Hi everyone,
Earlier on in the year I uploaded a post about creating more engaging Instagram stories so I thought I’d follow it on by talking about how you can reach more people and get more views on your Instagram stories. Here are some things that you can do to gradually improve your Instagram story views…
Make a plan
An editorial calendar or schedule is a must when planning your Instagram posts AND Instagram Stories because it will help you prepare your content in advance. Better scheduling means providing an improved user experience for those who follow your account because they will know when to expect new Stories from you.
Tag a small nearby location
If you’re tagging a large location on your Instagram story then your account is going to have to compete with everyone else who’s tagging the location in their stories. To avoid this, instead of using a large location like “London”, try and use smaller location tags like the town or street relevant to the post or where you are. This will give your story a higher chance of being seen in the location highlight.
Use hashtags on your story
This is something that barely anyone seems to be doing and people always seem to assume that hashtagging on Instagram stories is pointless. I promise you it isn’t!
To start off, think of some hashtags that are relevant to your brand or the specific story that you’re uploading. Like the location tag, it’s best to choose smaller hashtags so you have a higher chance of appearing in the hashtag when people are searching through it. To do this really well it might take a lot of trial and error and hashtag research to find out which ones work and which ones don’t work for your page. I’d recommend experimenting with using one to three hashtags on some stories and five to 10 hashtags on others so you can compare. I know that seems like a lot but if it helps you reach new people then it’s worth it.
Extra tip: if you don’t want to make your stories messy, try hiding the hashtags underneath gifs and blocks of texts. I personally don’t like showing hashtags on my stories because it can make them look cluttered but I do sometimes show the odd one.
Make use of the ‘Create’ features
It’s common knowledge that Instagram scrollers are getting bored of plain old images. Try and spice up your stories using the Create section. How? Use the Type section to update your followers with longer bits of text, Ask a Question to start a conversation with your followers, publish a Poll to gather people’s opinions, create a Countdown to remind people of important dates or even make a little Quiz to keep things fun. Don’t forget there’s also the option to add music, gifs and the slidey-emoji-reaction-thing to your stories too! All of these tools are great from taking a standard photo and making it more engaging as you’re encouraging your viewers to take action on your content. If your Stories are boring then your followers are likely to watch them a lot less over time.
Post regularly
This is an age-old tip that everyone keeps repeating but it’s also one of the most important things to do when it comes to Instagram. If you’re not posting regularly then people will begin to forget about you and less and less people will see your posts. Post daily if you can to make sure that your followers always have a chance to engage with you.
Upload videos
If you’re able to keep up with uploading images to your story regularly then it’s time to move on to video. Videos are likely to receive more story views and engagement as they’ll encourage people to view your story for longer than images do. I’m not saying that you should start uploading short films to your Story but you should definitely start uploading short clips. Start with a boomerang or two and see how you go.
Tag people and brands in your stories
Make sure that you’re tagging people and brands in your stories where possible. How are they going to see your story if you don’t?
By doing this, you’re giving yourself the chance to get reposted by other people. Then, the people that view their story may tap onto your profile too. This is a great way to get discovered by new people – especially if the accounts you’re mentioning in your story have a similar target audience to you.
As always, thank you for reading!
What do you use Instagram stories for?
Ways you can reach me:
- Email: courteneynoonan@hotmail.co.uk
- Twitter: @courteneyjn
- Instagram: @courteneynoonan
Bye for now,
Courteney x
courteneynoonan.co.uk 
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