You ever wondered how some businesses use Instagram stories to promote their brand and products so successfully? Are you looking for practical tips for promoting your products online?
You are not alone. Many brands have started using Instagram stories to create hype around their products and create awareness of their brand.
One reason is that Instagram stories are quite addictive. Once we get to click on a story, it takes us through a rabbit hole, and we spend more time on stories than we usually plan. It primes us in watching things that we have never voluntarily looked out for.
However, this is a great insight for brands because they can use the story feature to reach diverse backgrounds of followers that never intended to search about their products.
If you are excited to know how some brands use the Instagram story function to promote their product, you are at the right place. In this article, you’ll discover actionable insights to how to create urgency around your product and create valuable relationships with the customers.
How promotion through Instagram stories usually works?
You can compile videos and photos into Instagram Stories, which appear on the home screen. When a person clicks on a brand profile, their stories cycle through a slideshow in chronological order. Viewers can view them for 24 hours after they are uploaded, after which they automatically disappear.
Instagram promotion works better than website-selling because you can have direct interactions with followers, and the medium gives a far more diverse and quick reach than website-selling.
If promoting your product through Instagram stories sounds interesting to you, here are five ways to promote your product on Instagram through stories.
Ways to promote your products on Instagram stories
#1: Countdown Feature
Have you ever purchased a product from your favourite brand just because it was on sale for only a limited time? If yes, then you are well aware of the power of scarcity or special offers.
The countdown feature is used by brands to build hype around a product launch or create a sense of urgency, both of which are powerful marketing psychology techniques. You can use the countdown feature on Instagram to countdown a newly launched product, a deadline to a special offer, etc.
To activate the countdown feature, Instagram has a countdown sticker that you can add to your story. When an audience presses on the counting, it turns into a reminder when the countdown is over.
#2 Announcements
Since Instagram stories work on the human curiosity of surprise elements, adding announcements to your product-promoting strategy is a great way to attract attention towards your products.
You can use the announcement strategy to announce the behind-the-scenes of your company which a customer normally doesn’t know. It adds a human element to your brand that customers can relate to.
Using the announcement feature, you can reveal a new product lineup, or a new offer, or show the packaging of the product. The scope is quite flexible. You can come up with creative Instagram story ideas that will help you announce your product that grabs viewers attention.
Your viewers will feel lucky and special for getting insider information like release date, way before normal customers who are not part of their social profile.
#3 Collaborations
You cannot talk about Instagram and marketing without mentioning influencers. And Instagram stories provide an ideal way for brands to collaborate with influencers.
You can tag-team with popular influencers and brands that have customers that could potentially be interested in your products. You can host a live event, Q&A, or brainstorm creative Instagram story ideas to collaborate on, and followers of that influencer will automatically see your brand profile.
Collaborations are a win-win opportunity for both the brands and the influencers. It gives exposure to new followers from both sides.
#4 Story Highlights
If you are familiar with IG stories highlights, or if you have used them before, you know how cool it is. IG story highlights allow you to save the best highlights of your content.
As a brand, you can use the highlights to show people all aspects of your brand.
Research suggests that people are more likely to buy from a brand with which they are familiar, and story highlights are a great way to familiarise a customer with your brand with story highlights.
You can have separate highlights for the different areas of your company. For example, one highlight each for the products section, for testimonials, for ‘about us’, etc.
Create your stories with the purpose of delighting the customer with memorable moments, and end with a dazzling cover that will tempt users to click on the stories.
Consider using the Highlights section to educate customers and prospects about your promotion, share customer feedback, and drive sales.
#5 Instagram live
Instagram Live is a method to broadcast your product or brand live through Instagram stories. It’s a real-time way to connect with your followers who are active on the platform. It’s also called IG live in short.
IG live helps to promote your brand through live features, which means that you capture a very broad audience. Since Instagram promotes live videos, they appear at the beginning of stories; any user that activates the platform will get notified when you go live!
The best part about promoting your product is that you get to see your audience’s live reaction to the product; you can see how many people are currently watching you live. There is also a text box at the bottom of live tv, so you can communicate with your viewers in real-time.
You can also make your viewers feel special by typing a pinned comment with a coupon code or a special announcement.
Final words
Instagram stories are a great way to promote the products that help you build long-lasting relationships with your customers. Start with the tips we mentioned in this article to either create an element of surprise, familiarity, or urgency with your audience and see how the Instagram tool helps you to sell your products online.