How to Use Instagram Stories Like a Pro to Build Your Audience

Instagram used to be simple.

But the days dominated by square images are long gone. Now, you can share images, videos, time-lapses, boomerangs, stop-motion sequences, and live-streams.

The biggest change came in 2016, with the introduction of Instagram Stories.

This form of social sharing altered the way people interact online, birthing new influencers and catapulting brands into the limelight.

However, as social media continues to evolve, it’s getting more and more difficult to cut through the noise.

Take minimalist watch brand MVMT. Relying heavily on social media, they built a business with over $80 million in sales in just five years.

But today things are different.

“It’s much more difficult without a doubt,” says MVMT’s Kassan. “It’s still possible, but it would be very difficult to scale as fast as we did. We used channels that just aren’t as efficient or easy to use anymore.”

So what can you do?

Get ahead of the competition by learning to harness the full potential of new social tools. In this article, you’ll learn how to use Instagram Stories like a pro to build your audience.

The Power of Instagram for Businesses

Instagram is a titan.

The social network now has over 1 billion monthly active users – up from 800 million in September 2017 – and is one of the most popular social networks worldwide.

Plus, 51% of Instagram users access the platform at least once per day – that’s a lot of eyeballs.

What’s more, over 80% of accounts on Instagram follow a business.

But here’s the best part: Two-thirds of profile visits to businesses come from people who aren’t following that business.

What does this mean?

Well, not only is Instagram a great place to nurture your existing audience, it’s also a great place to promote your brand.

Bottom line: Instagram is an incredible opportunity for businesses in 2018.

But what about Instagram Stories?

As of November 2017, Instagram Stories has amassed 300 million daily active users.

Plus, Instagram reported that Stories have encouraged users to use the platform longer and more frequently.

The fact that Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours means there’s an urgency that most forms of social sharing don’t have.

This presents an incredible opportunity to catch people’s attention.

However, as Gary Vaynerchuk explains, “It’s not how many followers you have, it’s how many care. It’s not width, it’s depth. It’s not how many impressions you get, it’s how much attention you get.”

And this is where Instagram Stories truly excel.

The medium is perfectly suited to transparent, authentic, real-time content – in other words, content that has power.

And the best part is, it’s free. Because let’s face it, in 2018 many marketing tools aren’t.

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