If you woke up this morning and the first thing you did was check your social media accounts, you’re not alone. Eight out of every 10 of us check their accounts before brushing their teeth.
The average internet user spends 2 hours and 22 minutes of their waking hours double-tapping, sharing, commenting and posting on social media according to a GWI report. With literally billions of users dedicating a significant portion of their day, some would argue that this is exactly why your brand needs to be on social media.
For the next few minutes, we’ll look at the Instagram platform and how your company can use two of the most popular social media tools–Instagram Stories and IGTV–to help grow brand awareness.
Let’s start by understanding the difference between Instagram Stories and IGTV.
Instagram Stories
- :15 video or image clips
- Lasts for 24 hours on your feed
- Link to your website (for Instagram Verified Accounts)
- You can use stickers, emojis, polls, music and other fun things to draw interest in your posts
- You can use hashtags, geolocation, and tag other Insta accounts in the clip
IGTV
- 10 minute videos (up to 60 for verified accounts)
- Live forever on your IGTV Channel
- Linking to your website + Call To Action (CTA)
- You can host videos to your main IG feed
- You can add a description to your video and use hashtags
Now that you know some of the key differences between these two tools, you can finally learn how to use them to spread brand awareness.
How to Add Insta Stories to Your Strategy
Insta Stories support the use of real-time marketing, a concept that helps you reach your target audience in the right moments. Content like posting live from a customer event or product training helps your audience better experience and connect with your brand. You can also create more engaging posts with Insta stories than your typical feed posts. Stickers, polls, music, and other fun options help liven up your posts and encourage followers to interact.
This type of content also favors Instagram algorithms. The latest algorithmic model may reduce the number of times your content (feed posts) appears in your followers’ feeds as your posts now only show to the specific followers whoInstagram deems will be most interested. Since brand awareness is all about people recognizing your brand, Instagram Stories now helps you identify your best prospects. Especially, if you have helpful and educational content to share.
One of the best benefits of Insta Stories is your content does not need to be coffee-table-grade graphic quality. With Insta Stories, content is prioritized over design, leaving you with more time to focus on your overall social marketing strategy. Because ost content disappears after 24 hours, you don’t need to spend time setting up a professional-grade photo shoot.
Why IGTV Should Be a Part of Your Social Strategy
Instagram TV is becoming increasingly popular and the tool is very useful for social media marketing campaigns. In addition to repurposing existing videos, IGTV allows you leverage longer-form video content for brands that need to outline their value proposition. Any vertically-oriented video that followers loved on Facebook, YouTube, etc., will perform equally as well on your IGTV channel. You also can post it directly in newsfeed. Keep in mind that viewers will only see the first 60 seconds “in-feed,” but will then be prompted to watch the full-length video on IGTV.
When you frequently share exclusive content, it helps you build a dedicated audience for your brand. Regularly providing useful, educational and humorous content can help viewers develop an emotional connection to your business. Similar to YouTube, your IGTV channel will begin showing up in a viewer’s recommended watch list.
IGTV is like new-age television, so you can approach it in a similar fashion– by sharing a weekly or monthly segment /roundup. Tutorials, training/troubleshooting guides, weekly specials, and industry musings and trends are all great content to post. One important rule to remember, consistency is important because people love predictability. Publishing episodes on a regular schedule will get your audience accustomed to coming back and watching a show on your IGTV channel.
Whether people admit it or not, they spend a lot of time on at least one social media channel– and it’s a fun and interactive way for consumers to learn about a brand. Tools like IGTV and Insta Stories are a great way for a business to share their message and build brand recognition. Learning how to utilize these tools properly can do wonders for business following growth.