Since soaring onto the small screen back in 2016 (yes, it really was that long ago!) Instagram stories have been THE secret formula for business-based social media success. Nowadays, 500 million people use stories every single day, and 58% of those say that they’ve become more interested in a brand after seeing their uploads.
You could say, then, that stories are quickly taking over platforms like Twitter, and even YouTube, to become fundamental marketing tools. The trouble is that, while there’s plenty of advice as to how you can perfect Instagram pictures or edit quality-standard YouTube videos, there’s less guidance when it comes to this Insta-subset. Unsurprisingly, then, this is an area of marketing that many businesses are inadvertently neglecting, leaving them out of reach of a whole multitude of benefits, including –
- Social engagement
- Fast and easy uploads
- Immediate interactions
- And more
Of course, to some extent, Instagram stories are as intuitive as, say, a standard upload, but many businesses still fall on the content front. Specifically, confusion as to how long stories should be crops up time and again. After all, with platforms like YouTube favoring long content, it’d be easy to assume that length is the aim of the stories game, too.
But, when you consider the platform, it’s plain to see that this isn’t the case. In fact, while Instagram does automatically split clips of up to a minute long, the most immediate and successful uploads are those that fit into the neat 15-second slot of one story alone.
Don’t believe us? Keep reading to find out why Instagram story size matters so much to overall success.
A casual marketing approach
In the vast majority of cases, marketing is a pretty long-winded and complex thing to get right. The chances are that months of planning goes into things like YouTube videos and PPC ads. But, Instagram stories are beneficial because they do away with this tailored, over-planned approach, saving you a significant amount of time and money, and ultimately, sending a more personable and natural message to your followers. Which, incidentally, is what business social media presence is all about.
That said, if you’re planning an Instagram stories marathon, you’re going to struggle to ad-lib without scripts or content plans that take you away from that ‘easy come’ angle. By comparison, a shorter Insta story (preferably 15 seconds but up to 30 could still work,) is guaranteed to be a quick-fire effort, even if you do script it/create a basic plan. Thus, you should be able to start and finish your story in no more than half an hour, bringing all the marketing benefits to your door without half of the work that you’d put into anything longer.
A sure way to send SEO soaring
It’s also worth noting that stories can help your SEO rankings in a few major ways. For one thing, well-done stories to an existing audience are likely to drive more traffic your way, which is always a plus when it comes to impressing algorithms. What’s more, the increased opportunities that stories create for hashtags and keywords is always a plus point.
That said, Google famously considers relevance in its page rankings, and drawn-out, rambling stories are never going to help you achieve that goal. By comparison, short, to-the-point uploads that stay on topic are guaranteed to serve better. Admittedly, these aren’t enough to perfect SEO on their own but, when paired with web design and other such techniques as implemented by experts like Yankee SEO, they can certainly provide a much-needed edge. And, given that the first page of Google attracts around 92% of the clicks, that’s got to be a positive.
More shareable content
In keeping with the SEO theme but worthy of a section of its own is the fact that Instagram stories are a fantastic platform for sharable content that gets your message circulating and your ratings rising at the same time. Or, at least, they are if you perfect length.
After all, few customers will sit through a lengthy story, let alone share each slide to their followers. By comparison, a 15-second segment that says it all is both easily shareable and more likely to hold attention long enough for people to judge whether it’s worth sharing or not. And, if they deem it worthy, you could soon see your business growing off the back of those short, but efficient, story efforts.
Simple videos = simple actions
Ultimately, the whole purpose of using Instagram stories is so that you can incite some kind of action. This may be direct sales, page views, or even simple interactions (also very important.) Either way, you’re posting because you want your viewers to do something.
Unfortunately, long stories with convoluted explanations and digressions are never going to serve that function, and will ultimately see your call to action losing momentum. By comparison, a concise story that clearly lays out what you’re asking for and makes it obvious how viewers can complete that action is guaranteed to go down better. Not to mention that a great deal more people are likely to stick around until the end and follow any links/swipe up mentions as a result.
Content with staying power
While stories themselves disappear after 24 hours, the ability to create highlights on your page can keep your uploads in the Insta-ether until you decide otherwise. This longevity is crucial for providing ongoing value (to impress customers and search engines,) and also receiving the maximum benefit from your (hopefully minimal) story efforts.
But, size matters here too, with highlights that feature long stories often failing to stand the test of time. After all, why would new customers scroll through story-after-story to find that one clip that they’ve heard about? They wouldn’t, but shortening those efforts can make a huge difference in this sense, allowing you to create easy-access, hassle-free story highlights that keep your content circulating, and your business benefiting, for a long time to come.
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to tell a story!
No comments yet.