Instagram Stories have become a critical part of any social media strategy in 2024. With over 600 million daily active users on Stories, mastering this ephemeral content format is key for brands looking to engage their audience.
But simply posting random Stories isn‘t enough anymore. With increasingly fierce competition and a more sophisticated Instagram algorithm, brands need to be more strategic than ever when creating Stories.
In this comprehensive 3000+ word guide, you‘ll learn everything you need to know about optimizing your Instagram Stories in 2024, from creative best practices to distribution tactics. Follow these tips and you‘ll see your views and engagement rise in no time.
Why Instagram Stories Matter
Before we dive into optimizing your Instagram Stories, let‘s review why they should be a priority for your brand in the first place:
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High engagement rates: People spend more time watching Stories than feed posts. And with all the interactive stickers like polls, quizzes and Q&As, Stories generate comments and shares at impressive rates. According to Instagram‘s internal data, Stories garner 3x more comments per post on average compared to feed images or videos.
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Reach new audiences: Getting featured on the Stories bar and in certain locations or hashtags exposes you to fresh eyeballs outside your current following. Over 1/3 of stories are created by businesses meaning viewers actively seek brand content in Stories.
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Showcase personality: Stories enable you to give fans a raw, authentic look behind the scenes in a way feed posts can’t. Humanizing your brand leads to connecting more deeply with your community.
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Drive traffic and sales: Add swipe up links to your website, online store, lead gen forms and more. According to Facebook, Instagram Stories generate 6x higher CTRs from carousel ads than the news feed on average for advertisers.
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Valuable analytics: The insights you get from Stories are incredibly detailed, so you can iterate and improve. Pro Tip: Check out this complete guide to Instagram analytics.
Now let‘s examine some of today‘s top brands absolutely crushing it on Instagram Stories in 2024.
Examples of Brands With Wildly Successful IG Stories
Airbnb
Airbnb uses a mix of user-generated content and professional videos to showcase amazing travel experiences people are having in Airbnbs around the world.
This brilliant strategy has 2 major benefits:
- It inspires viewers to imagine the incredible trips they could go on.
- It builds major trust by highlighting authentic reviews and joyful customers.
In 2022, Airbnb generated $46 billion in bookings partially fueled by their social media marketing success.
Starbucks
Starbucks engages their massive following with fun games, new product reveals (like custom macchiatos), behind-the-scenes barista clips and quick polls asking fans for their opinions.
This consistent interactive content keeps Starbucks top of mind for their customers while collecting valuable consumer insights to improve offerings.
NYT Cooking
NYT Cooking primarily features short recipe videos submitted by everyday users cooking recipes from NYT Cooking in their own kitchens.
This user-generated strategy makes the account incredibly engaging and personable while demonstrating how achievable and tasty their recipes are for home cooks. NYT Cooking has grown rapidly to 5.5 million Instagram followers as viewers crave this culinary inspiration.
How to Create Compelling Instagram Stories
Now that you’ve seen some stellar examples from major brands, let’s break down the framework for creating compelling Stories that convert viewers into engaged followers.
Hook Viewers Immediately
The brutal truth about Instagram Stories is that most people will passively skip through them without sound while multi-tasking. You generally have 1-3 seconds to grab their attention.
That’s why your opening frame is so critical. You need to feature something eye-catching in that first moment that makes them hit the unmute button or pause their scroll.
Some ideas for strong openings:
- Bright colors and text animations
- Close-up teaser of a popular product reveal
- Clip from an viral video
- Behind-the-scenes candid photo/video
- Call-to-action text graphic or poll sticker
Getting creative here pays dividends in stopping the endless Story scrolling dead in its tracks.
Tell an Engaging Story
The most compelling Stories have a narrative structure with a discernible beginning, middle, climax and satisfying ending.
Use a mix of videos, photos, text frames and gifs to build suspense and take viewers on a journey. Leverage the Rule of Thirds to compose striking visuals worthy of the #nofilter aesthetic Instagram loves.
You also want to thoughtfully incorporate the interactive stickers whenever relevant to solicit feedback and increase enjoyment. Favorites include polls, quizzes, Q&As, emojis, countdowns and hashtags.
For example, if you‘re showing off new products, reach out for input: "Which colorway is your favorite…red or blue?"
Lastly, always add captions so people can follow along even without sound. Pro Tip: Save time making stories frame-by-frame using the "Record" feature in stories camera.
Have a Strong Call-to-Action
Every Story you create and share should have a strategic objective, whether it‘s driving traffic, collecting user-generated content, generating leads, or simply sparking engagement.
Be sure to end your Stories with a clear call-to-action tailored to your goal:
- Traffic objective: End with a link sticker or mention of link in bio leading them to relevant website content
- Lead gen objective: End with prompt guiding them to opt-in at a lead capture landing page
- Engagement objective: End with an interactive sticker like a poll or Hot Take to spark lively comments
- UGC objective: End with prompt requesting viewers make and tag new user-generated video
Having a finely tuned CTA makes it much easier to measure your Stories performance too using the detailed analytics available.
5 Common Instagram Story Mistakes To Avoid
Even the savviest social media managers slip up at times creating Stories. Before we get to distribution tips, let’s review 5 frequent errors brands make that sabotage Story success:
Mistake #1: Text-Heavy Frames
Walls of text are boring, overwhelming and impossible to read quickly. Use minimal text and only call out key phrases. Emojis and text animations help too!
Mistake #2: Filming Without Lighting
Dim, grainy video is an instant turn-off. Use ring lights when filming selfie-style. And style your backdrop to look chic.
Mistake #3: Linking to Irrelevant Pages
Don’t just slap any old link in your bio or use swipe ups randomly. Make sure the landing page relates specifically to the Story.
Mistake #4: Posting With No Consistency
Sporadically posting leaves followers out of the loop. Establish consistent days/times to build habitual checking of your Stories.
Mistake #5: Ending With No CTA
Always conclude each Story or Story series with a strategic call to action related to your goal, whether driving traffic, or boosting engagement or sales. Ask for the click!
Now that you know what not to do…let‘s get into tactics that will get your more views and engagement on Stories!
How to Get More Views on Instagram Stories
Creating amazing Stories is only half the battle. You also need to leverage key organic and paid distribution tactics to put them in front of as many interested viewers as possible.
Here are the top techniques for scoring more Story views in 2024:
1. Cross-Promote New Stories
Your existing audience of followers is by far the easiest group to expose your fresh Stories too.
Whenever you publish an awesome new Story, be sure to promote it within your Instagram feed too for maximum visibility.
Create a compelling image or short Reel clip previewing the Story. Overlay text clearly instructing people to check out your Story to see and learn more.
Pro Tip: Tag the location of your business or use a trending hashtag to reach wider audiences when cross-promoting.
2. Reshare User-Generated Content
An easy way to create engaging content while involving your community is to frequently reshare relevant photos and videos that users have tagged you in.
This user-generated content strategy makes followers feel valued and gives them incentive to keep mentioning your brand in their Stories. It also helps you effortlessly produce content to post daily.
Pro Tip: Only re-share UGC that represents your brand positively.
3. Collaborate With Micro-Influencers in Your Niche
Work out deals to have influencers promote or collaborate on special stories to their highly targeted follower base.
The key is partnering with “micro-influencers” who may have smaller but more engaged audiences under 50k followers. Their followers view them as trusted friends, so a collab, contest or mention goes a long way.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the average engagement micro-influencers drive is 5-10% per post. So getting them to feature your product or service to their followers in Stories can be a huge awareness driver.
4. Run Paid Promotions and Ads to Stories
Once you’ve created a stellar Story, why not boost its reach with ads? The good news is Instagram Story ads have become more affordable in recent years.
You can choose to only run the promotion for 24 hours, target very precise regional and interest-based demographics and monitor real-time costs and engagement.
Story ads also finally enable you retarget website visitors who didn’t convert, enticing them to come back with more information. For bloggers and ecommerce brands, this is a game changer!
5. Analyze Data and Iterate
Finally, pay close attention to the detailed analytics available within your Instagram Story insights:
- Impressions: Total number of people who viewed each frame
- Reach: Total number of unique accounts that viewed frames
- Exits: Total number of viewers who exited early
- Replies: Total comments received
- Interactions: Total taps, shares, etc. on stickers
- Taps Forward/Backward: How viewers navigated through frames
Use this data, especially on exits, reach and interactions, to learn what content resonates most with your audience. Pay attention to when people are tapping forward quickly or leaving entirely.
Then double down creating more of that high-performing content style in future, while phasing out what doesn‘t land. Continually iterating based on data is crucial for long-term Instagram success.
Key Takeaways
Distributing compelling Instagram Stories using smart organic and paid optimization strategies takes work. But the payoff for your brand visibility, credibility and conversions over time will make it all worthwhile.
To quickly recap, here are the most critical tactics to master:
- Hook instantly: Lead visually striking images/video
- Tell stories: Craft interesting narratives with interactivity
- Strategic CTAs: End each Story with a purpose
- Cross-promote: Repurpose great Stories into feed posts
- Collaborate: Partner with relevant micro-influencers
- Analyze data: Iterate on what content performs best
Implement the advice in this 3000+ word guide, stay persistent in your approach, and soon you’ll see the view count on your Stories multiplying week after week.
Good luck and happy Storytelling in 2024! Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips or questions for getting more views on Instagram Stories this year.
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