Instagram Stories Part One: The Pros and Cons

When Instagram announced Stories on August 2, 2016, the crowd went nuts. A large crowd thought it could be useful, but others complained that Instagram had ripped off Snapchat, which launched its own Stories in October 2013.

Of course, the concept of “stories” was native to Snapchat at the time, but it was a concept that many were already gravitating towards.

The algorithm and the tools we use for social media marketing are always, always changing, which means we have to stay on our toes if we’re going to stay informed about how we can connect with our target audience.

But there is one thing that will always stay constant: the fact that your customers want value from your content and want to engage with your brand in a personal way.

Instagram stands out as one of the platforms that really allows you to get close and personal with brands, which makes it a powerful tool in your social media marketing arsenal.

So how can Instagram Stories help or hurt your brand, and are they worth your team’s time? Below, we weigh the benefits, from brand personality and audience conversation to links and audience controls, against two tradeoffs: reach that Instagram’s ranking decides, and content that expires after 24 hours by default. Let’s check it out:

The Pros:

• It’s easy to use and fun to explore.

People won’t be afraid to use it or learn how to make the most of it because it’s fairly straight-forward.

• It makes it easy to show what makes your brand fun.

And what makes your brand stand out, but also makes you relatable. Culture shots work well in stories, as does event marketing. Give each one a job: a team moment shows customers who they’ll actually deal with, and an event Story tells people where to be and when.

• The opportunities for B2C interaction abound.

Instagram stories gives brands multiple ways to interact with their audience to build customer loyalty and relationships.

The Questions sticker is a practical place to start. Instagram introduced it in 2018 as a way to collect questions inside a Story. Viewers type a question into the sticker, and you can answer it in a new Story.

Here’s an illustrative example for a service business. A dental clinic could ask, “What do you want to know before your first appointment?” If several people ask the same thing, such as what to bring, that question becomes the topic of a later Story.

Treat loyalty and relationships as the aim, not a guaranteed outcome. The sticker gives you a reason to talk with your audience. Whether those conversations turn into bookings is something to watch, not assume.

• You’re not tied to the feed.

The freedom that Instagram Stories provides gives you the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone, post a different type of content than you would ordinarily have the ability to do and share and interact with your audience in creative ways without flooding the main feed and annoying customers with constant posting.

That freedom works best when the format matches the goal. Stories suit things that matter this week, like a short-run offer, a behind-the-scenes moment or a question you want your audience to answer. Content you want people to find months from now belongs somewhere more lasting.

• Choose Stories for timely updates and quick conversation with people who already follow you.
• Choose a feed post when the content should stay on your profile as a lasting reference.
• Choose a discovery-oriented format when your main goal is reaching people who don’t know you yet.

Reach needs a realistic expectation, too. Instagram says it ranks Stories using signals including viewing history, engagement history and closeness. It then predicts whether someone is likely to open your Story, reply to it or move on. A large follower count does not guarantee that every follower sees each Story.

Instagram’s explanation of the Stories tray starts with accounts a person follows. That doesn’t mean a public Story is invisible to everyone else; it means followers are the usual audience. Paid Stories ads are bought placements with their own delivery, so keep ad results separate when you judge your organic Stories.

• Add links to drive clicks and conversions

Did you know that you could add links to your Instagram to drive clicks and conversions? This is a huge, huge benefit if you can craft engaging content. The trick is to get the clicks.

For context on who can add links: on October 27, 2021, Instagram announced it was opening Story links to more accounts. The same announcement said new accounts and accounts that repeatedly share prohibited content would be excluded.

• You can hide stories from specific people

It’s not that you would necessarily NEED this perk, but if you ever did…it’s there.

Long story short, there are lots of perks to stories. The question is, do they combat the cons…

The Cons

• It disappears after 24 hours

Unless you add it to highlights, the content you put up will no longer be visible to the public after 24 hours.

• …and what else?

If we’re going off of what the data shows, there aren’t many cons to jumping into the hype surrounding Instagram stories. In fact, there are some huge benefits for your business when it comes to utilizing Instagram stories.

Did we miss some pros you have utilized for your own brand? What about cons that have made Instagram stories a less than fantastic experience for your brand?

We want to hear your input!