Instagram Stories for business: 2024 guide to boost sales

Are you ready to take your small business’s visibility to the next level? Then this 2024 Guide to Instagram Stories is perfect for you. With the right tips and tricks, you can make the most of Instagram Stories to engage with your community and boost sales — without spending a fortune on advertising. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create powerful visuals, interesting content, and interactive stories that will captivate your audience and drive more sales! So, let’s get started on our journey— let’s dive into the ultimate guide to Instagram Stories for small businesses in 2024!

What is an Instagram story and why it matters?

Instagram Stories are a powerful feature that can be found within the Instagram app, allowing users to share photos and videos with their followers for 24 hours. They also provide companies with a unique chance to share their stories and foster a real relationship between your business and over two billion active users! With 500 million people using them daily, businesses should take advantage of the exposure — boost visibility and reach more customers for your products or services. It’s one story-telling opportunity you don’t want to miss out on!

3 Benefits of using Instagram stories

Instagram stories are an effective way to showcase your products, build relationships with customers and boost your reach. Plus, using relevant hashtags can help you gain more visibility!

Humanize your brand

Want to up the human factor of your business? Bring out its unique personality with Instagram stories! From interviews with staff and customers, events photos, and more — you can let them in on all sorts of secrets. Think beyond just promoting products or services; create that organic connection that will gain their investment (and trust!) because they get a glimpse at what makes your company so special.

More engagement vs. Instagram post

Have you been trying to break the ice with your customers and followers? Look no further than Instagram stories — they’re a perfect way to create an exciting dialogue. And, since each story only lasts for 24 hours, it can give rise to some serious short-term engagement opportunities! Spice up conversations even more by playing around with interactive features like polls, GIFs & questions. Finally: don’t forget about geotags and hashtags; these little details make all the difference when reaching out new potential customer.

Keep your audience alert

Make sure your customers are always up-to-date with the hottest news in town by creating eye-catching Instagram stories that keep them on their toes! With short, sweet updates through each day, they’ll never miss a beat. Tag friends to get more people involved and make announcements showcasing new products or special offers — it’s all possible when you use this powerful tool correctly. Get creative & your followers will be buzzing about what comes next from your brand!

How to use IG stories for business? 

Turning your Instagram account into a business account is the first step towards effectively using Instagram stories. It’s time to upgrade from just an ordinary personal account and make the switch to a business one. Not only will you have access to insights, analytics and powerful shopping tools that’ll help grow your reach — but creating engaging stories with links & tags leading straight back home has never been easier! So don’t wait for customers to come knocking – let them know about all of your amazing products by setting yourself up as the go-to biz on Instagram today.

Tricks to increase your engagement

Elevate your content marketing by creating interactive polls and quizzes. Spark conversations with thought-provoking questions to captivate the audience, #PowerUpYourContent!

Reply to all Instagram story mentions

Want to make sure your followers feel heard? Give all of their story mentions the attention they deserve with a timely response! It’ll not only show that you care about them, but it also invites other customers into the conversation and creates extra engagement. The best user experiences start with showing appreciation — so don’t miss out on this powerful opportunity!

Use poll and questions stickers

Engage your audience and get the insights you need! With Instagram Story Polls and Questions Stickers, users can join in on an interactive journey with you. Just select that sticker, add a question or poll options — then watch the response rate soar as viewers share their thoughts. Make user journeys exciting again by strengthening relationships between brands and followers – all through these powerful tools!

Go behind the scenes with Instagram live

Ready to give your followers the red-carpet treatment? Hop on Instagram Live and invite them backstage! From Q&As, unboxing new products, or giving sneak peeks of upcoming content — viewers will be delighted by all you have in store. Don’t forget to use questions stickers for meaningful engagement during the broadcast. Use IG Live as a chance for an exciting experience that’ll build relationships with your audience faster than ever before… it’s time to put on the show they won’t soon forget!

Tips to increase your sales

Tired of relying on the same old Insta-trickle for your sales? Unlock the full potential of Instagram Stories, from leveraging its swipe up feature to drive clicks directly from stories down into your website/store, by using questions & poll stickers as a litmus test to get an idea about customer needs. With these tips in tow and visually appealing content showing off products (or even better, user generated images featuring yours!) it’s only a matter of time until you create one killer experience boosting results across new heights! 

Product Stickers

Let customers explore and shop directly from their feed, using new product stickers! Product carousels will show multiple items at once – a great way to upsell and increase revenue. Plus, you can make it all look stunning with images or GIFs for an engaging user experience that drives success for your business.

Add Links

Tired of losing potential customers to a clunky online shop? Unlock an interactive experience for your viewers by adding links to your Instagram Stories! Driving traffic and clicks has never been easier. Doors will suddenly open with just one tap, letting followers learn more about what you have to offer without ever having to leave the app — let them shop around in their own Story paradise while taking on amazing user experiences along the way!

Instagram ads for stories

Want to supercharge your social media reach? Try Instagram Ads for Stories! Whether you’re targeting a specific audience or just trying to increase visibility, this tool will help get the word out—and fast. You can customize ads with text, images, videos and beyond (not even Elon Musk has access to that!) Then track progress by monitoring insights like views and interactions. It’s never been easier AND more affordable for businesses big and small alike — So why wait any longer? Get ready for serious growth in no time!

Keep growing: schedule & analytics for Instagram

Growing your Instagram presence can be a full-time job…but with the right strategies and tools, you don’t have to worry about it taking up all of your time. Knowing how posts are performing is key for understanding which tactics work best — so take advantage of analytics within the app (find them here)  or plan ahead your content with Wepik’s Social Media Scheduler! Not only will scheduling content free up more creative energy on crafting engaging material; but it also ensures that no matter what happens in between, there’ll always be fresh and entertaining post options for viewers during peak engagement times.

With all the tips and tricks mentioned in this article, you’re now equipped with the knowledge to make Instagram stories a part of your small business strategy. Now is the time to put it all into action and reap the benefits that come from effective storytelling! All thanks to Wepik, design made easy for your business.