Why Stories Is the Key to Company Instagram Success Today

Insta-Connection

Instagram has it all: video, hashtags, imagery, engagement, polling, cross-platform connectivity. Trying to hit on all the tools in each post is a daunting proposition. Thankfully Sue B. Zimmerman, the Instagram Expert, is here to save the day.
First thing’s first: using every tool every time is a mistake. Instead, focusing on facilitating conversations through your posts instead of piggybacking on the latest hashtag trend is the proper way to approach the platform.
Sometimes this means making up your own niche hashtag that only your audience would understand, or not using all 15 seconds of your Stories allotment.
It always means engaging in the comments with your followers and showing them that you’re listening and responding.
If you can connect emotionally and conversationally with your audience, then you are already light years ahead of some of the bigger, more established brands out there. Creativity, conversation, and consistency will always be rewarded over trendiness in the Insta-world.

In This Episode

• How using Instagram correctly leads to conversations that drive traffic and conversions
• Why finding the right hashtag means ditching the crowd and referencing the niches of your conversation
• How focusing on connecting emotionally through pictures leads to aesthetic consistency and niche hashtags
• Why getting the most out of Instagram stories doesn’t mean using all the time, all the hashtags, and all the tools every time

Quotes From This Episode

“People process visual content something like 66,000 times faster than text.” —@SueBZimmerman
“Whenever I ask anyone why they like Instagram, they say because it’s fun.” —@SueBZimmerman
“If you are doing Instagram correctly, you get that engagement, and you have those conversations.” —@SueBZimmerman
The riches are in the niches. Click To Tweet
“What’s not cool is when you’re using random hashtags that have nothing to do with either the content that you’re talking about, the photo, or your business.” —@SueBZimmerman
“On Instagram, your bio needs to deliver on the promise of what you see in your feed.” —@SueBZimmerman
“The most important thing about Instagram when you’re posting is to emotionally connect and pull people in.” —@SueBZimmerman
“You have to have a creative gene to do Instagram well.” —@SueBZimmerman
Instagram stories is everything right now. Click To Tweet
“It’s the real, raw authenticity that people are craving because a lot of people don’t know what to believe anymore.” —@SueBZimmerman
You can't be everywhere. You've got to focus on where your people are. Click To Tweet
“Boring doesn’t cut it in Instagram stories. You’ve got to have some kind of element of creativity going on.” —@SueBZimmerman
“You get 15 seconds, but it doesn’t mean you need to use it every time.” —@SueBZimmerman
People don't have time to consume everyone's full story if you're not sharing something of value. Click To Tweet
“You have to make sure that when you’re doing your Instagram ads, that it still is organic to Instagram and it doesn’t look like an ad.” —@SueBZimmerman
Instagram makes this world a closer, connected place. Click To Tweet

Resources

• Sue B. Zimmerman on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
• The Instagram Expert
• The Hashtag Handbook
• ScreenFlow
• Reflector