These days people are posting less on their Instagram feed and more in their Instagram stories. Feeds seem to be reserved for curated, polished, and planned posts. That’s not to say that your Instagram stories can’t be all those things, but your story is where you really get to connect with your viewers without limitations.
Here are some of the best ways to use your Instagram stories to connect with your viewers!
Shareable Story Templates
Instagram story templates are premade layouts with graphics, text, animations, and such that helps your brand create consistent and cohesive Instagram stories. Shareable story templates are engaging and on-brand layouts where spaces are left blank so that your viewers can fill it in themselves.
“The reason Story Templates are so popular is because people like getting to know each other in fun and interesting ways. Another reason why Stories, in general, are so popular for businesses is that their followers get to see behind-the-scenes and get to know the people behind the brand.” – Hopper HQ
These can be templates such as:
- This-or-that
- Get to know me
- On-brand Bingo
- Would you rather
Make sure that you fill them out yourself, too, so that you can get to know your viewers and they can get to know you.
Polls, Questions & Quizzes
Poll, questions, and quiz stickers are probably one of the easiest things you can do to your Instagram story to connect with your viewers. Letting your viewers engage with your story in a way that is as simple as asking them a question or clicking an option on a poll creates a way for your viewers to connect with you when they might not necessarily feel like filling out a whole story template and sharing it.
“You’ll increase audience engagement, get ideas, and be able to tailor your efforts more closely to what your people want.” – Canva
Try creating engaging Instagram stories by asking questions like “Which one should I wear today?” and adding a poll sticker of two different outfit options. Ask your viewers if they have any questions for you and then answer them. Post a little quiz about yourself or your brand and let your audience answer.
Get Behind-the-Scenes
Use your Instagram stories to let your viewers see the behind-the-scenes or your life or your brand. It can be as easy as showing your morning workout routine or your set-up in the office. It shows real life, which is something that will make it a lot easier for your viewers to connect with you.
“If you’re struggling to figure out how to use Instagram Stories, consider putting the human side of your business on display.” – Sprout Social
By seeing what goes into your business, not only the curated content on your feed that makes everything look perfect, it gives your viewers a reason to care about what you do and who you are.
Talk to Your Viewers
Take the opportunity to use your Instagram stories to talk to your audience. All it takes is putting your phone onto video and talking to your camera for your audience to see a real person behind the brand.
“When you seem more human and honest your audience will be more compelled towards you. By being honest, about the highs and the lows, the audience sees a real person, not just a brand. Real people are a whole lot easier to connect with.” – Like a Voss Blog
People simply seeing other people being themselves—showcasing struggles and successes— is one of the best ways to build connections. Humans are inherently social creatures, which means that they are going to connect with a real person a lot easier than they will with photos and words.
With the rise of Instagram stories comes a rise in ways for you to connect with your viewers as long as you know how to use them. So have fun with it. Use templates and videos, polls and quizzes, and give your viewers someone to connect with.
Need help connecting with your audience? Contact us today to set up a FREE discovery session with our team – we’d love to help!
Don’t want to miss any of our awesome content? Then subscribe to our newsletter below. We will only email you once a MONTH, we promise!
