Instagram has come a long way since its debut in 2010. The platform has changed and developed in 8 years including the addition of the stories feature. Much like Snapchat, this feature allows for a more unedited view of profiles and if you use it for business it is a great space to showcase the inner workings of your professional and really feature the people. There are a growing amount of features so here are a couple of Instagram Stories Tips to help you make the most of the platform.
Enter the Instagram Stories Section
Firstly, you will now find multiple options across the bottom that you can slide between: Type, Live, Normal, Boomerang, Focus, Superzoom, Rewind, Hands-Free and Stop-motion.
You can slide your finger up or select the box to the left of the camera button to reveal images and video in your photo album that can be selected to share. To the right of the camera button is the face button that reveals filters including those that add animal ears and tongues (we suggest playing around with this feature extensively).
Once selected or taken, you can edit the image or video by adding emoji or stickers, draw over or add text with the buttons along the top of the screen. Remember that you can tag other accounts in here too using their handle that starts with a @ or add a searchable #Hashtag into the mix. You can also add a location and popular locations or events will have these videos in a stream in the discovery section of Instagram.
Accounts with more than 10K followers can also add links into their stories so viewers can swipe up to visit the site and can now share posts from their feed into Stories that include the link to visit the original post.
Top Instagram Tip
- Switch to a Business Account (if you haven’t already) and make sure your Facebook Page is connected to your Instagram Account.
- Go into the Options section (3 dots at top right of your profile page) and then scroll down to “Story Settings”.
- Scroll down to “Share your Story on Facebook” and make sure you flick it on.
Now every time you share a story on Instagram it will automatically share across to the stories function on Facebook, doubling your chances of visibility.
Bonus Tip: Try to use all of the features available on Instagram.
A variety of video and photos, including multiple image posts. Add stories in when appropriate and comment on peoples posts. This might seem obvious, but there are a lot of indications that the current algorithm update from Instagram prioritises accounts that are more engaged with the platform. Meaning, the more you use it, the more likely your posts are going to be seen in the feed.
This all might change again at some point with rumours that Instagram are trialling some form of return to a chronological feed option for accounts.