How to Use Instagram Stories: 6 Tips for Promoting Your eCommerce Brand

With over 500 million users across the globe, chances are good that many of your customers are on Instagram. Marketers have long been using the image-sharing social network to promote their brands, but the launch of Instagram Stories last August has changed things up a bit.

Instagram Stories is nearly identical to Snapchat Stories, where users can send photos and videos that disappear after a certain length of time after the receiver views them.

If you’re an eCommerce merchant, this is an excellent opportunity to share more than just the picture-perfect moments you’ve carefully worked into your marketing strategy. You can now share those random and genuine moments that show a different side of your business and your brand.

The potential of this new feature is enormous, and marketers shouldn’t waste this opportunity. Here are six tips to help you begin promoting your eCommerce brand with Instagram Stories:

1. Tease New Products, Promotions, and Content

One of the reasons why Instagram Stories is so effective is that it creates FOMO (fear of missing out). The stories disappear within 24 hours, which gives your followers a sense of urgency that they don’t get with your regular Instagram posts. This makes it perfect for teasing new products and upcoming events.

We’ve seen some brands do this brilliantly. J. Crew used it to tease its September sunglasses collection with tremendous success, while Sephora gave followers a glimpse of the makeup tutorials they would soon release. Try it with your products and promotions and see how your followers respond.

2. Give a Glimpse Inside Your Brand

Putting a face to your business is essential—primarily online. Customers want to connect with humans, not businesses they can’t relate to. That’s precisely why you should take advantage of the casual nature of Instagram Stories and give those fascinating glimpses into your eCommerce store.

For example, you could post a story that shows your employees taking part in a viral trend or celebrating an achievement of one of your employees. It puts a human touch to your brand that can lead to greater brand recognition and loyalty in your followers.

3. Reward Your Most Engaged Followers

Unlike your regular Instagram posts, the Stories you share don’t appear in your followers’ news feeds. Instead, they can click on your Story at the top of their screen if they wish to view it. You may need to create a little incentive to get them to view your Story.

Your incentives don’t have to be huge, but they do have to be worth it; otherwise, your followers won’t bother opening your Stories in the future. Besides, you want to give the best to the loyal followers to follow you on Instagram, so you should reward them for their loyalty!

Offer coupons that only appear in your Stories, show promo codes that become ineffective once the 24 hours are up, or offer free swag as Mountain Dew does to its followers. You can even announce breaking news about your brand in an Instagram Story if you have hotly anticipated products.

4. Give Quick and Helpful Tips

There is a reason why headlines that begin with “5 Fast and Dirty Tricks for A/B Testing” get our attention. Consumers want helpful information they can process quickly, and Instagram Stories is perfect.

The subscription-based apparel startup Stich Fix regularly uses its Instagram Stories to provide helpful styling tips to its followers. Now, your eCommerce store can use it similarly. Show off your expertise in your industry by providing your followers with tips and tricks that will make their lives easier in just seconds!

5. Show Off Your Creativity

It doesn’t matter what you sell—there is a way to make it exciting using Instagram Stories. Online stores everywhere are using it to show the human side of their brand and let some silliness show.

Take Starbucks, for example. They made coffee exciting by posting a humorous Instagram Story in which two of their iced coffee drinks fall in love with each other.

Some businesses use Instagram Stories to ask questions of their followers and keep them engaged, while others use a mix of filters, drawings, and text to liven up their products. There are an endless number of ways for you to show off your creative side and promote your brand.

6. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Feedback

Did you know that Instagram Stories can be used as a feedback tool? Unlike your Instagram posts, followers can’t comment on or like your Instagram Stories. The only way that they can respond is through a direct message that no one else can see.

You can treat Instagram Stories as a one-question anonymous survey of sorts. For example, Taco Bell used its first Instagram Story to ask its followers what they would like to see using the new feature. Users can then send their answers via Direct Message, and you can further improve your social media marketing efforts based on this feedback.

Final Thoughts

Connecting with consumers is critical to your eCommerce store’s success, but engaging with your audience is not always easy. With Instagram Stories, you now have another way to promote your products and tell a compelling brand story that inspires loyalty in your followers.

There are many exciting ways to use Instagram Stories, and we look forward to seeing how other brands use this feature in the future. Just remember to keep your audience in mind as you create your stories so that your message continues to make an impact!