Instagram has begun rolling out a new feature which will allow brands and influencers to increase engagement and ROI by shortening the user journey to purchase; you will now have the ability to share a direct link back to your Instagram Story.
Most brands use Instagram Stories to promote products and experiences which is why this feature is so useful, you can share a direct link from other social platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. This will enable you to reach larger audiences and keep users engaged with your content.
With the addition of Instagram Highlights last year, users can now showcase Stories permanently on their profiles without losing them after 24 hours. The new feature enables brands and influencers to share a direct link to their Highlights which will keep users on their profile/brand for a longer period of time, and therefore, increase the likelihood of purchase. The key to Highlights is to ensure your Stories are captivating and relevant to the content you are sharing the link from.
Is Instagram the first social media channel to do this?
Snapchat rolled out a feature to have a separate link to your videos early last year so technically Instagram is catching up. The difference is that Instagram has more impact for brands and a larger user base so this new feature will be a very useful tool for users who are not on Snapchat.
What other ways can I promote my Instagram Stories?
If you are one of the lucky ones who has the new feature, you can promote your Instagram Stories easily with the promote button via the ‘More’ menu. Through this feature you can increase engagement, encourage follower growth and drive more traffic to your website and other social media channels. You can also link your Instagram Story directly to your Facebook Story by clicking on the Facebook symbol at the bottom. Cross-posting will allow you to create more content for both channels aka you will spend less time posting and more time creating content.
Instagram is proving itself to be the platform for brands and influencers to truly thrive this year, and we are excited to see more of the new changes they will bring as 2019 unfolds.
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