How to increase reach and interactions with Instagram stickers

Our everyday use shows that story features on social networks are more than just a fun trend. Now YouTube has also decided to implement this format. Initially only in its app, though.

Stories are a real playground for marketers. Companies can provide fun and entertaining content to their followers. Whether product information, special offers or glimpses behind the scenes – stories provide a platform for any type of content.

The format is well accepted, especially on Instagram. 60 percent of users discover new products via the platform. 50 percent of Instagram users follow brands.

To put the full potential of Instagram stories to work for you, you have to acquaint yourself with the capabilities of using stickers. They help you embellish your stories, but they can do much more for you, too.

More reach, with #, @ and location

#Hashtags: Especially on Instagram, hashtags are still the name of the game. Proper keyword tagging is crucial to deciding whether you come up in a search query or not. That’s why you should include hashtags in your Instagram story.

@Mention: Virtual networking has never been as successful as it is today. Particularly where reach is concerned. You can use the Mention sticker to mention other Instagram users in your own story. The person mentioned will receive a notification, can share your story in his or her own profile and can interact with you. It also makes sense to use stickers if, for example, you want to notify winners of a prize drawing that they have won. You can use Mention stickers to increase the reach of your content while boosting interaction with your community at the same time.

!Location: A location can be added to any Instagram story. This makes sense, for example, if you are based in a smaller city. The Explore area plays your story to users nearby.

Better product marketing through Poll and Slider stickers

Develop a new product based entirely on the wishes of your own customers. Companies such as Rewe are showing how this can be done with the aid of social media. Brands are using the Question and Poll stickers to learn all about their own customers’ opinions and preferences. For instance, Rewe, the german supermarket chain, is currently reducing the sugar content of many of its private-label products. They are developing one and the same product with different amounts of sugar. The Poll sticker helps product developers determine which of the different versions the customer likes best. Manufacturing can then be adapted accordingly. This also gives the customer the feeling of having a say, and that fosters a personal relationship with the product.

Along with Poll stickers, Slider stickers can also be used to get a sense of community opinion. By selecting an emoji for your question, you are also selecting an emotional context that suggests the answer to the audience. They can use a Slider scale to vote on how bombastic(:bomb:) or frightening (:scream:) they find your concern. This hardly costs the user any time, provides entertainment and provides you with an overall sense of the mood.

Sell directly with the Product sticker

For some time now, Instagram stories have also had the capability to link to products. The viewer is then directly taken to the purchase with a single click. But to use this feature, your account must be confirmed as a shopping profile. Then you can use the Product sticker to select a product from your catalog and publish it in your story. But careful: Currently, only one product can be added per story. You can also pay directly via the app.

Entertaining storytelling through GIFs, images and music

Obviously, it’s important to disseminate information on products and services through social media. But it shouldn’t be overlooked that social networks, and Instagram in particular, are used mainly for entertainment purposes. If you manage to entertain and inform with your content, you have the best chance of being noticed. With more than 25 million brand accounts, it’s not very easy at all. To do this, you can incorporate GIFs, images, sayings or music into your stories. If the right one doesn’t exist, you can even create your own GIFs.

The bottom line

Nowadays, using Instagram stickers in stories is a must for marketers. At least in the B2C sector. They boost reach, are suitable for product marketing and bolster sales. At the same time, stickers increase the interaction and engagement of your own community. They simplify communication with the outside world and permit quick and easy information mapping. Instagram stickers make fun and informative storytelling easier than ever before. Looking to the future, though, it has to be noted that all these possibilities also pose dangers. Because quantity can quickly overshadow quality. Particularly with stories increasingly used for paid advertising, it is unclear whether the acceptance of the community will continue. Another open question is whether and when the next social media trend will crop up and replace the stories function.