Why should you be using Facebook and Instagram Stories to market your business?

Have you had a go at Instagram Stories yet? Instagram Stories are slightly different form your usual post as they only appear for 24 hours. However, they appear at the very top of your feed before any of the standard posts so this really is prime real estate as it is often the first place people look when they log into Instagram.. Better still, it is free with all personal and business accounts. 

There are many options with Instagram Stories, with more options being released on a regular basis. You can include many different elements including text, images, giffs, video and more. You can also go Live on Instagram Stories if you’re brave enough. 

You can’t schedule Instagram Stories in advance but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be using this feature!

In addition to the usual, you can now add stickers to your Instagram Stories, or colour over an image. You can run polls, ask questions, add hashtags or your store location and more. But make sure, whatever you create is relevant to your brand voice and company objectives. If your audience is mostly made up of corporate professionals for example, it is probably best you don’t go crude or over do it with emojis. 

You also have the option of sending your Instagram Stories to Facebook Stories or you can keep your story forever by adding it to your Highlights section on your Profile. After you get a certain number of followers you will also unlock ‘swipe up’ functions which is great for directing more customers to your website or for when you’re hosting a competition / contest. 
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Not everyone has the time or money to invest in regular stories posts so what you can do is share your existing posts to your stories. Then customise them with stickers or a location tag etc. This will save you time as you’re simply re-sharing content you’ve already created. Remember, stories are prime real estate and will encourage more click-throughs and followers as your audience are able to re-share your content in their own feeds. Exciting isn’t it?