Jazz Up Your Marketing Campaign with Instagram Stories
They’re fun, they’re quick, and they’re full of great info and marketing tidbits. If you haven’t been using Instagram Stories to market your design business, it’s time for you to take a closer look at how this initiative can transform your overall messaging.
I personally love following Instagram Stories of companies I follow and I’ve learned a thing or two about how much excitement they can generate for a profile. The stories only last for 24 so they’re very volatile and therefore there’s a sense of urgency. If a photo could paint a thousand words, just imagine how much your Instagram account could tell a client. You can showcase your interior design work in incredible visuals complimented with stunning details and vivid, sharp colors. You can also engage your followers in the comments section. I am confident you can find excellent leads in there. And lastly, you can even express your artistic, creative self. It’s an amazing way to get to know more about who you are and your company as a unified brand.
All these are the reason I encourage—no, recommend—my clients to set up an Instagram account. However, if there’s one thing they often underutilize, it’s Instagram Stories.
Harnessing the Power of IG Stories
What are Instagram Stories, and why are they such a hit? Instagram Stories are similar to Facebook Stories. These are media files, from sounds to texts and videos and photos, that you can upload.
The biggest difference with the content on the photo grid is that these stories disappear within 24 hours, although you can store them in categories such as highlights or your customized versions.
Now, if these media vanish within a day, why do they matter to your branding and marketing campaign? A couple of reasons:
· Instagram Stories are a significant part of online marketing strategies of a lot of brands, even the big ones. In other words, if you’re not doing it, you’re less likely to be competing properly.
· About 33% of the most-viewed stories on Instagram are business-related. People are INTERESTED to see them. You cannot fault them for being curious.
· They are a great source of publicity. With excellent content, you can get featured by online and offline magazines because of your stories.
7 Ideas for Instagram Stories Content
Because Instagram Stories can disappear fast, you want to make sure that it truly counts. As an interior designer, the following types of content is the best for this feature:
1. Home Tours
One of the most popular video contents is a home tour. People seem to love getting a glimpse of other people’s way of living and style. As an interior designer, you can use home tours to showcase your signature style or versatility.
2. Before-and-After Transitions
Not all clients are as creative or as open as the others. Many struggle with concepts or ideas on how to maximize their space or transform a part of the home into something more usable and aesthetically pleasing.
As an interior designer, use Instagram Stories to sell possibilities to your audience, especially your target market, with before-and-after transitions.
While you can also do this on a photo grid, there’s still something mesmerizing a video of before-and-after photos. It helps people see the massive differences in the outcome.
3. Q&A
What are interior designers, and why should people hire you instead of going DIY? How much does a service cost, and what should someone look for in choosing a team? What are the newest interior design trends, and which ones should they avoid at all costs?
With Instagram Stories, you can do a Q&A, which is something you cannot accomplish with the photo grid unless you already record your answers. You can even take questions and answer them live for a more intimate and engaging interaction with your audience.
4. Day in the Life
Many people have the wrong impression about interior designing simply because they don’t understand many aspects of it. For example, it’s not as easy as choosing wallpapers. A typical project can last for days or even months depending on the budget or complexity.
You can help bust the myths without being preachy by doing day in the life in your Instagram Stories. You may feature your team or contractors in every stage of the interior design process, from planning to execution and completion.
Since day in the life can be long, you can break this down into a series of posts spanning days or do a time lapse video.
6. Polls or Surveys
I think by now you already get the drift that I love engaging the audience, particularly in social media. It helps build a connection, strengthen your relationship with your market, and make your brand more reachable and understandable.
With Instagram Stories, you can boost engagement by doing polls and surveys besides having Q&A. Let them choose between products, trends, designs, color, etc. It’s also an amazing way to spot upcoming trends within your market.
7. Features
Have you been recently featured in a magazine, newspaper, billboard, or other types of publicity? You can break the news in your Instagram Stories. Take a photo of the feature or even get a video of you perhaps holding the magazine and showing your team’s reaction about it. You’ve worked hard for it, so you ought to celebrate it.
Other than Public Relations, Social Media has the power to transform your business and increase your leads. When you couple this initiative with getting published, a sure-fire marketing plan will definitely bring in so many clients for you soon. Visit us at interiordesignpr.com today!
