Happy Thursday friends!

Last month I did a post about hashtagging 101 and today I want to chat with you about Instagram stories! If you missed my post about hashtagging 101,  click here to read it!

Instagram recently shared that over 70% of Instagram users watch stories daily. If we want to grow our Instagram and our business, we need to take advantage of this feature!! Stories are such a simple way to communicate and build a connection with our audience. We can use Instagram stories to give our followers a behind the scenes peek into our lives, to create a more personal and authentic social media presence, to ask our followers questions, get feedback, and so much more!

Here are some ways you can use Instagram stories for your business. I challenge you to give these a try this week!

1. Utilize Instagram Story Videos.
Instagram Stories are unique because they give us the ability to show our personality to our followers in a way that we can’t with graphics or photos. If you haven’t done a story video yet, it’s time to try it out! It’s a little scary the first time, but I promise it is worth it and will feel more natural with time. Show your followers your face and be yourself. Let them see your personality and your authentic self! Here are some tips for creating Instagram Story videos:

– Take videos in natural lighting
– Utilize instagram filters
– Use the hands-free mode
– Show your behind the scenes
– Share about things you’re passionate about
– Be yourself. Don’t try to have a script or make it formal. Just talk like you’re chatting with a friend
– Don’t take yourself too seriously- done is better than perfect

2. Utilize Instagram Story Photos.

As much as I love Instagram story videos, I like to use Instagram story photos/graphics too! There is definitely an appropriate time and place for both. Photos are good for sharing the behind the scenes of your day and what you’re up to. Graphics can be really helpful when you’re talking about a specific topic and you want to give valuable information that may take too long to share in a video.

Here are some tips for utilizing Instagram Story photos:

– Share photos from throughout your day. What did you do today? Take your kids to the park? Go to the gym? Went on a Starbuck’s run? Share snaps of these moments. Pro Tip: Take photos/videos in the moment so that you can be present and upload them to Instagram later. Use an app like Unfold to make them pretty!
– Bring some humor onto your Instagram occasionally! Share a meme, quote, or gif that you love. If something funny or embarrassing happens, share about your experience.
– When you want to share specific tips or information with your followers, use a mix of photos and videos. For example, when I share about essential oils I post graphics with specific information and I record personal videos in between. Check out Well Styled Essentials for access to GORGEOUS IG story graphics to use for this purpose!

3. Use the Poll and Questions Feature

After you choose something to share to your story, you can swipe up on the image or video and see a variety of features you can use on that story. I love using the polls and questions feature because it allows you to connect with your followers on a more personal level and create meaningful connections. With the questions feature you can do a Q&A with your followers, ask them for advice, etc. With the polls feature you can see where they stand on certain topics. Use polls to find out their likes and dislikes and get to know them better.

4. Share different Parts of your Personal Brand in your Stories.

We all have various parts of our personal brand that we share through our social media. Even if you don’t know what your personal brand is, we all have one! Your personal brand is made up of the things you share, how you make people feel, what you put out there, etc. Example, if you post about cats, essential oils, baking cookies, and poetry- those are all components of your personal brand. Our brands are what make us unique. Each part of our brand is valuable to our followers- it is why they are following you in the first place! People follow you because you share about these things, so make sure you are also sharing about these things in your stories.

5. Provide Value in your Stories.

If we want our Instagram stories to be valued by our followers… we must provide valuable content to them! Figure out what your followers like and bring them value within those topics. Then, give informative tips, offer advice, share recipes, etc. on different topics. Share things in your stories that you think will benefit others/others will find value in.

I hope this helps you, friends! Time to rock your Instagram Stories like a pro!