Today, I want to talk about five specific Instagram story ideas that you can start using today. In fact, you can post these stories every single week to help create more engagement on your account! These ideas are meant to be specific and strategic to generate interactions with your audience so let’s get started!
Weekly Q&A
The first story idea is to do a weekly Q & A. I know this might seem basic, but stop for a minute and think about the accounts that you follow on Instagram that you feel most connected to. Most likely, those accounts are doing Q & As or question boxes. I’ve started to do a weekly Q & A on Wednesdays and I’m seeing lots of engagement with my community. It’s a chance to chat with them, ask questions, and get them used to interacting with me. Through the answers I’m giving, I can also continue to share resources with my audience, too, based on what they’re asking. I’ve found that this kind of question box drives link clicks, too – because people want to see what I’m answering or sharing! I love that – it’s a great way to see what they want from me each week!
Having a consistent weekly Q & A has also been helpful in creating conversations. People bring their questions to me and then respond to my answers. Before we know it, we’re having a conversation and that’s really important to me. I also have a quick bonus tip for you! If your audience is smaller, consider doing a themed Q & A instead of just an “ask anything”. This can help drive questions from your audience at first. As you get more interactions, you can move to an “ask anything” setup.
Share a behind the scenes
The second idea is to share behind the scenes. Again, this might seem simple but it’s a very strategic way to interact with your audience each week. I’m a huge fan of low energy, high impact content and this is definitely one of those times. All you have to do is set up your phone and capture yourself doing a task – working with a client, packing a product, creating content, and so on. You can also share things you do in your everyday life – journaling, hanging with your dog, making lunch, etc. This is a great way to showcase who you are and what you do in your brand… all without taking a lot of your time.
These clips are great for stories with overlapping text of something you want to share, AND great for reels too! We recently talked about stock Reels (check that out here!). This whole B-roll type Reel is doing amazing on Instagram right now, so it’s definitely worth it!
Free downloads for your email list
Idea #3 is sharing about your free downloads for your email list. I am a huge fan of using Instagram as part of your strategy to grow your business. No matter the type of business you have, you need to have a strategy to turn your followers into customers. We’re not just posting on Instagram for fun! Think about how they get to the next step towards becoming a customer. For most of us, that’s getting people onto our email list. It’s gold – it’s something we own and conversion rates are higher once someone is on your email list.
Whatever free downloads you have, share them on your Instagram stories so that you can push people to your email list. You can either talk about them directly with the links or do something more involved like asking if they need help, creating a poll, and then using the next slide of your Story to share the link with them to sign up for the download. There’s a lot of ways to do this and I encourage you to mix it up each week. Regardless, you’ll get people onto your email list and that’s the goal. It is important to be mindful of how often you share links because Instagram does want you to keep people on the app, but the right people will use the links and join your list. That’s all free organic marketing and leads on your email list – a total win! People expect to be sold to on an email list, so get them there.
Content from other platforms
The next idea is to share content from other platforms. This is something we’ve been doing since I started my business. But the idea is simple: take your content from other platforms (YouTube, podcast, blog) and share it on your Instagram Story. Again, be mindful of how often you use the links. But, we have a foundational long-form piece of content that goes out each week and we want to share that on Instagram! What are the other resources you’re creating each week that you’re proud of and want to share? Take the time to put it out to your audience each week.
Share social proof
The last idea is one of my favorites – share social proof. Let people talk FOR you. This is something I’ve done for a really long time and there’s lots of ways to do it, but they’re gold. You’re basically allowing other people to share that you’re worth following, working with, and learning from through their own words. Sharing social proof can take a few different forms – sharing screenshots, sharing reviews, client testimonials, DMs… all of that is amazing to share with your audience. If it’s not a public review, I would definitely ask the person to be sure they’re okay that you share it but most people are happy to let you! This is seriously one of my favorite Story ideas. I love being able to share what people enjoy about what I offer. It’s so powerful and making it a regular part of my Stories has been so powerful. Bonus Tip: Screenshots convert really well! So if you’re able to screenshot the email or message, do it!
There’s 5 strategic Instagram Story ideas to increase engagement with your audience! Don’t forget to grab our Instagram Story templates for FREE here to customize for your brand and get started today.
Other Instagram Resources
I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!
Wondering what to make for your next Reel? Free quiz to find out what type of reel idea you should make next!
Need ideas for Instagram? Grab our free sample Instagram posting schedule here!
PS. We’ve started a podcast! If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time! If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you!
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