Even if your images are the primary focus of your Instagram account, it is important to utilise all of the other elements that this platform has to offer in order to develop an effective social media strategy. It is no longer sufficient to just post images on Instagram, like, and comment on other people’s photos in order to be noticed by others. These days, an increasing number of users are viewing and engaging with businesses through Instagram Stories.

According to Instagram, one-third of the most-viewed Stories come from business accounts, and the company is making it easier for users to explore and shop websites right from within the Instagram Stories interface. Because it is anticipated that these features will continue to increase and diversify, making use of Stories is an absolute requirement.

Consider the following five options if you’re new to Instagram Stories or just looking for ways to differentiate yourself from the crowd:

Polls The Instagram Polls feature enables users to quickly create and vote on individualised polls that may be used for a variety of purposes, including research as well as amusement.

Highlights

Stories only remain visible for a period of twenty-four hours before they are deleted, which may be advantageous for limited-time promotions such as sales or giveaways but is detrimental to the creation of useful, evergreen content that assists viewers in becoming familiar with your company. Fortunately, Instagram has introduced a new feature called Highlights, which makes it possible for users’ Stories to be displayed in the bio area of their profile pages. You have the ability to select which Stories should be kept, as well as to group and name them in order to make it simpler for other users to locate what they are looking for.

Takeovers

According to Hootsuite, customer trust is on the decline, and an increasing number of individuals are looking to each other for advice on businesses and products. Consider asking one of your employees, customers, advocates, or influencers to take control of your Instagram Stories for a day or for a predetermined amount of time. Businesses that place their employees, customers, advocates, and influencers at the forefront of their marketing strategy may have more success. This motivates users to visit your account in order to see what an influencer is up to, which not only results in a spike in traffic but also has the potential to convert casual viewers into active followers.

Videos

Instagram Stories makes it simple to record video directly within the app or to submit video files from outside sources, which speaks to the continued popularity of video as a content platform. Since the maximum length of a video that can be uploaded to a Story is 15 seconds, you will either need to create short, punchy movies or upload a lengthier video that has been edited down into 15-second segments. In addition, Instagram possesses handy tools such as Boomerang, Superzoom, and Rewind that can assist you in making your videos more creative. Additionally, Instagram possesses a Live option that enables you to stream video in real time.

Templates

A recent trend that has gained traction among Instagram users is the development of original themes for use in their Stories. There are a variety of purposes that can be served by using templates, such as advertising sales or highlighting a person or quote of the day. You can also develop questionnaires or “choose your own” templates that are specifically designed to be shared with your audience. This gives them the opportunity to take screenshots, fill them out, and post the results in their own Stories. If you include your username in the template in some capacity, you may experience a spike in traffic from users who are looking for the original templates you uploaded to your account.
Instagram Stories are a dynamic and efficient method to connect with your audience, and they do it without the pressures and limitations that sometimes accompany the sharing of still photographs and videos. There are so many different features available on Instagram that it is a no-brainer to include Stories as part of your overall strategy.