your brand and generate quality leads. So, go ahead and make some influencer magic happen ????
Track and Analyze Results
It’s time to put on your data detective hat. In 2024, tracking and analyzing your social media efforts is essential to measure your success. Dive into metrics like engagement rates, reach, click-through rates, and conversions. Identify what’s working and what needs improvement. Use this data to optimize your strategy and make informed business decisions. Remember, data is your secret weapon to outsmart your competition and skyrocket your social media game.
Setting realistic social media goals for your small business is the first step towards success. By building an engaged community, nurturing authentic connections, getting creative with content, harnessing the power of influencers, and tracking your results, you’ll pave the way for a thriving social media presence in 2024.
✨Remember, it’s not just about the number of followers or likes—it’s about meaningful connections and delivering value to your audience. You’ve got this!
How Small Businesses Can Supercharge Success with AI Tools
Feeling overwhelmed by the ever-changing digital landscape? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Today, let’s talk about how small businesses can harness the power of AI tools to level up their game and conquer the online world.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just for the big players anymore. With advancements in technology, AI tools have become more affordable and accessible, making it possible for small businesses like yours to compete with the industry giants. So, let’s dive in and explore how you can use AI to skyrocket your success!
1. Get to know your audience better than they know themselves
Understanding your target audience is crucial for any business, big or small. AI tools can help you gather valuable insights that go beyond basic demographic data. By analyzing customer behavior and preferences, AI can uncover hidden patterns and trends, enabling you to create personalized campaigns that speak directly to your audience’s desires and needs. It’s like having a crystal ball for marketing!
2. Automate repetitive tasks to save time and money
As a small business owner, you wear many hats. But nobody’s got time for mindless, repetitive tasks, right? That’s where AI comes in. With AI-powered automation tools, you can streamline processes like data entry, customer support, email marketing, and more. By automating these mundane tasks, you’ll have more time to focus on what truly matters—growing your business.
3. Enhance customer experience with chatbots
Gone are the days of waiting on hold for customer support. With AI-powered chatbots, you can provide instant assistance to your customers, 24/7. These clever bots can answer frequently asked questions, guide customers through purchases, and even suggest personalized recommendations based on their browsing history. Your customers will be impressed with this lightning-fast support, and you’ll have more time to sip your coffee (or latte, if that’s your style) in peace.
4. Optimize your ad campaigns with AI-driven insights
Running digital ad campaigns can be like navigating a maze blindfolded—until now. AI tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify the best-performing ad placements, keywords, and audience segments. You’ll never waste a dime on ineffective campaigns again. It’s like having a digital marketing guru on your team, guiding you towards campaign success.
5. Personalize product recommendations to boost sales
Remember that feeling when Amazon suggested a product you didn’t even know you needed? That’s the magic of AI-driven recommendations. By analyzing customer behavior and purchase history, AI tools can provide personalized product recommendations that increase sales and customer satisfaction. It’s like having your own online shopping genie, granting wishes before customers even make them.
6. Stay ahead of the game with predictive analytics
Predicting the future might sound like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but AI-powered predictive analytics are turning it into a reality. By analyzing historical data and market trends, AI tools can forecast demand, detect emerging trends, and help you make informed business decisions. Say goodbye to guessing and hello to a data-driven future!
Now that you know the power of AI, it’s time to take action. Start exploring different AI tools and platforms, and find the ones that align with your business goals and budget. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, so start small and gradually incorporate AI into your operations. You’ve got this!
Harnessing the power of AI can be a game-changer for small businesses. By understanding your audience, automating repetitive tasks, enhancing customer experience, optimizing ad campaigns, personalizing product recommendations, and embracing predictive analytics, you’ll be well on your way to digital marketing greatness.
So, grab your cape and let the AI revolution begin. Your small business superhero journey awaits!
Unlocking Success: Digital Marketing Trends to Watch for in 2024
Ready to take a peek into the future of digital marketing? Buckle up, because I’ve got some exciting trends coming your way for 2024. Get ready to stay ahead of the game and revolutionize your digital strategy for the coming year.
1. Conversational AI: Chatbots evolve into virtual companions
Remember when chatbots were just basic question-answer machines? Well, get ready for the next level! In 2024, conversational AI will become more sophisticated, interactive, and personal. Imagine having a virtual companion who not only assists customers but also understands emotions, provides recommendations, and engages in natural conversations. It’s like Siri and Alexa had a digital marketing lovechild ????
2. Influencer marketing takes a turn to the micro side
We all know the power of influencers, but in 2024, the trend is taking a turn towards the micro-influencers. These social media rockstars may have a smaller following, but they have highly engaged audiences that trust their recommendations. By teaming up with micro-influencers who align with your brand values, you can capture the hearts (and wallets) of your target audience in an authentic and impactful way.
3. Interactive content gets even more immersive
Gone are the days of passive content consumption. In 2024, interactive content will reign supreme. Think 360-degree videos, augmented reality (AR) experiences, and immersive storytelling that truly engages your audience. By creating experiences that captivate and involve your customers on a whole new level, you’ll leave a lasting impression and stand out in the digital noise.
4. Hyper-personalization becomes the new norm
Personalization has been a buzzword for years, but in 2024, it goes hyper! With advancements in AI and data analysis, brands will have the power to create highly personalized experiences at scale. From tailored product recommendations to customized email campaigns, hyper-personalization will make your customers feel like ✨VIPs✨. Just remember, with great personalization, comes great responsibility (Spiderman reference intended), so make sure you respect privacy and build trust.
5. Video continues its reign as the king of content
It’s no secret that video has been ruling the content world for some time now, and its reign is far from over. In 2024, video will continue to dominate as the most engaging and compelling form of content. From short-form videos for social media stories to long-form videos for educational purposes, incorporating video into your digital strategy is non-negotiable. It’s time to grab your smartphone and start creating eye-catching videos that leave viewers wanting more. Lights, camera, action…you got this ????????????
6. Voice search optimization becomes a necessity
Hey Siri, will voice search optimization still matter in 2024? Absolutely! In fact, it’s becoming increasingly crucial. With the rise of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, optimizing your content for voice search is a must. Focus on long-tail keywords, natural language, and providing concise, direct answers. When someone asks their voice assistant a question, you want to be the one providing the answer. So, warm up those vocal cords and get ready for voice search domination!
Now that you have a glimpse into the future of digital marketing, it’s time to start preparing for 2024. Stay ahead of the curve by embracing conversational AI, tapping into micro-influencers, creating interactive content, hyper-personalizing experiences, leveraging the power of video, and optimizing for voice search. Remember, trends come and go, but the ability to adapt and evolve is what will set you apart from the competition.
So, let’s march forward and unlock success in the ever-changing digital landscape. 2024 is waiting for you, my digital marketing friend. It’s time to make your mark and write your success story! ????✨
The Benefits of Outsourcing Social Media for Small Businesses
In today’s digital era, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales. However, managing social media accounts effectively requires time, expertise, and consistent effort. This is where outsourcing social media can provide significant benefits for small businesses! Not sure if you’re ready to pass your accounts over to someone else? Explore the reasons why small businesses should consider outsourcing their social media management and how it can contribute to their growth and success.
- Expertise and Strategy
Social media platforms are constantly evolving, with new trends and algorithms emerging regularly. Outsourcing social media to professionals who specialize in this field ensures that your business stays up to date with the latest strategies and best practices. At Blab, we understand the nuances of different platforms, target audience demographics, content creation, and engagement techniques. We can develop a customized social media strategy tailored to your business goals, maximizing your online presence and driving results. - Time and Resource Optimization
Running a small business often means wearing multiple hats and juggling various responsibilities. Managing social media accounts can be time-consuming and detract from core business activities. Outsourcing social media allows you to focus on your strengths and allocate your time and resources more efficiently. By entrusting social media management to Blab, you free up valuable time to concentrate on growing your business, serving customers, and developing new products or services. - Consistency and Brand Voice
Maintaining a consistent brand voice across social media platforms is vital for establishing a strong brand identity. When you outsource your social media to Blab, we work closely with you to understand your brand values, personality, and tone. We ensure that your social media content aligns with your brand, maintaining a cohesive and authentic representation of your business. Consistency in messaging and visuals helps build brand recognition and fosters trust with your audience. - Content Creation and Engagement
Producing high-quality, engaging content is key to capturing and retaining the attention of your social media followers. Outsourcing social media allows you to leverage Blab’s expertise when it comes to copywriting and content creation. Blab can develop a content calendar, curate relevant content, and create original posts that resonate with your target audience. Additionally, we can monitor and respond to comments, messages, and reviews promptly, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. - Data Analysis and Performance Tracking
Social media platforms provide a wealth of data and analytics that can offer valuable insights into your audience, content performance, and campaign effectiveness. However, interpreting and utilizing this data effectively can be challenging, especially if you’re not a numbers person! Outsourcing social media management includes monitoring and analyzing social media metrics, allowing you to track the success of your campaigns, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. These insights enable you to refine your social media strategy, optimize content, and allocate resources more effectively. - Scalability and Flexibility
Outsourcing social media management provides scalability and flexibility to adapt to your business’s changing needs. As your business grows, Blab can scale your social media efforts accordingly, ensuring that you reach a wider audience and maintain consistent engagement. During seasonal peaks or product launches, they can ramp up efforts and create impactful campaigns. Additionally, outsourcing allows you to adjust your social media strategy as market trends evolve or your business goals shift, ensuring you stay agile and competitive.
Outsourcing social media management offers small businesses a host of benefits, including access to expertise, time optimization, brand consistency, engaging content, data-driven insights, and scalability. By partnering with Blab, small businesses can leverage this powerful marketing tool to enhance their online presence, connect with their target audience, and achieve their business objectives. Consider outsourcing your social media management to Blab and unlocking its full potential!
3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Social Media Training
I think it’s safe to say that social media has proved itself an incredibly vital tool for any small business! Whether it’s a place to tell your brand story, a community that allows you to directly engage with your customers, or a powerful targeting/listening tool to help you reach important audiences with your message, no other media platform can compete.
Whether you’re a small home-based business or a multi-million dollar corporation, social media provides a level playing field and new opportunities that continue to grow and develop as the years pass and the platforms evolve. That being said, all this potential and change can be overwhelming! As a small business owner, where do you even start? If you need to make a big impact with a small budget, you should consider custom social media training sessions.
Here are three reasons why you should elevate your knowledge while investing in yourself and your business in 2021 and beyond:
It’ll help you reach your goals faster
Some goals can be easily attained based on your current skill set and connections, but others can take a lot more time to conquer due to lack of time, resources or knowledge. Social media training sessions can help you reach those seemingly unattainable and frustrating social media goals faster by empowering you with the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to get the job done on your own time!
It’s a Budget-friendly short-term commitment
Unlike the cost associated with traditional marketing campaigns or long-term agency contracts, social media training can be booked and paid for on an as-needed basis. No contract is required and you can book as few or as many sessions as you want. Whether you’re looking to invest in training every month to keep your knowledge current, or you’d prefer to invest in one session to help you solve a specific problem you’re currently facing, training gives you that freedom.
It keeps you in control
Many businesses are worried about investing in social media because they don’t like the thought of someone else being in control. Social media training does the exact opposite; it keeps you in the driver’s seat the entire time. You’re in control of the topic, you get to ask all the questions and you guide the session entirely from start to finish. No external access to your accounts and no trusting someone else to create content, just the tools you need to empower you to grow your own business from the inside.
Looking to learn more about how Blab’s training sessions work? Want to book a custom private session? Contact us and let’s get the conversation started!
Mastering Social Media Scheduling: Tips for Efficient and Effective Management
There’s no denying that social media scheduling has become a crucial aspect of any successful marketing strategy. By strategically planning and automating your social media content, you can maintain a consistent online presence, engage with your audience, and drive meaningful results. These essential tips will help you master social media scheduling and streamline your efforts for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
Understand Your Audience
To effectively schedule your social media content, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your target audience. Analyze their demographics, preferences, and online behavior. Identify the platforms they frequent and the times when they are most active. Utilize social media analytics tools or platform insights to gather data and gain insights into audience engagement patterns. This knowledge will guide you in scheduling your content at optimal times for maximum reach and impact.
Establish Clear Objectives
Before scheduling your social media posts, define your goals and objectives. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or foster engagement? Establishing clear objectives will help you align your content and messaging accordingly. Create a content calendar that outlines specific themes, campaigns, or promotions for each social media platform. This approach ensures that your posts are purposeful, cohesive, and contribute to your overall marketing goals.
Utilize Social Media Scheduling Tools
Leverage the power of social media scheduling tools to streamline and automate your content posting. Popular platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social offer comprehensive scheduling features that allow you to plan, organize, and publish your social media posts in advance. These tools enable you to schedule posts across multiple platforms, manage content libraries, and even preview your posts before they go live. By using scheduling tools, you can save time, maintain consistency, and ensure a steady flow of content for your audience.
Optimize Content for Each Platform
Tailor your content to the specific requirements and nuances of each social media platform. Each platform has its unique audience, posting formats, character limits, and engagement features. Customize your content, visuals, and captions to suit the platform you are scheduling for. Additionally, consider the optimal posting frequency for each platform. While platforms like Twitter might require more frequent posts, platforms like LinkedIn or Pinterest may have a different posting cadence. Adapt your scheduling strategy accordingly to maximize engagement and reach on each platform.
Balance Automation and Real-Time Engagement
While scheduling tools offer automation benefits, it’s essential to strike a balance between scheduled content and real-time engagement. Allocate time in your schedule to actively monitor your social media channels, respond to comments, and engage with your audience. Actively participating in conversations and providing timely responses enhances your brand’s authenticity, fosters relationships, and encourages ongoing engagement. Blend your scheduled content with spontaneous, real-time posts to showcase the human side of your brand.
Continuously Monitor and Evaluate Performance
Regularly monitor and evaluate the performance of your scheduled social media posts. Utilize analytics tools provided by the social media platforms or third-party applications to measure engagement, reach, click-through rates, and conversions. Analyze the data to identify trends, popular content types, and optimal posting times. Adjust your scheduling strategy based on these insights to optimize your social media efforts continuously.
Social media scheduling is a powerful tool for managing your online presence and effectively engaging with your audience. By understanding your audience, setting clear objectives, utilizing scheduling tools, optimizing content, balancing automation with real-time engagement, and continuously monitoring performance, you can streamline your social media efforts and achieve desired results. Embrace the power of social media scheduling and watch your brand flourish in the digital landscape.
How to Adapt Your Social Media Strategy to a Post-Pandemic World
It’s no secret that social media has become critical to marketing during the pandemic. With spending on social media marketing predicted to rise, traditional advertising investments are starting to decline. So how can you, as a small business, continue to build on this growing trend? These five tips will give you a great place to start:
Play Around With New Channels and Features
Having a social media strategy is all about being in the know when it comes to unique features and updates so you can leverage them for success. Whether it’s Instagram Reels, Facebook’s integration with gift cards or TikTok’s opportunities for businesses, there are so many tools being launched that provide a unique opportunity to engage with your customers on social media platforms. Get connected with what’s new so you can quickly create content for new features and take advantage of them to hack your growth.
Integrate Your Social Media Marketing With Your Regular Marketing
A lot of small businesses make the mistake of looking at social media as a separate branch of marketing entirely, as opposed to another leaf on the original branch itself. As social media takes centre stage in our post-pandemic marketing world, it needs to integrate more seamlessly with your broader marketing strategy.
Harness the Power of Social Media Influencers and Content Creators
Marketing budgets that include influencers are on the rise, up to 7.5% from 6.5% a year ago and expected to rise to 12.7% in the next three years! As online traffic continues to increase, it’s so important for brands to identify the right influencers that will attract target customers and identify growth segments. It’ll also be important for social media managers to invest in influencer training and relationship building. Maintaining communication with influencers to discuss product updates and gain feedback on trends they’re observing, will go a long way toward creating a mutually beneficial partnership.
Adapt Your Creative Content to Current Times
COVID-19 is a reality right now all around the globe so why not adapt your creative content to suit it? Searching for stock photos to share with a blog? Avoid photos of large gatherings in public places because consumers will perceive that as outdated, or worse, insensitive. Just because your content lives online, doesn’t mean it’s exempt from the current trends and lifestyle adaptation brought on by the pandemic. On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of customers are beginning to feel fatigued absorbing content that enters on the virus, so tread lightly and do your part to understand the delicate balance before you slap something up on social media.
Take Time to Consider the Right Platforms for Your Business
Most businesses rank brand building as their top reason for utilizing social media platforms. That being said, it’s important to understand how each platform impacts the customers’ perception of your brand. Transparency and trust are huge factors in our current climate so consider which platforms you use based on their policies (i.e. privacy, hate speech etc) and how they might undermine the consumer’s trust.
As the pandemic continues to push more consumers online, social media is becoming increasingly important for small businesses. No matter how experienced or uncomfortable you are with using social media as a business, taking the time to create a connection with the consumer, building up their trust and focusing on brand awareness, will always pay off in the long run.
Not sure where to start? Contact us to learn more about one-on-one training sessions and how they can help empower you to grow your brand presence on social media.
How to Crush Your Email Marketing Goals
By now it’s clear that we’re all spending much more time online! Given the quarantine and social distancing restrictions, it’s no surprise that we’re surfing the web much more frequently than we were pre-pandemic. Despite that, it may surprise you to learn that we’re not visiting the same websites we used to.
As our digital viewing behaviours changed, so did our demand for specific types and sources of content. Just because there’s more people online more often, doesn’t mean they’ll automatically be swooning over your every word. As our lives continue to shift and change, so do our priorities and interests. If you’ve found your email marketing isn’t quite converting the way it used to, it may be time to reevaluate your efforts and kick off a new game plan that’s better suited to our pandemic lifestyle and beyond.
Break Out Your Customer Personas
Remember those personas you created forever ago that seemed useless and silly? Well now’s the time they come in handy! While it’s impossible to identify every customer’s every need, having customer personas to work from can help you stay relevant while continuing to reach a large audience. These personas will help you make assumptions about current pain points, tone and value propositions for individual “niche” markets. You’re still trying to reach the same people, you just need to witch up the nitty gritty details of how you do that in our current environment and beyond.
Lead With Empathy
If you want to bring in new leads and make sales, emotional intelligence is critical. That’s precisely why pandemic-related email open rates saw a 41% increase in March 2020, according to Worldata, despite overall email open rates plummeting. Consumers felt isolated and uncertain, so they wanted support and direction. If creating this empathetic, emotional content isn’t your strong suit, try the age old trick of putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. What do your customers need from you? What are they going through right now? What kind of support will they need in 2021? Try to focus on what possibilities will resonate most with your target audience and lead with that.
Prioritize Data
In the marketing world, data will always be your friend. While it can sometimes be complex or confusing to interpret, taking the time to learn more about the data behind your choices will pay off in the long run with more efficient and cost-effective campaigns. We’re all moving through uncharted territory so don’t be afraid to take some risks and dive deep into the data behind your email marketing campaigns to determine how to build a stronger inbox presence in 2021. Start small be evaluating your email subject lines and once you’ve mastered that, move on to mastering the preview text, composing an impactful greeting, writing a perfect call to action etc.
While the pandemic has definitely changed our everyday life and email marketing as we know it, you don’t have to throw everything out and start over. You just need to go back to the basics and work on reinventing your messaging to better suit your customer’s current needs. Not a fan of writing content? Don’t know where to start? Contact us to learn more about our content writing services and how impactful content can help you grow your brand online.
Why Instagram Stories Matter
By now we’re all super familiar with the “story” function that seems to be built into every major social platform at this point. What was once a unique feature on mobile app Snapchat, is now all the rage on Instagram, trying to break through on Facebook and rumoured to be launching as a built-in camera feature on Twitter soon.
Whether you use the feature religiously on or you’ve never bothered to check it out, it’s important to know what value it adds and how it can be used as part of an Instagram strategy to help you reach further and engage better.
Stories Vs. Posts
The first thing we need to determine is what the difference is between the two and how you can strategically decide what type of content to post where on Instagram. Social media has always been about sharing small snapshots and tidbits from our lives over the course of time and Instagram’s newsfeed does a wonderful job or organizing those for us in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Unfortunately, the news feed is where the algorithms come into play which means sometimes your narrative can get lost or your messages can unintentionally annoy or bombard your audience due to the system making guessing and trying to assume what people want to see and when.
Stories provide a fix for these challenges by literally stringing together the narrative and keeping it moving.
Ease of Use & Accessibility
The major value of stories is undeniably where they’re located on Instagram and how people engage with them. When your content is front and centre at the top of the app at all times, your audience is much more likely to see it and dive in to explore as organic impressions can be all over the place and based on previous engagements.
Compared to Snapchat, Instagram’s integration of the feature is much easier to navigate. Plus, thanks to the popular app, Instagram’s audience was already quite familiar with the functionality so it was easily and quickly adopted.
The Big Benefit
Stories present a unique opportunity to post as much as necessary and not have to worry about being penalized by the algorithm. They’re fantastic for more grassroots, raw content that encourage engagement and input with features like the Question button or the Poll option. Businesses can have fun using GIFs, filters and stickers to jazz up their content and can also tag other users, locations and even include hashtags to be part of a larger collection of stories curated by keywords.
Stories place your content front and centre and instead of forcing your audience to consume it, the feature give them the power back when it comes to what they view and for how long. If people are viewing your content in stories, they’re doing it because they want to and they’ve gone out of their way to check out what you’ve got to say.
What’s Next?
It seems like every week there’s a new update to the stories feature! While some directly benefit users, some are also great tools for businesses so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Instagram “New” story at the top of your feed to stay up to date with the newest updates.
What new feature would you like to see incorporated into Instagram stories?