I cannot preach this enough; It is so important to use your Instagram stories feature.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll notice that I took a little bit of a break from posting photos this past week. I just did not have the time to construct and create lately, and I was hit with a bit of depression brought on by winter and what I’ll call “adjustment to life” stress. This sort of thing hits everyone at some point, and I guess it was my turn.
So, how do we “stay relevant” and “stay social” in a world that demands 24/7 content creation? You make it work for you.
Example: I just was not into posting or shooting photos this week. I resolved to show up in my Instagram stories instead. Appearing in Instagram stories had its benefits.
I was able to “show my face” and look like I was creating content even if it was a fifteen-second video of me saying, “Hi! I’m here and hope you’re having a good day!” To most of my audience, this counted as being “there” for them.
Want to know how else I made Instagram stories work for me? These are some benefits/things I learned.
- Promote your blogs! Because I wasn’t so focused on shooting photos, I was able to use my Instagram stories to promote other content I’d been working on which sometimes doesn’t get the attention it should. I chose to promote recent blogs I’d done in my stories – and I was still relevant!
- Show your face. Again, even if its a simple video saying hello and a quick share of what’s going on in your life, share it! Your audience will appreciate it and it’s not a time suck for you.
- Link in a quick way. If you have the ability to link in your stories, USE IT. It is so fast and easy. I don’t yet, but I created a “link in my bio” reminder within my blog promotions so that my followers would get the hint. They did! That’s right, I literally typed “find out more at the link in my bio” and my audience did click on it though there was no direct link in my stories. Thank you for checking out my website after visiting my stories!!
- Share what you’re excited about. My Chemical Romance was in the news this week for a variety of reasons. I talked about that in my stories, and it was a hit! While I didn’t post as many photos, I still would DM with my followers about MCR. The connection lasted and solidified as well!
- Use interactive tools. It takes two-seconds to include a poll or question sticker in stories. Use them to let your followers know that they’re still very much part of what’s on your mind!
There are so many benefits to using Instagram stories when you’re not able to post a photo. You truly can allow your followers to feel connected to you via the previously mentioned helpful tips and tools.
Are you ready to use them?
