Use Instagram Stories Like A Boss: Fundamental Tips For Small Businesses
Ever wondered how you can use Instagram Stories as a Small Business? Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Instagram Stories currently has over 400 million daily users and if that statistic doesn’t knock your socks off, I don’t know what will.
How to Use Instagram Stories: A Step-By-Step Guide For Small Businesses In Australia
That being said, there is a lot of opportunity with Instagram Stories to reach out to your ideal customers and encourage them to visit your cafe, come to your event, or order from your online store.
Whatever type of small business you have, you can use Instagram Stories in an authentic way to increase brand awareness and even increase your sales.
Today I’m going to give you five key tips for using Instagram Stories as a Small Business so that you can get the best return on investment.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Step 1: Be Authentic On Instagram Stories
The reason why Instagram decided to create Instagram Stories was to allow us all an opportunity to share our less polished videos and images with our Instagram followers.
Don’t think you need to have everything perfect before you share an Instagram Story, or else you may never get around to it!
As a busy business owner, this should come as a delight to you. Now all you need to do is work up the courage to get on camera and share your daily small business shenanigans with your audience.
But what should you share on Instagram Stories as a Small Business? Here are some quick ideas:
● Share what you’re working on (a new recipe, an upcoming event)
● Share a quick snippet of why you decided to start your small business
● Have your team introduce themselves to your Instagram followers
Make a graphic in Canva to announce your new post.
Take a screenshot on your phone
For example if you do web design like Retro Marketing, take a screenshot of one of your website projects that are in the works.
Step 2: Be Consistent With Posting
There are a few ways that you can be consistent with Instagram Stories as a Small Business. You could…
1. Set up an alarm on your phone to remind you to share stories
2. Bulk-film vertical video content and schedule it in advance using an app like Plann.
3. Work content creation into your daily routine or into your team’s daily routine
Step 3: Use Hashtags To Reach New Audiences
One of the simplest ways to make sure you are reaching new audiences with your Instagram Stories content is to use hashtags in your Instagram Stories.
(Also, make sure your Instagram profile is public, not private!)
If you’d like to be super sneaky and become an Instagram pro you can make your hashtags invisible in Instagram Stories so that no-one even knows that they are there.
Sneaky sneaky! Here’s a quick tutorial to help you.
Step 4: Use Location Stickers
If you are a location-based business (like a brick-and-mortar cafe) you’ll find it really useful to use location stickers to make sure that when your content is getting great engagement you are likely to be picked up in your local Instagram Story.
Fun Fact: Did you know that on the explore tab there are local Instagram Stories that are creating using the highest performing content from people who are using location stickers?
Step 5: Try Instagram Live Videos
Finally, if you’d really like to get the attention of your Instagram followers as a Small Business you should definitely give Instagram Live Videos a try.
You can promote your Instagram Live video in advance and let your followers know by way of an Instagram feed post, in an email newsletter a day or so before you intend to go live… the key thing here is that you let people know what time you’ll be going live on Instagram!
During that Live Video you could do a Q&A about your products, services or business as whole or you could take the time to introduce a new team member to your Instagram audience.
Be creative, be authentic, and get the most out of Instagram Stories as a Small Business.
Final Thoughts On Instagram Stories
As a small business owner it is crucial that you use all elements of the Social Media networks that you are using to promote your products and services.
Instagram Stories is a great way to increase brand awareness, customer retention and it’ll also help you to prepare for future opportunities where you may need to get on camera - hello PR!
Have any questions about Instagram Stories? Join our marketing Facebook group here and sign up for our email list to get more invaluable marketing tips for your Australian business.
About the Author:
Mackayla Paul is an Instagram Marketing Specialist from Australia who is most known for her work with the Australian Circular Fashion Conference. Mackayla’s work has been featured in magazines such as Spa+Clinic and Fashion Observer Magazine.
