Instagram is a free photo-sharing service and social network. On Instagram, users can create their own content by posting photos and videos, as well as follow the posts of other users. The app has over a billion monthly users and is owned by Facebook. Instagram, like other social media channels, is a great tool for businesses. It allows a company to be easily discovered by customers, and through activity, it can increase awareness and enhance customer engagement. Instagram also offers effective targeted advertising options. (Source: kupli.fi)
What is Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories is a feature on Instagram that users can browse throughout the day. Stories are images or short video clips visible for only 24 hours, and their content is often casual and entertaining. Each image is visible for only 5 seconds, while the maximum length for a single video is 15 seconds. Stories do not get saved or remain visible on the profile, making it easier to publish content with a lower threshold. Another unique feature of Stories is that comments and reactions are not public.
How does Instagram Stories work?
- To start creating an Instagram Story, tap the camera icon at the top left corner of Instagram’s main page. By default, you’ll open the “Normal” camera mode, where you can capture photos and videos using either your phone’s front or rear camera. Take a photo by clicking the camera button, and for videos, hold the camera button down. You can record up to 15 seconds of video at a time.
- You can also choose the “Boomerang” setting, which creates a series of images and turns them into a looping video.
- If you’ve captured something with your phone’s camera that you’d like to add to your Instagram Story, open the Story camera view, swipe up, and access your phone’s photo and video library.
- Since many people watch Instagram Stories without sound, adding text to at least the first part of your video to indicate the topic is a good idea. You can also add drawings, stickers, emojis, location, or keywords. Additionally, various filters are available.
- Engage your followers by asking questions and encouraging them to ask you questions. Instagram provides tools for easily adding a poll to your photo or video, allowing you to define two response options. (Source: kuulu.fi)
What is Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels is a feature on Instagram that allows the publication and sharing of 15-second videos composed of multiple short video clips. These videos can include music and various special effects. Instagram Reels can be compared to TikTok, a similarly popular social media app.
How does Instagram Reels work?
- Navigate to the Stories section of the Instagram app and select “Reels” from the bottom.
- Choose background music, speed up or slow down the video, or add other special effects (Audio, AR Effects, Timer and Countdown, Align, Speed) if desired. Begin recording the video by pressing and holding the capture button. Stop recording by releasing the capture button, allowing you to create a video from multiple short clips. You can review your recorded segments, delete unsuccessful shots, or re-record them.
- Once the 15 seconds are complete, Instagram Reels compiles the short clips into one video. You can add text or other effects to the finished video.
- After completing the video, you can share it in your Reels section on your profile or as a story in the Instagram Stories section. The main difference is that videos from the Stories section disappear after 24 hours, while in the Reels section, they continue to be visible. (Source: meltwater)
How to use Instagram Stories and Reels in a tourism business?
Instagram Stories and Reels are powerful tools for businesses and professionals in the travel industry aiming to increase visibility, engagement, and the attractiveness of their brand. Instagram’s target audience is millennials aged 18-34. (Source: business2community).
Here are some tips on how to use these features in the travel business:
Instagram Stories:
- Daily Updates: Share daily, timely, and appealing photos and videos. Since Stories only stay up for 24 hours, it encourages followers to stay active in your updates.
- Behind-the-Scenes: Show followers events and behind-the-scenes moments during your journeys. This creates a sense of intimacy and helps build a community.
- Contests and Giveaways: Organize contests or giveaways where followers can win various prizes. This increases engagement and attracts new followers.
- Polls and Questions: Use interactive features like polls and questions to gather feedback from your followers.
Instagram Reels:
- Short Company Videos: Create short, enticing videos showcasing your business and its services. Reels are designed for brief and entertaining content, so keep them concise.
- Hashtag Challenges: Use challenges to encourage followers to share their travel experiences using a specific hashtag. This boosts visibility for your brand.
- Background Music: Use Reels’ music feature to add a soundtrack to your videos. Choose music that is trending or otherwise related to your business.
- Tutorial Videos: Create short tutorial videos showcasing the best aspects of your business or offering tips for travelers.
(Source:ChatGPT)
As an example, when you look at the Instagram account of the travel business @auroravillage_ivalo, they have Stories highlighted in different categories. Also they make a lot of Reels.
Collaborate with other influencers or partners and create together Stories and Reels. This can expand your visibility to new audiences. The easiest ways for businesses to use Instagram Stories and Reels are either through their own account’s content creation or through influencers. Instagram Stories and Reels can bring new opportunities, especially for marketing international brands. For instance, you can use influencer marketing by collaborating with a specific influencer. They create content about your business on their Instagram, allowing you to market your business to new audiences. Influencer marketing is currently one of the fastest-growing areas in the marketing field. Its value was $8 billion in 2020, expected to grow to $15 billion by 2022. (Source: promoty.fi)
Marketers spend about 69% of their influencer budgets on Instagram, which is more than any other network. (Source: business2community.com)
Content, When, and How Often?
Consistency is important if your goal is to grow your audience. This means setting goals, such as creating 3 posts and 1 Reels video per week and sharing something in your Stories every day. To ensure a continuous flow of ideas, plan your posts a week or two in advance.
To maximize the reach of your Stories, consider sharing something multiple times a day. (Source: promoty.fi)
Would ChatGPT be valuable in creating content?
ChatGPT can be used in content creation in various ways:
Caption Ideas: Ask ChatGPT for ideas for photo captions.
Hashtag Ideas: Seek assistance in generating hashtag ideas that suit your content. ChatGPT can help you find popular and relevant tags.
Creative Content Creation: Request creative ideas from ChatGPT for polls and contests. Use ChatGPT as a source of inspiration for developing new content concepts.
Content Strategy Development: Engage with ChatGPT in discussing your content strategy and ask for ideas on how to keep your followers interested. Get help in planning various content types, such as Stories, Reels, and photo updates.
Translations and Multilingual Content: Use ChatGPT for creating translations if you want to reach an international audience. Get assistance in adapting content for different languages and cultures.
(Source: ChatGPT)
Communication with Followers
Stories are an excellent way to engage your followers: ask for their opinions, get them to vote on something, create a small poll, etc. It not only helps build a better relationship with your followers and strengthen your community but also aligns well with the Instagram algorithm. When users interact with your content, it signals to Instagram that your content is valuable, leading to increased visibility. If you use question stickers, it’s good to share the results with your followers. Sharing follower responses has been observed to encourage others to share their opinions, resulting in more responses! (Source: promoty.fi)
What Data Do These Functions Provide to Users?
In addition to follower count, it’s worth looking at average reach and engagement rates. These metrics show how many followers like, comment, save, or share your posts. A high engagement rate indicates that the content is meaningful to the followers, and they actively communicate with the account. (Source: promoty.fi) By converting the account into a business account, you gain access to essential analytics, found under the name Insights. There you can find information about your followers and audience, their activities, and the performance of your own posts.
Sources:
Hey!
Your post about IG stories and reels were very well written! Insturctions and information were easy to read and follow and even idiot like me knows now how to use them, thank you!
Nice post about Instagram stories and reels and it’s backed up with different sources, that’s good. The text is nice to read and you tell about different ways to use it clearly. On the post there’s links like kupli.fi for example and the instructions said that you should use anchor links instead of the .fi links. Overall your post was educating and easy to follow.
Hi!
This post was very informative and i liked the lists! They are easy to read and don’t seem so tiring than long text. There was basically any information i could need to use Instagram stories and reels so that’s good. If any improvements, maybe a bit more captivating headline, but overall very interesting and good post!
Hi!
I like you post a lot. It was really nicely and clearly written and it was easy to read and understand.