5 Underrated Ways That Raise Brand Awareness Using Instagram Stories

by Al Gomez, Guest Contributor

​Within two months of its launch, Instagram Story immediately attracted 100 million daily active users. And now, two years since its first release, Instagram Story has generated 400 million daily users and changed the way people shared and consumed content from the internet.

Because stories posted on Instagram self-destruct after 24 hours, your followers are compelled to watch it before it’s gone forever. The limited visibility opens a wider window for anybody to be creatively free.

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Cultivate brand loyalty and increase your sales with Instagram Stories.

​In addition, its full-screen feature in the mobile-native vertical format maximizes engagement; a source of raw unpolished video content. It can get tedious, but that is what makes it real. And if there’s anything this generation craves more than changing for the better, it’s truth, honesty, and transparency.

To every socially-engaged brand, marketing and raising brand awareness on Instagram Stories is a fabulous window of opportunity. Do it right, and you not only cultivate brand loyalty, but the chances of your sales increasing also become better.

#1 - Product reveals, sales, and limited offers
Sales and limited offers attract consumers to come in droves. How do you draw them all to your physical stores? Well, via social media, of course. If they don’t want to miss an awesome deal on their favorite items, or if they don’t want to miss out on the latest offers, then you can bet they’ll be checking their Instagram frequently.

Instagram Story’s format gives you a chance to present your products in a variety of ways. It’s time to showcase your brand in a different light. What’s more, don’t shy away from teasing your new product on your Stories.

Create some much-needed hype, and don’t forget to provide demonstrations where possible too. Your followers will appreciate the product tutorials and the right amount of drip-feed.

#2 - Take the time to highlight your followers’ content
If your brand already has a considerably sized follower-group, it’s a wise idea to have a team of social media specialists monitoring some of your followers’ posts. In addition to keeping your pulse on what they do, it also opens an opportunity for you to let your followers know that you care about what they post to.

Give them a shoutout or a special mention on one of your Instagram Stories once in a while. It pays off, truly.

#3 - Point your followers towards your website or your blog
Instagram followers amounting to 10,000 and above unlocks the ‘swipe up’ option. Use Stories to direct the flow of consumer traffic to where you need them to be. Point the way to your website or a current blog post they’re interested in. It lets you link it to the story itself, so it’s worth taking advantage of.

#4 - Select themes for each day
This specific tip is going to need more than a few seconds of consideration. Strategies come into play here. But nevertheless, whatever it is you decide on -- whether it’s Inspiring Mondays, Wisdom Wednesdays, or Freaky Fridays -- you can try incorporating a theme for a specific day of the week.

It’s one way of placing consistency in your posts, as well as create a recall that your brand will surely be remembered for. Just remember to name the days of the week aptly -- with relevance to what your brand stands for.

#5 - Create polls
Instagram Story has a feature that is insanely cool. They have Instagram Poll Stickers. You can add questions with two-answer options to your Instagram Story. And your followers will simply decide on their answers.

The reasoning behind this one is pretty evident. Polls encourage audience participation. It’s one sure way of gauging your followers’ likes and dislikes. What do they want to see next? Do they prefer this product or this one? Which matches that? The intent is clear here.

You are giving your audience a voice, and a say in your company’s decision-making. And that is a marketing move they will appreciate.

Instagram Story marketing is wise decision-making
Marketing and raising brand awareness on Instagram is all the rage. It’s a no-brainer why companies are jumping on the Instagram train. A social media platform of over 800 million monthly active users, and it’s completely free. What’s not to like?

And with Instagram Story joining the fray, the interactive features present to open a whole new door for audience engagement. Promoting events and giving behind-the-scenes access is all well and dandy. But there’s more you can do in order to drive your sales higher and build a relationship with your customers.

So to summarize, the other ways you can engage your audience are:

• Unveiling products, offering sales and broadcasting limited offers.
• Highlighting your followers’ content.
• Directing consumer traffic to your website.
• Planning themes for the day.
• Creating polls for audience participation.

Author bio:
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Al Gomez is the President and Founder of Dlinkers -- a company dedicated to providing complete digital marketing services. With more than ten years of experience, he enjoys supporting smartpreneurs like himself to achieve online success.

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