You may have noticed something new with Instagram. Stories is Instagram’s version of Snapchat in that it allows you to create stories that will last in your followers’ feed for 24 hours. This can be a an image, a video, or a set of videos and images. You can add text onto the images as well as doodles. People that already use Snapchat have been quick to jump into Instagram Stories, for everyone else there is a bit of a learning curve on how to view other people’s stories and how to create your own.
There is a great article on TechCrunch about how to use Stories, so I won’t cover that again, but I do want to give you a few content ideas to help you begin taking advantage of this new feature.
Slideshow
Use the picture functionality to create a slideshow of images that would be interesting to your followers. Imagine you are unboxing the latest shipment of your product that UPS just delivered. Take a a picture of a handful and load them in as a story. Put some text on top of the image to say what it is and maybe even a fun doodle.
Before, during and after
So I totally lifted this idea from my daughter who has already figured out how to put Stories to use. She was reorganizing her collection of Disney Tsum Tsums and shared a before, during and after picture of her process. It was short and fun and told a complete story from beginning to end in a few seconds. This could be a great way to put together a recap of an event with before, during and after activities.
How To
You could offer quick user tips on how to use your product or service. As long as the hints are short, this could be a fun medium to show people alternative uses for your product or service that may be new to them. You could also give a quick view of how you make your product or service without going into detail. The process for making your product may take a few hours, but using short videos or images, you can give your followers an idea of how the process works.
People love to know what is going on behind the scenes of your business, and because Stories are considered more laid back, it gives you license to be creative and have some fun with it. Now it is your turn to take these ideas and run with them. I would love to hear what you come up with.