Creativity and Instagram are best buddies that go a long way back. That’s exactly why brands and influencers initially fell in love with the platform and why they now go above and beyond to deliver the most scroll-stopping content and epic stories. Luckily, Instagram is continuing to play its part by constantly releasing features that enable users to become even more daring in their creative feats. So, what features and releases are we talking about exactly? Glad you asked, because we were about to tell you anyway. Here are our top pics, new and old, for the best creative ways to interact with followers through Instagram Stories:
Say it with a song
Sometimes the best answers come in the form of songs. Sure, we can give great answers ourselves, but maybe Beyonce can say it even better. That’s exactly what Instagram thought when they introduced the new music capability as a feature of the question sticker in Instagram Stories. Sure, this release could also be due to the fact that Facebook is trying to find new ways to leverage the music rights they just acquired. Whatever the reason, you can take advantage of the cool musical treat.
To use the music feature inside Instagram Stories, you must first create your Story and add a question sticker. Once you do this, a music icon will appear and you’ll be able to select it as a way to enable followers to answer. In addition, the new feature also comes with the possibility of adding video effects that will react to the beats and rhythm of a specific song.
The marketing applications for this feature are truly as large as your imagination. In fact, almost any brand can use music stickers to promote everything from internal initiatives to recruitment campaigns or product/service related stories.
However, there’s also a big downside to music stickers, as they are not yet available to users and accounts in all countries. But don’t despair. If you’re not among the lucky ones, you probably won’t have to wait that long. Instagram has a way of speeding things up.
Share feed posts to stories
This feature is not necessarily a new one, but it is highly effective so it’s well worth having another look at it. Sharing posts to Instagram stories is a rather simple and straightforward process:
- Find the feed post you want to share on Instagram Stories
- Click the ‘share’ arrow located below the post
- Select ‘add post to your Story’
- Add the stickers or tags your heart desires
- Enjoy!
Sharing feed posts to your Stories can aid you in a wide range of marketing activities:
- Share content from your followers: whether they’re mentioning you or posting pictures with the products/services you offer, sharing testimonials in the form of posts is a great idea.
- Make the most out of your collaborations with influencers and boost the reach by sharing their posts with the help of your Instagram Stories.
- Revive great old content you created by sharing it in your Instagram Stories. What a great way for a throwback!
Countdown to D-day
You can view this new feature as an awesome notification tool that can prove extremely useful for countless marketing initiatives. And it’s easy-peasy to put in use!
To add a countdown counter to your stories, proceed as usual and then select the countdown sticker from the sticker menu. You can easily customize your countdown by adding relevant info, changing its color and, of course, adjusting the time. Once you create the countdown, it will remain active in your sticker menu and you’ll be able to add it to new stories until the time you set expires.
Isn’t that cool? And useful! Oh, and what’s even more useful is that followers can choose to follow your countdown. When the countdown reaches 0, followers will also receive a notification.
What marketing applications are there for this feature? Oh, tons and then some more! You can use the countdown feature to announce an event, a product launch, a future live on your Instagram Stories or any other important milestone you want to draw attention upon.
Don’t be shy, ask and answer questions live
You don’t need any complicated statistics to understand that social media is gravitating towards more authentic content and doing things in real-time. That’s why the ‘live’ feature has really taken off. Not a day goes by without a blogger or influencer to do a live. If you’re not already going live in front of your audience you should definitely consider doing so. This is your opportunity to gather relevant feedback, but also create stronger connections – and even answer questions or ask.
A fairly new release allows followers to ask questions while you are live. To take advantage of this option you must first create a story with a question sticker. Gather the questions and then answer them live. Users will get notified on the same moment you go live to answer the questions and they’ll also have the option to ask more questions while you are live. To make your ‘Live’ even more exciting, you can share photos and videos from your camera stream.
Oh, and it goes without saying that you too can ask questions live. This is especially neat if you want to interact with influencers or public figures. However, make sure your questions are not related to future collaboration. Ask questions that show your interest in the area they’re representing, but don’t negotiate through this channel. Keep it professional!
How are you going to use your creative powers today?
What’s so awesome about all these Instagram Stories releases is that they enable social media managers and communication specialists to get even more creative. In this age and time, when new experiences are the norm, you need to keep followers highly engaged and always guessing what’s next. You can’t afford the luxury of being dull. So, mix it up with these creative tools and stickers for Instagram Stories. Time to get creative! And don’t forget to also be efficient by scheduling your posts with Preppr! First 10 days are on us!
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