Tips for creating quick, lasting impressions when marketing your invention

Perhaps the best way to make your Stories more engaging is to provide ways for others to engage with them.

BY ELIZABETH BREEDLOVE

It’s becoming increasingly important to utilize Stories if you want to be seen on Instagram. According to Buffer, more than 500 million people watch Stories on Instagram each day.

You also should ensure that your Stories stand out among the others inundating every news feed. The last thing you want is for Stories about your invention to be forgotten—or perhaps even worse, skipped over after one slide.

Here are tips for creating content for Instagram Stories that is memorable and leaves a lasting impression.

Capture people’s attention in the first slide. Data show that the longer your Story, the fewer people will watch it until the end. This doesn’t mean that you need to keep all Stories to one slide, but it does mean that you need to capture people’s attention from the beginning. Consider traditional news writing, for example: The first sentence always summarizes the story. Take inspiration from this and  jump right to the point, rather than using a few slides to build up to your point.

Experiment with longer video. Nonetheless, there is a place for longer videos. Instagram only allows you to film 15-second clips within the app, but there are many other apps that allow you to film longer videos and then splice them into 15-second clips for Instagram. Some content ideas will work better with longer video, such as a tutorial or demo, so keep this option in mind!

Keep up the energy. Instagram Stories have a more casual, candid vibe than Instagram posts. However, it’s still important to put your best self into your Stories. Try to keep a positive spirit on display in your Stories. Excitement is contagious. If you’re excited about your invention in your Stories, your viewers will get excited about your product, too.

Make your Stories interactive. Perhaps the best way to make your Stories more engaging is to provide ways for others to engage with them! Fortunately, the Instagram app offers quite a bit of functionality that allows users to interact with Stories.

For example, suppose you are considering offering your invention in additional colors or designs. You can post the options in Stories and use Instagram’s poll feature to have viewers vote for their favorite. You could do something similar by offering options for different product features, or even ask users which use case they prefer.

Similarly, if you want to ask more open-ended questions, you can use the Questions feature. One thing that makes this feature unique and interactive is that Instagram allows you to anonymously share things viewers submit using the Questions feature.

Many Instagram users use this feature to host a Q&A session, where they have users submit questions to them. Then, they share the question and provide the answer. Consider hosting a “meet the inventor” series using this feature, or offer to answer any questions users have about your invention.

The emoji slider feature is another way you can invite your followers to participate in your stories. For example, suppose you are launching a new product in a month. You could post a Story asking people if they are excited for your product to launch, and include an emoji slider with an excited-face emoji that viewers can use to “express” their excitement.

Finally, consider using the countdown sticker. This newer feature lets you set up a countdown and lets viewers set a reminder at the end of the countdown. If you are hosting a flash sale on your website, for example, you could start to tease the sale 24 hours in advance and set up a countdown on Instagram to amp up excitement about the sale.

Share other Stories and posts on your own Stories. Interactivity is a two-way street. If you want other people to interact with your Stories, make sure to interact with other accounts.

A fun way to do this is to share other Stories and posts in your own Stories. Just select the “share” icon that looks like a paper plane, then tap “Add post to your story.” This is a great idea when other accounts mention your product!

Not only is it a way to engage with others, it also builds social proof by showing that other people love your invention. Similarly, if you post a Story about another product or brand, make sure you tag them so they see your post and hopefully share your Story!

Use Highlights to curate content. Stories only last for 24 hours, which can be disappointing when you work hard to create content with which followers can engage. This is where Story Highlights become helpful: You can save Stories to your profile so your viewers can refer back to them!

Focus on grouping your stories by subject. For example, if you post Q&As occasionally, save them all to the same Highlights with specific titles, making it easy for your fans to find what they are looking for. Considering doing the same for behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, polls, and more.

Use swipe-ups when applicable. If you have more than 10,000 followers or have a Verified Instagram account, you’ll be able to add links to Instagram Stories that users can access by swiping up. If you have this feature, use it! Engagement is great; sales are better.

The reason you have Instagram as part of your marketing strategy is to increase your sales. Swipe-ups let followers interact with your Stories while also making it easier for you to make sales.

Finally, ask your followers what they want to see. This may be the most obvious but most overlooked method for creating more interesting, memorable and engaging copy.

No one knows which types of content your followers want to see better than your followers themselves, so ask them. You can do this in Stories, or in an Instagram post.

You can gather this data in many different ways: Ask viewers to DM you, use the Questions feature, or offer two different options in a series of polls. It’s up to you.

Now it’s your turn. Good luck creating interesting, memorable stories!