More and more businesses are utilizing Instagram's Stories feature to engage their current customer base and attract new customers. ‍

Brand Stories have a whopping 86% completion rate. - Conviva

But what makes Instagram Stories so popular? 

The answer lies in its ability to create a sense of intimacy and connection between brands and their audiences. Stories are a great way to get your audience involved, give them behind-the-scenes access to your company, and create an emotional connection with your brand.

The ability to instantly share content on Instagram has made it an excellent channel for brands looking to build customer relationships.

But with so many brands trying their best to leverage this feature, how can your brand cut through the noise and maximize your ROI? In this blog, we’ll discuss this in detail.

Related Read: Effective techniques for measuring Influencer Marketing ROI

5 tips to maximize the ROI of your Instagram Stories

1. Setting objectives and goals

The first step in maximizing the ROI of Instagram Stories is to set a goal for your business. What do you want to achieve with your Stories? Are you trying to drive more traffic to your site? Are you trying to increase engagement with your brand? Or are you simply trying to get more people talking about your brand?

You must know what you want to achieve with your stories, who you want to engage with, and how you plan on doing so.

Create specific objectives for each campaign and break them down into manageable chunks so you can measure success at every step. For example, if you want more followers, set a goal of reaching 10,000 in the next six months by targeting people interested in your business/brand/category/industry.

Set realistic goals so that you can pat yourself on the back and celebrate when you achieve them!

Here are a few goals you could consider -

• Build brand awareness
• Improve audience engagement
• Improve customer retention

2. Instagram Stories are also a product marketing channel

If you sell products online, consider creating a story that explains the benefits of each item or how it works. You can even include videos of real people using the product. This will help customers understand their value proposition and see how they can use your product or service in their own lives.

You can also use stories to inform customers when they should take advantage of sales or promotions during the holidays or other times of the year when people tend to shop online more often than usual (e.g., Valentine’s Day).

An effective CTA can help you increase traffic, sales, and conversions. It's important to note that the word "conversion" isn't limited to buying something from your website; it can also mean signing up for your newsletter or following you on social media.

Remember, if you can guide your online audience to learn more about your product/service, you’re shifting your audience down the funnel in preparation for converting into a customer!

3. A/B testing and optimization

A/B testing allows you to test different versions of your story to see which one performs better in terms of engagement. If you're unfamiliar with A/B testing, here's how it works -

Create two different versions of your story — one that includes a specific feature or action (and is labeled as such) and another that doesn't include this feature or action. You'll then show each version equally over time so they can each get equal exposure and clicks from users who see them in their feed. Then, once you've collected enough data, compare the results of each version to see which one gave you better results. 

You can then use this data to create more compelling content that resonates with your audience and increases conversions in the future.

4. Run contests on Instagram Stories

Social media contests like giveaways are great ways to use Instagram Stories as an awareness-builder and grow your following simultaneously.

Here are a few tips for running a successful social contest on Instagram Stories -

1. Make sure you have an enticing prize. You want your audience to be excited about what they could win, so make sure it's worth their time and effort.
2. Set up clear rules and guidelines for your contest. The more specific you are with what people need to do, the better your chances of getting more entries and engagement from them.
3. Be transparent with your logistics, so everyone knows what they're getting into before they enter! This includes how many winners there will be, how long the contest will run when the winner(s) will be announced, etc.

5. Numbers, numbers, numbers

Use data to identify areas for improvement and optimize future campaigns. You should first monitor and analyze your Instagram Stories performance to understand what works and doesn't.

But stories are time-sensitive content and expire after 24 hours. Additionally, it is almost impossible to access story metrics once they expired. It thus gives one a very tiny window to gather and capture the latest data.

Read more about the technical challenges while capturing Instagram Stories data here.

So how can you access the much-needed Instagram Stories metrics to maximize your ROI?

Enter Phyllo with its powerful creator data infrastructure solution.

The Phyllo API gives you access to -

• Streamlined and up-to-date metrics collection
• Webhook notifications
• Crisp education-oriented SDK

Read more about the Phyllo API here.

Boost your Instagram Stories growth with the Phyllo API

In the end, you'll probably need to work towards increased engagement. 

However, this doesn’t have to be a rocky climb. You should always leverage the best technologies and tools to achieve your marketing goals seamlessly.

Check out how Phyllo can help you achieve these goals today - Easily Capture and Analyze Instagram Stories Data with Phyllo 

Schedule a call to learn more about how Phyllo can empower your business in the creator economy.

Want to test the waters before you go ahead? Sign up for a free account to access creator data with Phyllo APIs.

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