How to Drive Traffic with Instagram Stories

First I thought about Instagram Stories and how to drive traffic from this channel only, but then I updated Instagram and was surprised how many updates, how many GREAT updates Instagram released. Don’t forget to update Instagram to the latest version, otherwise you will not see all new things.

As usual, this tutorial will be fully practical. While reading, grab your iphone and check out all these features to follow along with me.

Instagram Stories

If you haven’t used Instagram Stories before and want to learn more about them or you just search for inspiration (see useful stories in practice), please, check out my previous post first.

So, when you are full of ideas, it’s time to go to work.

GEO Links

The easiest way to get more people engaged with your brand is to share more user generated content (UGC). When you leave your geo tag in Stories and they tap on it, they see all the photos that were made in your location. Encourage UGC content because real photos and real reviews work better than any self promotion.

Tag Your Profile

Tag your own account! Why? When in Stories, users see all of them, and you need them to stop and want your product/service. Make a great stories with a noticeable @account and lure them to your profile. Make sure your last post is about the deal that you mentioned in Stories. Doing this you will tell more about your brand as they will check out more posts by your company.

Ask to Tag Your Profile

Another great idea is to ask your followers to mention you in their stories. It is great if you collaborate with influencers in your niche. Read more about this special type of collaboration in this post.

Swipe Up

This feature (one that allows you to add links to your Stories)  has been used by Instagrammers for a while and honestly is the number one way to drive traffic to your website. The “Swipe Up” option is not the first thing that they notice, so you need to help them see it with some “drawings”. Instagram allows you to design your Stories in many different and creative ways – check out the upper menu.

Stories Direct Messages

This is a new feature launсhed by Instagram. The medium just shortened the way to purchase for your followers. Earlier – they would see your Stories, like your deal, then go to your profile and PM (private message you) to make a purchase. Just imagine how many leads were lost in this funnel! Now it’s so easy – They like your deal and they instantly PM you to get more details.

TIP: People want you to be open – mention all the important details like price and shipping in your Stories.

Instagram Updates (July 2017)

Now let’s see what features you can use to make your work with Instagram efficient and fruitful. All the features are relevant for July 2017.

The first three features are basic, but not everyone knows about them.

1.Switch to a Business Account

You can run analytics, ads and get unique insights about your audience by switching to a business account. This is a useful feature for brands as you can learn more about your audience, include a CTA and access analytics.

Tap the ‘Options’ button on your profile. Select ‘Switch to Business Profile’ and ‘Continue’. You will be asked to fill in details, connect to your Facebook account, phone number, email and the address of your business. Tap ‘Done’ and enjoy all the perks of a business account!

2. Manage Personal and Business Accounts in One Click

If you manage several accounts, it’s very easy to manage them. No need to go to settings and switch them.

3. Add Contact Buttons

Add contact information to make it easy for them to call you, text you, and get directions.

4. See Posts You’ve Liked

If you ever want to look at your collection of liked posts, Instagram saves all your liked posts.

5. Archive Your Posts

This is a new function on Instagram. Over the years, your style certainly changes and your feed could benefit from a little update. You can archive your old photographs so that you still have access to them but they won’t be on your page. To do this, go to the picture you’d like to archive, click on the Options button and then click Archive.

You will see all your archived posts by clicking on the Archive icon at the top of your page.

6. Save Posts

You have the option of looking through your liked posts, but Instagram also added a feature so you can bookmark certain posts.

7. Create Collections

You can create your collections of your saved posts. Go to Saved Posts and create some to save posts automatically.

8. Hide Tagged Posts

Once you’re tagged, the picture automatically appears in your ‘Photos of you’ tab. To remove them, go to your tagged posts, click on the image you’d like to hide.

9. Insert a Line Break

When you’re writing and want to start a new paragraph, they keyboard doesn’t have the ‘Enter’ or ‘Return’ key to do so. To add a line break, all you have to do is click on the ‘123’ key to be able to add new paragraphs.

 10. Browse Photos by Location

You can see photos tagged with a location on your feed. To do so, click on the search icon and type in your location.

11. See Activity of Accounts you Follow

You can actually see recent activities of the people you follow on Instagram. You can see what they’ve liked and what they’re commenting on.

12. Turn Off Commenting

Sometimes you could do without comments. To disable the option of commenting on a specific picture, start uploading it as usual, then go to Advanced Settings and Turn Off Commenting.

13. Delete Comments

In addition to deleting your own comments, you can also delete comments that other users have left on your posts. To delete any comment, simply go to the post where the comment was left and swipe the comment.

Instagram Stories can help boost your business! Instagram used to be a limiting social media marketing tool, but its new features have made it a very important tool in your SMM arsenal! Let’s get to work!