6 Best Practices for Instagram Stories to Take Your Branding to the Next Level

Instagram Stories are a big hit on Instagram, especially for brands that want to make a difference in the social media landscape. Did you know that more than 400 million individuals use IG stories daily? If you are using it already, there is nothing like it, but if not, join the bandwagon now because many businesses are making the most out of Instagram Stories. 

According to an article published on https://sproutsocial.com, there are some engaging options such as the Questions Sticker as well as creative touches such as Music to make stories a one-off feature when it comes to content on the photo-sharing platform, Instagram. Again, the inception of Stories Ads for businesses also shows the power of stories to help brands promote their products or services. 

If you do not know how to use IG stories, you will need to read this article. Use the feature to boost visibility, engagement, as well as, content. Here are the six best practices to assure your Instagram Stories receive audience attention:

1. Ensure that your visual content makes a difference 

Instagram is a social media site rich in visual content and stories require the same treatment for branding and user engagement. Though you have a split second to pique audience interest, make stories engaging enough to make people watch the content. Use brilliant and contrasting colors in your overlays or fonts. Try to capture untried or interesting settings such as nature, crowds, landscapes, and more. You also need to incorporate an individual’s face to build a quick emotional connection with your audience. 

Though stories need not tick all these aspects most of the time, it’s an added benefit for attracting your followers’ attention. 

2. Guide your followers to stories 

You know that 400 million users use Instagram Stories every day, representing approx 40 percent of the platform’s active user base. When you publish new content to your IG stories, let your followers know about what you have posted. 

Do not post anything spammy; post exclusive content instead so that followers view the same. You can post reminders so that your audience does not miss your IG content. Your goal is to direct your followers to stories for maximum engagement and visibility to promote your products or services. 

3. Do not ignore copy or text

Though this may sound obvious, focus on copy or text used in your visuals, ensuring the text is easy to read and understand. You can use Instagram’s Sans Serif font, which comes default, and is legible. Then, you can experiment with other fonts or colors. 

Make sure you are not using colors that clash or text that is difficult to read on mobile phone, especially red text on an orange background. Again, do not clutter your stories with too many texts. Doing so, you will end up annoying your followers. 

You can take inspiration from Starbucks, the coffee giant that uses default text together with its unique chalkboard writing to make its brand message clear using short phrases. 

If you are wondering and asking can people see when you look at their Instagram, the honest answer is a no. Then, this rule does not hold when it comes to stories or short videos. Therefore, make your stories engaging enough for people to watch. 

These days, more brands are using stories, and therefore, walking the extra mile for adding a dash of creativity will help your content stick out compared to the rest. 

4. Make the most out of stories ad

If you would like to make your Instagram Stories content pop, run a stories ad to create the maximum impact on your audience. Many businesses have witnessed success leveraging IG’s over-targeted ad platform through stories. You can use 10 images or videos, and the full-screen option is unique when it comes to formatting and maintaining followers’ attention. 

When you are planning to run a stories ad, you need to remember a couple of aspects and best practices. These include:

• The use of no or little overlaid text on your Instagram photos or videos to ensure optimum delivery
• Full-screen and high-definition photo sizing. The experts in the industry recommend 1200 by 628 pixels. 
• No dependence on auto-playing video or sound, as most stories ads played minus the sound. 

Paid stories ads are excellent for businesses within budget to make their individual bite-sized ads. If you follow stories’ particular specifications and know your audience well, you can reap the maximum benefits out of stories’ ads. 

5. Use smart apps to make your images stand out

Besides Boomerang, you will find loads of other IG apps like Over, Hype Type, as well as, Adobe Spark, which have features tailored for Instagram Stories. Whether it’s creative overlays or font packs, a premium app is a right resource you must use to make your Instagram images stand out from the rest. Your goal is to make IG visuals pop, create a jaw-dropping impact on your targeted audience. That is because Instagram is all about stunning visuals and nothing average or mediocre. 

6. Integrate interactive components

Did you know that Question Stickers and Polls make your Instagram Stories interactive instantly? These elements trigger engagement from your fans, right from the word go. Use these elements to represent a humorous way to pick the brains of your followers. If you consider Netflix, for instance, the streaming platform helps its followers look for movie suggestions with the emojis of their preference. 

Again, brands such as Hello Fresh run quizzes periodically to keep their followers engaged. In their stories, Hello Fresh publishes the results so that the participants can see how well they have performed in the contest. 

Instead of making, your Instagram Stories become useless, use these elements that stand for a kind of call-to-action to keep your followers engrossed in your IG content. Call-to-actions are essential on Instagram to help your followers take some action after viewing your content, be it images, stories, or videos. 

Conclusion 

Instagram Stories are getting better and bigger and therefore, keep these best practices in mind to leverage the same for taking your branding to another level. Stay ahead of your competitors and keep your audience hooked with stories.