You only have 24 hours until your Instagram Story disappears. That’s exactly why you need to make it count. And that’s exactly where storytelling on Instagram comes in.
Luckily, there are many ways to do it. You can upload a photo from your gallery or add some stickers and effects to step up your IG marketing game.
Mind you; this is something that large brands do to engage their followers. They also use Instagram Story to share a compelling narrative about their product or brand.
So, before you publish your IG story, here are nine practical ways you can use storytelling to capture the attention of your audience.
How to implement storytelling on Instagram
1. Know Your Audience
Before you develop content that has a compelling story, you need to know your audience well.
What’s the type of people you’re writing for? What kinds of imagery resonates with them?
Having many things on your plate might eventually lead to a lot of confusion for your followers, thus making them less engaged with your content.
So ensure that you check the insights on your social media platforms.
That way, you’ll know what kind of captions, imagery, and social media posts that your followers love to engage with. This way, you can come up with content that engages your audience more.
2. Show Your Process
What are the things that usually happen behind the scenes? Is there something unique that makes the real magic happen?
Maybe your competitors in your industry are following the same process, and you do things differently. You can tap Instagram Storytelling to help show your audience how the process is different, telling them what it means to them.
3. Know Your Brand Values
At Voy Media Marketing Agency NYC, we always tell our clients that storytelling is based on having a solid understanding of your brand’s values.
When you develop your brand history, you can easily communicate to your audience why your business has its values. These stories will usually be a part of your marketing strategy and will be based on your company’s mission and vision.
That way, people will have a much more straightforward concept of what your business is all about.
On the platform, these values needed to be expressed visually. That’s because visual information will be easier to digest than straight texts.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to develop a social media style guide to determine how your brand values will be presented.
4. Show Don’t Tell
Try to adapt a show-don’t-tell-approach. Doing so will allow people to experience your story with vivid imagery with storytelling. As a result, you’ll be able to effectively communicate the value of your product without coming off as too sales-y.
Unless you run a well-known resort, you may find it challenging to get engagement from your audience. If you want to attract your audience’s attention, you will need to show them your services instead of telling them.
For example, instead of stating that you offer Thai massage, show a lovely couple enjoying such a service. Another would be them enjoying a glass of pina colada in one of your tiki bars.
You might want to tell the guests how the sunset gives the most romantic glow or what it feels like to walk barefoot on the white, sandy beach. These are the things that will win people over.
5. Create Tension
You’ll draw more readers to your story if it’s true to them. To accomplish this, you need to build tension.
Have you ever noticed how the most page-turning novels or books have managed to create mystery, intrigue, and tension to the reader?
The same thing happens when people scroll down an Instagram feed of a well-written post. As they scroll through it, they might feel a heightened state of uneasiness and entices them to learn more.
6. Maintain Copywrite Harmony
Yes, people still read Instagram captions. That’s why you shouldn’t hesitate in giving your images context unless it’s a strategy that often calls for the opposite.
Ideally, it would be best if you established harmony with your images and copy. That’s why you ought to do the first thing to ensure that they’re in line with your brand personality.
Although it’s still vital that you integrate colors with every photo, there shouldn’t be a disconnect between the image and caption. For instance, a brand that’s targeting children and parents may not want to edit their photos in a dark and brooding way.
7. Share Your Customer Stories
Although testimonials are good, testimonials are even better.
Did you get to transform the life of your client? Has a customer innovatively utilized your product? Is there something unique that a long-term client of yours achieved?
Make sure that you get to share these stories.
8. Establish a Connection
Humans tend to be social and emotional creatures.
Chances are, most of us would like to choose brands which we have an affinity to the type of services and products that we want.
By understanding the kind of Instagram followers you have, you can develop a marketing calendar that resonates with them. Your marketing calendar should include content your followers will find valuable.
9. Leverage Customer Data
Communicate your branding in a way that your team understood isn’t enough.
You may also need to consider the viewing habits and perception of your target audience. That’s where customer analytics comes in.
Ensure that you do all the necessary research required. You may also want to look through the analytics that’s available on your Instagram account.
Over to You
Instagram is undoubtedly an excellent platform to build awareness around your brand. Other than the posts you make on your IG feed, Instagram Stories can help you attract the right audience.
Whether you are new to this Instagram marketing game or refining your strategy, the tips listed above can give you new insights. This includes exploring your creativity and engaging your audience.
After all, storytelling is an art. More so if it is a story about your brand. That said, we suggest that you develop creative ways on how you can showcase your business and what you can provide to your customers.
This post was contributed by Kevin Urrutia, the Founder of Voy Media.
