You may have noticed that Instagram added a new feature last year called stories. These appear at the top of the app when you open it – simply tap on the first one and watch to your heart’s content!
These stories are short-lived. They only last 24 hours, after which they cannot be viewed by your followers. We advise turning on your story archive in your settings so that once they disappear your content is still available to you. This means you can create story highlights for anything that you do want to keep for longer than 24 hours.
But what does this all mean for your own Instagram account? Should you be using stories? Are they important? Are grid posts dead now? Let’s take a look in more depth…
Should you be using Instagram stories?
Yes! The reason is that when a huge new feature like this is introduced to a social media platform, people start using it in a different way. Instead of opening the app and immediately scrolling, many users will now view a few stories rather than looking through their feed. Of course, lots of people still browse their feed, or do a bit of both, so keeping your grid and story alive is very beneficial.
What about grid posts?
As mentioned, people are using Instagram in a different way thanks to this new feature but that doesn’t mean the grid posts is dead, no way! In fact, your grid is the first thing potential new followers will see, so you do need to keep it fresh and interesting to ensure they click that all important ‘follow’ button.
This seems a lot of effort, how do I do it?
We like to view it this way; your core messages should appear on your grid feed and your story can be used to supplement this. You can use the same content in both places but you can have a little more fun with the stories. Try adding music (although, frustratingly not every account has this feature available yet) and definitely play with the Gifs to add interest.
In addition, highlights are a fantastic way to ‘pin’ important story content to the top of your account page. We like to section it up into things like results, patient testimonials, FAQs, fun facts, etc.
There’s no doubt about it, it can feel like a lot of effort. That’s where HI Marketing can help. We are here to look after your social media accounts, keep those stories going and ensure your grids are welcoming. Sound good? Get in touch on 07805 506477!
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