Sorry, Snapchat, but Instagram Stories have well and truly taken over. For the individual, Instagram Stories are of little consequence, but why are Instagram Stories important for brands?
They make you human again
More and more, we are seeing Instagram stories for various brands – what happens in their office, staff lunches and snippets of newly completed projects. Is there a point to all of this? The answer is a most-certainly-HELL-YES.
The most important factor derived from creating Instagram stories is that it is humanizing – the world sees the wonderful work you do and post on your brand’s timeline, but they also get a chance to see the faces behind that work. Stories allow you to connect with your audience in a more personal way, showing that you are also human. The best thing is that you can post as much as you want without overpromoting or taking up room on your audience’s feed. And the story will disappear in 24 hours.
Instagram Stories show office culture
Showing all the fun things you get up to in the office are a way of creating a perception of the culture that lives in that workspace. This is great to do on an ad hoc basis because it takes very little time yet has so many rewards. Did someone bring donuts to the office? Put it on your business or brand’s story. Someone’s birthday? Put it on the story. These are small but effective ways for people to get an idea of the kind of personalities behind the work they do (and also so people know you aren’t an advocate for slave labour and poor working conditions).
Additionally, creating a positive image of your office culture is likely to attract people to work there. You may not be looking to hire more people, but when the time comes you want them to already have an idea of the values you stand for and that you do (sometimes) have fun in the office.
Stories are important in keeping you front of mind with your audience
A massive reason why you should be leveraging Instagram Stories is that you need to be adapting to the latest Instagram algorithm, where posts show up in the newsfeed based on what the platform deems most relevant to you. Through drawing your audience in with your Instagram Stories you have the opportunity to direct them to new and fresh content you’ve posted that they may not have seen because of the algorithm. So, the more stories you post, the bigger the potential for driving traffic to your various platforms.
If you are interested in seeing what The Brand Collective can do for you, your brand, and your brand’s Instagram, then get in touch to find out more about our social media management packages!
