The rise of Instagram stories has forced marketers to pay closer attention to the quality of content than ever before. Growing to over a billion users now, Instagram has taken the internet by storm. The addition of its stories has made this fan-favorite social media platform a very popular business tool for e-commerce stores and has helped put Instagram on a fast track to global dominance.

Stories on Instagram are a way to emulate Snapchat’s ephemeral snaps. Simply put, Instagram stories are Snapchat killers, as popular Insta stories alone often attract more than twice to the total number of Snapchat users. Much of this is due to Instagram’s connection with Facebook, with the latter buying the photo streaming service in 2012 for $1 billion, and its immense user base has been attracted to the former’s ease of capturing and posting stories.

The immense viewership of even small-time influencer’s stories mean that businesses and brands that do not use Instagram are missing out on immense opportunities, and today promoting your products on Instagram is on the rise! To get the best results, marketers need to focus on quality and eye-catching content that bring in organic reach and give your stories a natural look.

One of the major issues is a user may already by following hundreds of thousands of businesses already, so how do you make your brand rise to the top? Social media Orange County can help you craft great Insta stories. Follow these tips to ensure your business ranks higher on Instagram Stories!

Quality content is the key 

In the early days of Instagram the platform organized photos and videos on your feed chronologically, but all this changed in 2016, and feeds are now organized by engagement. Here’s how it works – if you have been interacting with a particular account(s), watching stories, liking its posts, direct messaging them, or commenting, then your Instagram will promote similar posts to the top of your feed.

 Although we see different updates over time, the primary purpose of Instagram remains the same. It keeps the users busy on the platform engaging with brands and viewing ads, and so is oriented towards giving users the kind of content they want. 

Creating good content is easier said than done,  Social media agency Orange County can advise you on how to create killer content for your Instagram stories. Below are some of the best practices that you need to consider to get higher engagement rates on Instagram stories. 

Create more likable photos

Research shows that images with the dominant color blue, a single dominant hue, or ones with more background and low situation images get more likes and thus more engagement with your stories.

Add a call to action 

Engaging your audience with polls and quizzes always work! Every digital marketer is familiar with the power of a call to action, as you can engage your audience by adding a clear call to action sticker at the end of your story. Also, add polls and questions that you can share the results of to boost engagement at a deeper level.

Always go bold with the text 

When overlaying text on videos and images, always go bold! Create a great copy, use easy-to-read font size, prominent messaging, and different colors to improve the click-through rates. 

Share user-generated content 

User-generated content can do magic, so harness the power of your fanbase to engage your audience. Choose high-quality content that your business did not create itself. As your brand advocates and builds up its base of loyal customers, this will inspire all the other users to submit the content. 

Share your best stuff 

Whether you are posting on social media or writing a blog post, the ultimate goal is to hook your customers instantly! The first story that you share must make it clear what you are offering to the viewers, and don’t be shy in sharing the best content that you have, because all it takes is a second to move to the next story. 

Whether you are creating tutorials, how-to videos, or presenting deals and discounts to your followers, take time to craft a story that is engaging, appealing, and value-driven. Keep an eye on your story insights on your Instagram business account, and this will help you make great data-driven decisions.

Use tried-and-true formats and formulas

Instagram stories are more like storytelling, and they don’t work very well with regular Instagram posts. Take advantage of this feature with its sequential format and endless posting ability to create educational, value-driven, useful, and more authentic content. You can create behind the scenes footage stories, how-to’s and tutorials, and deals and discounts – nothing motivates a user like a good discount! 

Try the occasional live stream

Instagram is doing much innovate and improve its live videos and particularly long-form video, so you should not shy away from this opportunity! Try occasional live streaming, just don’t do it too much, as it will come off as spammy. Well-timed use of this feature can provide your followers with more engaging content, as well as boosting your account to your follower’s story feeds.

Engage with other accounts

It can be a bit daunting, but engaging with other accounts can be a very useful way to build reach. Instagram (or any social media platform), however, is not a one-way street, so you will also need to engage with the other account by replying, commenting, and liking their content.

Engaging with the other users allows you to break the walls between a brand and user, with the more you interact with your users the more likely you will be to reach the top of their feed, thereby increasing your reach and sales.

Geotag and hashtag for extra reach 

Geotag the stories to get local exposure, as it will allow new users to see your content in the tagged locations even if they are not already following you. You can also broaden the geotags, adding the whole state instead of just city, potentially adding a few new prospects for your business. 

All you need is consistency to stay ahead of time and continuously engage your followers, and Social media experts Orange County can help you leverage the power of your Instagram stories!