Is Instagram Stories Right For Your Brand?

According to recent data, Instagram’s stories feature now has over 400 million daily active users as of June 2018. This is even more than Snapchat, which still has less than 200 million users in total. What does this mean for brands?It means that if you are at all interested in Instagram and have a target audience who uses it, you should definitely explore Stories as an addition to your social content.First, what is an Instagram story? Instagram stories are curated personal feeds of photos and videos users can add to that live at the top of an Instagram profile news feed and are designed for the sharing of day-to-day events, which then disappear after 24 hours.These stories do not stay in the content section of Instagram like your other posts, but live as off-page content that can also drive engagement, traffic to your website and even conversions. A user can also record live videos and add locations, hashtags, stickers and text for ultimate personalization.So, how do you know if Stories is right for you?When evaluating if a tool is right for your brand, ask yourself these three questions:

Does my audience use it? I never recommend a client get on a channel just to have one, but instead, help clients to master channels where their audience lives and create content that provides value to them where they are already at.
Does it affect my bottom line? Even though your audience may use Instagram, will the use of Stories really help you reach your ultimate business goals. What is popular may not always be the best fit for your brand, and that’s totally ok.
Do I have the resources to effectively utilize it? Stories is only one piece of the social puzzle, but it is important to have resources available to do it right in order for it to truly serve your needs. Make sure you have a team member willing to dedicate the time to learn and use the tool. Do you have any design capabilities for more brand-focused Story content? Does your team have the time to post regularly? All these are great questions to ask yourself when taking on any new marketing mediums.

Need help navigating the new world of Stories? Give our tribe a shout!