Your Instagram Stories: Useful Tips for Making Them Pop

Want to make your Instagram stories pop? It’s a fact that there are a lot of rules when it comes to business communication and etiquette. We’re constantly told that we need to present a professional image. But then we get the seemingly conflicting advice that any business must be given a human face.

Frankly, this is a little confusing – do you maintain professional distance or do you relate to the consumers more at their level? The truth is that the lines are blurring. Consumers want to deal with businesses that they can relate to; businesses that match their own values and norms.

You need to be guided by the target audience and some common sense. You wouldn’t, for example, want to share all the gory details about your divorce, but you could maybe let your clients know that you’re having a tough time at home.

When it comes to how you communicate via social media, you should be guided by the platform that you’re using. LinkedIn, for example, is more formal, so steer clear of fun filters and stick to the facts. With Instagram, on the other hand, you can let your hair down a little.

In fact, it’s advisable to do so on Instagram, especially when you want to make your posts pop. In this article, we’ll look at how you can use a combination of fun, informality, and Instagram Stories to connect with your target audience in a whole new way.

How to make your Instagram Stories Pop!

Why Bring in an Element of Fun?

Who doesn’t love to have fun? Initially, Instagram was created as a fun alternative to the more traditional social media sites. The idea was to create a site that made sharing simpler – you could easily post a picture without having to worry about creating an article to go with it.

With that in mind, it’s important to retain some elements of fun when creating posts for your Instagram account. And with over 400 million people using the Stories feature, it’s also important to make sure that your videos look amazing and that they stand out from the rest.

Get Creative with your Instagram Stories

Is everyone posting videos with black and white filters? Then make sure yours are bursting with colors. Or why not use the same filter each time to create a cohesive look for your channel? Why not switch things up by using a bolder tinted color in the background?

There are a lot of options when it comes to the filters that you can use and how you can change up your videos. So, why not take full advantage of it?

Be an Industry Leader

It’s important to present something fresh and interesting on Instagram. People will get very bored with your channel if you post the same old thing day in and day out. Get them interested by posting something that they’ve never seen before, or posting something that looks new and interesting.

If you’re looking for some ideas to use as a guideline, 99Firms came up with 30 different case studies. They put together an infographic presenting the basic information about how 30 large brands were using Stories in their marketing campaigns.

We’ve republished it below so that you can get some inspiration for your own company.

So, Do I Use Stickers or Not?

The answer is, “most definitely.” Stickers have a practical and decorative purpose. Say, for example, that you use a sticker that says “Paris.” It will tell Instagram that your video relates to Paris in some way.

So, anyone searching the channel for “Paris” will have a better chance of coming across the content that you’ve created.

So yes, do use stickers, but use them as you would hashtags – intelligently. In other words, you should be a little restrained. Don’t add as many stickers as you can find, choose the one or two that are most relevant.

If you want to get more creative than that, then think about using a filter, using the “Rewind” feature, or changing up the colors in the video.

Think of it this way. If you see a storefront window that has a beautifully set up display, you want to see the items on display. If the store stuck a couple of discreet stickers at the bottom, they would barely be noticed.

But what if the store decided to go mad with the stickers? No one would even notice the display, and so the whole exercise would be pointless.

Aim to produce an overall look that highlights and supports your content. Your content is the star of the show – the sticker or filter is more of the spotlight that makes it stand out more.

Well, there you have it, I hope that these tips help you to make your Instagram Stories pop.

Do you agree with my advice or not? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Watch this space for updates in the Technology category on Running Wolf’s Rant.