Now that Facebook is slowly launching Messenger Day worldwide (a Facebook way to post Stories in photo or video) there is no doubt that this clone from Snapchat is showing attractive features for both users and businesses. Instagram has his own share in the group of storytelling products in social media. Instagram Stories is a direct competitor of Snapchat; some of its abilities are adding links, text, stickers, draw on them, and even include a link or mention other users or businesses. They can be searched and appear publicly on a profile (if a profile is set to public).
Content on this platform could be used to build a community, connect with it, and make the brand part of their audience’s life. But it also could help improving the customer experience of your company. With more than 600 million monthly active users and 90 million daily uploaded photos and videos, Instagram is a mobile community where a brand should be present; and with the Instagram Stories feature, you have everything you want from a mobile social network to create a story in a slideshow format: you can edit and upload photos, upload videos, apply filters, send direct messages, advertise, and create content that disappears in 24 hours.
How to use Instagram Stories to improve your customer experience
You may be creating stories but, have you included them in your online marketing strategy? How do you indulge your clientele or gain a larger audience with this feature? Contrasting from regular Instagram posts, you cannot rely on hashtags and tagging as many people on regular images. However, there are a few tactics and strategies to consider when thinking of wowing your customers.
1. Limited-time sales or special offers
One of the most dominant motivators in marketing and advertising is when a product offered on a ‘limited-time’ only. It moves buyers from the considering-getting-the-product phase directly into the acquisition phase — which is powerful. By using Instagram Stories to let people know that they have 24 hours (or as long as the Instagram Story is live) to buy the product with a discount can have a great impact on sales increase. Post photos, videos, and other related content and highlight the message that, as soon as the story expires, so does the offer. You can connect the story with a landing page or by giving a discount code that is revealed in the story itself; you can even allow followers to send a message through Instagram to claim the promotion.
Source: Classpass
2. Go live
Do it often, whenever and wherever is convenient for your target customer base. This will not only allow keeping engaged your followers, but it also shows that you are doing something to maintain your customers up-to-date with the latest news of your business. If you’re going live and providing great content, even more people are going to tune in and likely become a customer prospect. Such videos often rotate as more viewers tune in and live videos end. So by going live often, you’re giving yourself a chance to appear as Top Live posts. Top Live posts are popular trending Stories on the search page and they stay in there as much longer as people is watching it.
3. Feature customers using your product as a testimonial
Another way to improve your customer experience is by using testimonials. On your landing pages, when you convince someone to convert, a powerful, persuasive tool is social proof such as testimonials. And you might know that the more people use a service or buy a product, the more likely it is you will too. To you (and consumers in general), a higher usage is proof that a product or service works well. If this is not true then why would so many people want it? On Instagram, this same psychological principle holds true. Take advantage of it by asking your followers to submit photos of themselves using a hashtag (that you designate) using your service or wearing your product. With each one who does, you gain additional influence.
4. Ask your followers to be part of the decision-making process
This will create an emotional link between your audience and your brand. Empower your community by engaging them with new ideas; then ask your audience to like or comment on the idea they like best. To show the results of the poll create an Instagram Story with photos, videos, and comments and make it clear it was done with your audience. You can always organically promote this post among other social media platforms.
If your company posts to Instagram every day or multiple times a day, ask your audience to be part of the decision-making process — and be creative in your asks. This is a great way to increase your customer experience.
If your company posts to Instagram every day or multiple times a day, ask your audience to be part of the decision-making process — and be creative in your asks. This is a great way to increase your customer experience.
An example could be Taco Bell when Instagram Stories was launched. The food chain ventured into the world of the unknown. Using a combination of videos and features of stories (like the drawing tool), Taco Bell employees entered the world of stories. Once inside, they asked Taco Bell enthusiasts to direct message them what they’d like to see most on its Stories feed. After the initial story ran, the company tailored its content based on its community’s participation.
5. Show a peek of your business from inside
A “behind the scenes” can be showed by creating a story about your team or local office, or maybe show how your product is created, or a birthday celebration at the office. There are endless possibilities about how to use Instagram Stories to share an intimate part of your brand; give your audience a peek at how your company does what it does — from people to product. This gives your audience the opportunity to have a deeper connection with your brand and definitely humanizes it: Instagram stories may be temporary, but their effect on your overall brand is not.
6. Nurture followers by mentioning them
Mentioning people in stories works the same as it does in captions and comments, as this feature gives attention to your followers; the will love it! You can tag customers, followers, or those who inspire you with a personalized message. Once done it sends a notification to the user who will likely see the content.
Cheerios used Instagram Stories to give shout outs to its followers with personal messages and show a great customer experience (source: Instapage).
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