News

Instagram Stories Could Be A Great New Tool For Businesses

Instagram stories
Instagram’s big new Snapchat-style stories feature could prove a great tool for businesses marketing on the photo-sharing app.

Rolled out last week, the Stories feature lets Instagram users post “personal moments” onto the social platform.

You essentially share a series of multiple photos and videos, which then appear together in a slideshow format.

Instagram Stories works in a very similar way to Snapchat’s original feature of the same name, only showing stories for 24 hours and enabling users to draw on and add text to their slideshows.

This debt to Snapchat is something Instagram’s CEO surprisingly freely admitted in a recent TechCrunch interview, saying the company deserves “all the credit” for the feature.

And since it launched, there has been talk that Instagram’s version could prove more useful for businesses looking to promote themselves on the platform.

Instagram storiesAs the tool is obviously linked to Instagram accounts, users following a brand’s page can gain instant access to its stories, which appear at the top of a user’s Instagram feed.

Finding businesses on Instagram is also much easier than on Snapchat, as users will not need to know companies’ specific and sometimes odd usernames, instead just inputting their company name into the search bar.

In a blog post, Instagram spoke about how the feature will allow businesses to better connect with consumers, saying: “With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about overposting. Instead, you can share as much as you want to throughout the day–with as much creativity as you want.

“You can bring your business’ story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed.”

And if users want to comment on something in your story, they can tap and send a private message to that account on Instagram Direct, as unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments.

And since Stories was launched, brands have jumped on the new feature, with Nike generating 800,000 views in 24 hours for one of its stories, compared to the 66,000 views it got for its best Snapchat story.

To find out more about Instagram Stories please click here.

https://vimeo.com/177180549

Simon Edmunds

Simon is the former editor of Global Dating Insights. Born in Newcastle, he has an English degree from Queen Mary, London and after working for the NHS, trained as a journalist with the Press Association. Passionate about music, journalism and Newcastle United.

Global Dating Insights is part of the Industry Insights Group. Registered in the UK. Company No: 14395769