You have 500 million chances to be seen with your Instagram story! This figure is the number of fans of this feature on the social network. This is a potential target for anyone who wants to increase their audience. ?
Beware this number can remain an eldorado, especially you get into uncontrolled stories.
Instagram is a social network, under the umbrella of Facebook. It stands out from the latter by basing itself on the visual.
Indeed, on an Insta story, you only publish images, photos or videos.
But there are many options for introducing text to your media.
Why should you not neglect Instagram and its story to be seen?
Before you try to boost your visibility, it’s necessary to do a little reminder about Instagram and its stories. You don’t dive off a cliff without looking down!
The social network has had a story system in place since 2016 and it has gone viral (the latest “Reels” copies TikTok, but let’s not forget that stories were copying Snapchat at the time!).
Many companies (over 50%) use this channel to publish. They know that about 60% of users are more interested in a brand they have seen in a story. ?
Most importantly, 90% of Instagram followers already follow a business. Why shouldn’t you?
How to create an Instagram story?
Simply put, an Instagram story is an ephemeral publication. An image, photo or video that is only visible to an audience for 24 hours (unless recorded in a “front page” cover).
This publication is full-screen and contains a lot of visual information.
⚠️ A piece of media from a story can now be found in the Explore tab (?), browsed by at least every other user. This is a new possibility to increase your audience on Instagram.
Some prerequisites to avoid losing visibility
Before publishing your first story, check your profile carefully. Your description and your photo must hit the spot.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of Instagram usage is on mobile. Your posts should be optimised for a portrait view. ?
What about the publication format of the media?
They should preferably have a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
The weight cannot exceed 4 GB for videos and 30 MB for an image.
The maximum time of a video is 15 seconds. Longer videos are cut into several sequences.
? Remember that your media will be nibbled by the margins of the Instagram interface. Don’t put important information at the top and bottom of your images.
Stay consistent in your posts. If you sell shoes, don’t post about race cars all day long. Your audience will shrink.
⚠️ Before you get into stories, define your target audience well. What they like, whether they work or not, their desires, their brakes…
App and login to access your Insta story
Instagram is available on all phones, Android and IOS.
Log in with an email address or your Facebook account. The second solution will make it easier to pair your stories with those on Facebook.
You are now on Instagram. You will find the stories above the news feed. They are represented by the labels in the form of circles. Just tap on them to go to a story.
Tap your image to go to your own.
⚠️ You can access your story on computer by reducing the size of your browser window. However the functions are limited. Prefer a phone to publish.
Let’s go, action!
From your story, tap on your image in the top left corner with the ➕
You have the choice to submit :
a photo from your film,
a video by long-pressing the button,
an instant photo.
To gain an audience, simple media is not enough.
Instagram stickers or the tool to increase your audience
Before pressing the Send To button, you can make many changes to the media. Then share the result on your Instagram and/or Facebook story.
To access the stickers, simply tap on the icon with a square face smiling at you at the top of the screen.
Here is a list of stickers that are offered on Instagram:
- hashtags,
- a position,
- GIFs,
- emojis,
- music,
- a poll in the form of a slider or quiz,
- a countdown timer,
- a question.
Stickers make your stories more attractive and above all, eye-catching!
They also help propel your posts into the Instagram Explorer. This way, Instagram’s algorithm offers new and targeted content for each user.
This is a very good way to increase your audience.
How to improve your visibility thanks to your Instagram story?
There are many tricks to highlight your posts on your Instagram story.
I’m going to tell you some of them. But before I tell you everything, let me warn you. You’re not going to gain an impressive number of views overnight!
Quality content
This is the sine qua non of all social networks. Each publication must be, at a minimum, well thought out.
Respect your graphic charter, if you have one, and keep your publications consistent.
Quality is important, because it allows interaction.
Thanks to an action from your audience, your next stories will appear more easily on their screen and potentially on others.
Little tips:
- Build up a stock of photos and images in advance, so that you don’t waste time creating your future publications.
- You can also set up a publication plan to allow you to schedule your stories.
How often should I post on my Instagram story?
To improve your visibility on Instagram, it is recommended that you post at least once a day (or even once every two days).
Indeed, the Instagram algorithm will put you in front if you are active on the social network.
In addition, the frequency of publication allows you to keep in touch with your audience. They will interact more easily and put you forward.
If you post more than 7 times a day, you risk losing your audience and getting bored.
Analyze the reactions of your audience and you can determine your appropriate frequency.
Is there a posting schedule for your target audience?
The publishing schedule of your stories allows you to target your audience. ⏰
Hence the importance of knowing your preferred audience.
If you post in the middle of the night, the information will go almost unnoticed. ?
On the other hand, if you publish at times when your audience is immersed in their mobile phone screen, you increase your chances of gaining visibility.
Tip: the Swello Quality Coach tool can help you identify the best times, depending on the day of the week and your audience.
Don’t take the back door
Be direct. You have something to say, don’t beat around the bush. Your message, your idea, your call to action must be understood at first sight.
There is no point in getting lost in a multitude of images in your story. Your video, for example, should carry the message from the first few seconds.
New tip: To improve your visibility, don’t hesitate to use news. In addition to your direct message, ride the news wave. ?
Which stickers should you use to improve your audience on Instagram?
In stories, there are many uses for stickers to gain visibility and improve your audience.
The position will allow you to be catalogued according to a place. So avoid choosing a place that is too popular to stand out.
The hashtag is used in the same way as the position. Bypass those that are too competitive. Select them well and Instagram will position your story in the hashtag feed.
Calls to action: whether it’s a poll, a question. Post at least one a day to interact with your audience.
Name famous people. Beware of spam. Create media related to a famous person or entity and you can catch the eye of a new audience. Better still, your post may get shared!
Be careful not to overdo it. Be real, but thoughtful. ?
Plus for your Instagram story
The art of storytelling
Storytelling, if you don’t know it yet, is the art of conveying a message, an information, by telling a story.
With a well thought-out media flow, you take your audience by the hand where you want them to go. To a call to action for example.
Create tutorials with your story
It works like a charm. Keep it simple and effective, and if you help someone, they will help you back!
The more you coach your audience, the more they can share your work.
Post offers
To be shared, be generous. People love to be pampered and offers are easily shared.
So if you post offers, contests, you’ll reach new people. You will retain them because of your quality story.
Don’t neglect the sounds in your Instagram story
Music or your voice is important in an Instagram story. Many users watch, but listen on Instagram.
However, don’t add sound if it’s not necessary.
Bonus: statistics can help you grow your audience
When you access your story, you can see the number of views in the bottom left corner. This is a first indicator.
A slide up from your story will take you to your statistics.
With a pro account, you can have more complete figures.
If you find that only 5-10% of your audience sees your story. Find and repost the stories that worked well to increase that percentage.
This will initially tailor your stories and successfully boost your visibility to your audience. ?
Instagram Story: conclusion
Here are some tips on how you can increase your audience with your Instagram story.
The basis remains the same as on all social networks: quality comes first. This includes a number of points, including studying your target audience in order to provide appropriate content.
Then, publish frequently without getting bored, especially if the results are slow. Patience will be the key, because if you keep at it, you will win! Let others burn out and you will take audience from them.
Your posts will be more likely to be found in the Explore (or search) tab of the application and you will capture new targets, a new audience.
To your Instagram! I can’t wait to see your next story.
