Instagram Stories: The New Frontier for Brand Marketing

As Facebook engagement continues to plummet for business accounts, Instagram and its stories feature is the current social media queen. We asked three big influencers to share their top tips.

From 0 to 116 K in Less Than A Year – Meet Jett Set Farmhouse

My latest obsession is Noell Jett, Jett Set Farmhouse Instagram influencer and pioneer for creatives, based in St. Augustine, Florida. She recently shared a black farmhouse project created by one of my PR clients and it rocked our world being further being re-shared by rockstar interior designer Becki Owens (885 K followers).  It got on Becki’s radar when Noell tagged her on the Instagram post here!

We had to interact immediately with one another for follow up questions and she is smart, delightful and super kind which is at the heart of her incredible growth if you ask me. Check out her November blog How I Grew My Instagram to 100K Followers in Under 10 Months (While Building a House, Homeschooling Four Kids and Running a Business).The title says it all.

“I think Instagram stories are definitely part of my growth. It helps people connect to me and it is more intimate. I know the stats for stories and feedback is so much higher versus an Instagram post,”  Noell shared.

Skipping Facebook, she went straight to Instagram and Pinterest in her brand building. Here are some of her Instagram stories tips:

• Interact through a poll or asking a question. Interact with what you are doing.
• Make it relatable. Make it something on which people want to engage.
• Have a call to action. Swipe to do something or take an action.

Originally posting twice a day, she now only posts once a day at either 9 a.m. Eastern or 9 p.m. Eastern. She finds a decrease in engagement 30 minutes past either.

“Stories are where I ask questions and when it is about my house, they go crazy. My most popular was just last week with a window issue. I gave a couple of options and got so much feedback,”  Noell said.

Huge Growth Year For HGTV Interior Designer Brian Patrick Flynn

Candid and enthusiastic in all things it seems from his Instagram stories, HGTV Interior Designer Brian Patrick Flynn said the feature is a great creative investment for his Instagram account. 

“Instagram stories are 100% absolutely worth the time. I’ve found that people feel more of a connection to a person when they can see them in their element in an unfiltered manner. Nine times out of ten when I use my stories on one of my job sites, I’m dripping in sweat, covered in paint or drywall dust, have no product in my hair, and also dealing with some sort of decision or problem, and I think that really resonates with people,” he explains.

For context, Brian says before using Instagram stories 18 months ago, he had around 35 K followers. Today, he is at 110 K followers. “So, yeah, stories are worth the time!”

Consistency and Personality Key To Instagram Growth – Nashville Radio Producer

He’s a Nashville radio morning show favorite and today, 107.5 The River Woody & Jim Executive Producer Zac Woodward has grown his brand to include Instagram influencer he says due to consistency and showing off personality.

“I just hit 10,500 followers on Instagram and I definitely get more views on Instagram stories than my grid. I like using it for events and for advertisers. I feel like it gives me a more direct link to people and now I have the swipe feature so it can go straight to content,” says Zac.

He does not do a lot of with Instagram live preferring the small snippets stories offers. Here are his top tips for Instagram growth.

• Use video over photos 100 percent. For Zac, people hear his voice in the morning and they can relate it to his brand which also increases recognition. Videos give him a chance to show off personality and he says develop a personal connection.
• Make Instagram stories fun and interesting by adding GIFs and polls.
• If you post one or two, it doesn’t do as well. But, if you do up to ten, you’ll get better engagement. More than ten is just annoying he says.
• Consistency is key.  Zac always uses the same filter on his grid – Aden

What Are Your Go To Tips?

Have you used Instagram stories successfully?  We’d love to hear your go to tips and be sure and share your account!