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Category: Storytelling
5 Stories You Can Tell in Your Content This Week
5 Easy Stories You Can Tell in Your Content This Week
When it comes to creating content that stops the scroll and builds connections, storytelling is your secret weapon. Stories help humanize your brand, create emotional connections, and make your audience feel like you get them. If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen wondering what to post, here are five simple story ideas to inspire your content this week:
1. Your “Founder’s Story”
This is your “why” story the tale of how your business came to be. Share where it all started and the driving purpose behind what you do. Think beyond the polished version; let people in on the things they may not know. Maybe it was the side hustle that grew into your full-time gig or the pivotal moment that inspired you to start. Your audience wants to know the person behind the business, so don’t be afraid to get personal and let your passion shine.
Format:
- Start with a pivotal moment or the problem you set out to solve.
- Share the journey, including any challenges or unexpected turns.
- End with the “why” behind what you do and how it serves your audience.
Why This Story Works:
The Founder’s Story creates an emotional connection by showing your audience the human side of your brand. It builds trust and makes your business more relatable. People want to support businesses with a purpose, and sharing your “why” helps them understand and align with yours.
2. A Customer Success Story
Shine the spotlight on a happy customer or client who walked away thrilled with the results you delivered. This is your chance to share how you turned their worries or frustrations into a win. Paint the picture: What were they struggling with before they found you? How did you step in and change the game? These stories double as social proof while showing the transformation you’re capable of providing.
Format:
- Introduce the customer and their initial problem.
- Describe the process or steps you took to help them.
- Highlight the results and how it positively impacted them.
- End with a quote or testimonial if available.
Why This Story Works:
Customer success stories build trust and credibility by showing real-world examples of your expertise. They demonstrate the tangible outcomes your audience can expect and highlight the value of working with you. Plus, they’re relatable and inspire confidence in potential clients.3. A Product Story
Every product has a backstory. What’s yours? Maybe it’s the “aha moment” that led you to create it, the challenges you overcame during development, or the unique problem it solves for your audience. Giving people a behind-the-scenes look not only builds intrigue but also reinforces the value of what you offer. Bonus points if you include fun anecdotes or unexpected twists in the creation process!
Format:
- Start with the inspiration or problem that sparked the idea for the product.
- Share the process of developing the product, including obstacles or breakthroughs.
- Highlight the final result and its unique benefits.
- End with how it’s impacted customers or your business.
Why This Story Works:
A Product Story pulls back the curtain and gives your audience an insider’s look. It builds excitement and trust by showing the thought and effort behind your offerings. It also positions your product as a solution to a specific problem, making it more relatable and desirable.
4. A Personal Story with a Business Lesson
We all have life moments that teach us big lessons. Maybe it was that time you took a big risk, faced a failure, or had a sudden epiphany. Share a personal story, but don’t stop there connect the dots back to your business. What was the key takeaway, and how does it apply to what you do? This is a powerful way to blend authenticity (yes, I said the word you love to avoid!) with value for your audience.
Format:
- Set the scene by describing the life moment or situation.
- Highlight the challenge or pivotal moment.
- Share the lesson you learned and how it applies to your business.
- Wrap it up by tying it back to how this insight can benefit your audience.
Why This Story Works:
Personal stories resonate deeply because they show vulnerability and relatability. They help your audience see the person behind the brand while delivering a meaningful takeaway. This combination of personal connection and actionable insight makes your content memorable and impactful.
5. The “I Was Done” Moment
Kick off your story with this dramatic opener: “I was done.” It’s compelling, relatable, and creates curiosity. Then, describe a moment when you hit a breaking point a time when you were fed up, frustrated, or ready to throw in the towel. What changed for you, and what was the turning point? Whether it’s about your business journey or a personal shift, this type of story is bound to hit your audience right in the feels.
Format:
- Start with the exact moment or thought when you realized you were “done.”
- Explain the situation or series of events leading up to that moment.
- Share what shifted or what steps you took to move forward.
- End with the resolution and how it changed your perspective or approach.
Why This Story Works:
This story is raw and relatable. Everyone has felt “done” at some point, so sharing this moment shows vulnerability and builds connection. It’s inspiring to see how someone moves past a breaking point, and your audience will resonate with the courage and growth displayed in your journey.
Why These Stories Work
Each of these stories does more than just entertain; they connect. They show your humanity, highlight your expertise, and reinforce the value of what you do. Whether your goal is to inspire, educate, or sell, weaving storytelling into your content strategy is a game-changer.
So, what are you waiting for? Pick one of these story prompts and run with it this week. Your audience is ready to hear from you and trust me, they’ll thank you for it
Unlock Sales Success With The Power of Storytelling
Why Storytelling is the Secret Sauce to Sales
This blog post is pulled from Episode 9 of the Coffee Social poscast. Click here to listen to the full episode. ‘
Let’s cut to the chase: humans are hardwired for storytelling. From caveman etchings to TikTok trends, we’ve always loved a good story. But here’s the kicker—stories don’t just entertain us; they inspire action. And when it comes to marketing, action equals sales. If you’re not weaving storytelling into your strategy, you’re leaving money on the table. And let’s face it, nobody wants to leave money on the table.
Why Stories Work
Ever notice how a good story sticks with you? That’s not an accident. When someone tells a compelling story, their brain syncs with yours. You’re not just hearing the words; you’re feeling the emotions, visualizing the scenes, and stepping into the narrative. That connection builds trust, and trust is the foundation of sales. As I said on the Coffee Social podcast Ep 9, “Stories sell. Numbers tell.” And while data is critical, it’s the story that makes people care enough to buy.
Paint the Picture of Transformation
A great story does two things: it shows the struggle and the solution. Think of it as the “sad to happy” journey. Your customer’s pain points—that’s the darkness. Your product or service? That’s the light. Highlighting this transformation is what convinces people you can take them where they want to go.
Example: Let’s say you’re a coach helping women overcome their fear of showing up on video. Instead of saying, “I’ll teach you how to use Instagram Lives,” try this: “Three years ago, I was terrified of video. My business was stuck, and I knew I had to do something. So, I took on a challenge—100 days of live videos. By the end, my confidence was through the roof, my Facebook group grew from 30 to 400 members, and my inbox was flooded with inquiries. I can help you get there too—without 100 days of live videos.”
See the difference? You’re showing them that you understand their struggle, but you also have the roadmap to success.
Where to Use Stories
Here’s the best part: stories work everywhere. Whether you’re posting on Instagram, writing an email, hosting a webinar, or recording a podcast, storytelling is your MVP. And no, it doesn’t have to be a Hollywood production. A simple, relatable story can be just as impactful—sometimes more so.
Pro Tip: Your stories are evergreen. Don’t shy away from repeating them. Not everyone sees your content the first time, and even those who do might need to hear it multiple times for it to sink in.
Make It Relatable
The magic of storytelling lies in making your audience feel like you’re speaking directly to them. When your ideal customer hears your story and thinks, “That’s so me,” you’ve hit the jackpot. Understanding your audience’s pain points and desires is key to creating these “that’s so me” moments.
Practical Tips for Storytelling
- Start with Your Own Stories: Reflect on moments in your life or business that align with your customer’s struggles and victories. Keep a “story bank”—a running list of experiences you can draw from.
- Structure Matters: Think hero’s journey. Your customer is the hero, and you’re the guide who’ll help them overcome their challenges. I repeat, you are NOT the hero.
- Keep It Simple: You don’t need fancy transitions or dramatic effects. Talking straight to the camera or writing from the heart can be just as effective.
Show, Don’t Tell
Instead of lecturing your audience, immerse them in the experience. For example, instead of saying, “You need to learn moderation tools on Clubhouse,” paint the picture: “Imagine someone starts disrupting your stage, and people start leaving. Knowing how to mute or remove them instantly is the difference between saving your room and watching it spiral.”
Takeaway: Storytelling = Connection
At the end of the day, storytelling is about building connections. People buy from those they trust, and trust comes from feeling understood. Whether it’s a heartfelt anecdote, a funny mishap, or a lesson learned the hard way, your story could be the nudge someone needs to hit “buy now.”
So, what story are you going to tell today? Let your audience see themselves in your journey, and watch the magic happen.
7 Strategies for Successful Storytelling Webinar
Power Up Your Brand Story on Social Media Webinar
We developed the 7 Strategies for Successful Storytelling webinar as a companion lesson to the blog post, Your Story on Social: 7 Ways to Maximize Impact. With storytelling being the foundation of the services we offer at JRH Graphics we wanted to take a deeper dive on this topic and highlight ways businesses can utilize these strategies immediately. We also wanted to highlight how each of these strategies could be utilized in various organizations and businesses so we provided specific exxamples of each in practice and shared some of the results we have seen.
Storytelling on Social Media
We reviewed the following seven strategies on the webinar, including why the strategy is successful and how to actually utilize the strategy.
- Get Visual
- Enroll Users Help
- Verify with Proof
- Create a Story Arc
- Expand on the Blog
- Enroll Influencers to Help Magnify Your Story
- Create Connections
The 3 Big Win Strategies
We focused the webinar of the following 3 Strategies that we consider our Big Win Strategies.
- Create an expanded narrative by utilizing the concept of story arcs. A story arc allows you to tell more of your brand story over the course of multiple posts creating deeper engagement. You brand story touches multiple aspects of your business so it should naturally touch multiple areas of your social media marketing.
- The second strategy is expanding your story on your business blog. Expanding your story on your blog helps highlight your knowledge within your niche and establishes you as a leader. This strategy can result in significant payoffs as blogging has a tremendous return on investment.
- BIG WIN strategy number three is to build relationships with your audience and followers. Social media is meant to be social, and businesses must utilize the tools available to build relationships with followers. Engaging with your followers will build trust. Talking with your followers builds loyalty. Educating your followers establishes you as an expert.
Enjoy The Webinar
Since we build flexible and adaptable solutions into our strategies all of the tips and strategies are moldable to your unique situation. We make sure that each strategy is adaptable to a variety of companies and that it will help you tell your winning story. Please enjoy the webinar. If you have additional questions or want to provide feedback or suggestions please reach out. Webinar also visible on the JRH Graphics channel on YouTube
9 Essential Posts for the Holidays
Please join us for our next webinar. We will look at the 9 Essential Posts Framework utilized by JRH Graphics and review how to use it to get the most from your posts on social media this holiday season. Using the 9 Essential posts framework and pairing it with a content calendar you can plan the best ways to engage with followers. The framework makes it easy to provide varied content that is educational, entertaining and useful for your audience. Join us on this webinar, and “sleigh” your social media this Holiday! Get it, sleigh instead of slay!
What’s Your Story? Unleash Your Business Superpower
Surrounded by Darkness
It is 2:45 am on August 24, 2008, and blackness surrounded me. I am laying face down and unconscious in the middle of Columbus Ave in Boston. The man who had moments before been stomping on my head, yelling for me to die was gone. This vicious and unprovoked attack left two friends in the hospital and two others afraid to leave their apartments.
To this day, I have no recollection of what happened; it was all very cloudy and grey in my mind. What I do remember is waking up in the hospital. Confused. Distraught. And in pain. But there was also something else that felt different, but at that moment I could not pinpoint what this different feeling was.
The Darkness Returns
Months later, my attacker pled guilty to 9 counts. But justice was not served as he walked out of the courtroom with his freedom and instructions to attend anger management classes. Once again, I was surrounded by only darkness.
Where was the justice in that sentence?
What message is this sentence sending to people?
Before this moment in my life, I never had any desire to share my Story. My experiences were unique to me and had no way of impacting others. In my mind, those who said they were going to change the world were merely tilting at windmills.
My Own Story Transformed My Thoughts and Beliefs
I left the courtroom, angry and upset, and I walked to calm my nerves. My voice cracked as I answered the first call from a reporter following up on the case. But that small crack in my voice was the last I ever saw of the person who didn’t share his Story. I delivered an emotional but rational response that highlighted the critical points to the argument I had laid out in my head. Ending the conversation with a simple but powerful, imagine if you were the one lying face down on the pavement, how would it feel to know that the man who did this to you walked free.
And I continued to tell my story. Zeroing in on all the emotions that someone experiences when they are violently attacked and continued to ask them to imagine if it was them. Just a short while had passed, and something extraordinary and entirely unexpected started to happen. People began to listen. But not only listen, these listeners then started to re-tell my Story, to rally around it, and to take actions to try to prevent things like this from happening again.
The world around me began to lighten.
My Story Was Now Bigger Than Me
Then one morning, my phone rings and the voice on the other end says, “Please hold for Senator Kennedy’s Office.” The Senator wanted to use my Story as part of his floor speech in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill. A bill he fought tirelessly for. Legislation that this country desperately needed if we had any chance of preventing attacks like the one that happened to me and so many others.
That Bill was Senator Kennedy’s windmill and his legacy. I can only imagine what he felt the day the bill became law.
Darkness is Lifted
The passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill marked the moment when color began flooding back into my life . The darkness had finally lifted. I took a deep breath and walked back into my technicolor world a different person than when I was ripped from it the year before. That period of darkness taught me many lessons that will stay with me for a lifetime. But I was happy to return to my technicolor world and continue to use the new found superpower of storytelling to brighten the world just a bit more.
Laying The Groundwork for JRH Graphics
I was still many years away from establishing JRH Graphics, but I was unknowingly laying the groundwork for my future business. As the head of GLAAD’s DC Leadership Council, I worked with a team to help amplify the local stories that needed to be heard by a larger audience. And the fight for marriage equality came to DC, and GLAAD DC LC told lots of amazing and compelling stories of love.
Then there was a wedding contest that was supposed to be for fun. It was a 3 month full fledged storytelling, marketing, and social medi blitz that landed a gay couple in second place in a NATIONAL wedding contest. That would be me and my ex-husband of course. And a small New York Times photo, of minor importance. Or we were on the cover above the fold on the day marriage was legalized in DC. Plus a wide array of rallies, and speeches and so much more. Through this, I was honing my craft. I was learning to trust my gut. And most of all, I was repeatedly being amazed by the power of stories.
Understanding the Importance of Stories
I learned so many lessons running these campaigns, but none was more important than how powerful stories can be. Stories are like no other medium. They empower, inform, and encourage action. Stories are transformational. Stories capture hearts and minds. A good storyteller can simplify even the most difficult issues and create greater understanding with a story. Stories create powerful connections between seemingly unrelated things, and stories bring people together. Something we need now more than ever.
This is My Story
So this is my Story; it is my authentic and emotional Story about how I learned of the power that stories possess. This is also a happy story for me, it is an awful thing that should never happen to anybody else. But it happened to me for a reason, and it allowed me to uncover my passion, and build a business around something I love. This story is a portion of my overall brand and a part of what makes JRH Graphics different.
When you boil all of what I told you down to its essential elements, it is about transforming hate into love. Hate and love are universal emotions. Everybody knows love in some way, and everybody knows hate. These universal emotions are the secret sauce, they are what allows the Story to connect with an audience.
So, What’s Your Story?
Want to know a secret? The words you use to answer this question don’t matter at first. The first time I ask it I am listening to how you provide the answer, then I am watching your body language, and looking for something that will clue me in to the fact that there is a bit more. And then I push.
Why do I push…
Because each time I ask the question “What’s Your Story,” I am trying to get down to the “why.” When you finally reach the real reason behind why you do what you do, the rest falls into place. Your Story becomes your roadmap for everything you do. It provides clarity and purpose for your business as well as great content for me to post on social media.
An authentic story that connects to your why and engages your target audience makes everything easier. Content creation is more straightforward; engagement is more organic, scaling your business is natural and creating measurable goals that move you towards where you want to be in 5/10/15 years is a piece of cake because all the key factors are aligned.
A T-shirt is More Than Just A T-shirt
I want to give you an example. I had a business I was working with to build a brand that they could use that felt authentic. The problem was I could not get down to the “Why” with them for weeks.
Why is it that you make these T-shirts? I would ask
Because they are nice, aren’t they!
Why not cotton socks?
Because we make nice t-shirts.
After a few weeks of beating my head against the wall, I finally saw a glimpse of something and pushed to eventually discover that the family made the t-shirts because after their father passed away, they could not find one of his favorite ones. They found the fabric of the original shirt and now use it for all of their t-shirts. And instead of their marketing just relying on the fact that they make nice t-shirts a fairly low threshold, we were able to create a niche for them and a new need for consumers.
Because that t-shirt is not what they are selling, they now sell memories. And a simple story overlooked by the business owner made all the difference.
We All Have Powerful Stories, Use Them
I hope this highlights what a well crafted and authentic story can bring to your brand. I also hope that this gives you a bit of insight into my business and, it inspires you to tell your Story. We all have stories they are powerful, don’t be afraid to use them.
Brand Storytelling Matters: Tips for A Powerful Story
Brand Storytelling Creates Connections
Stories create connections, which an essential part of doing business today. Businesses can no longer remain faceless entities and be successful. In order to survive a business needs to find a way to connect with its audience, in order to thrive they need to pull on heartstrings and engage at a much deeper level than ever before. If a business isn’t making an emotional connection between its brand and its audience then they risk failure.
This is where your brand story comes in. It gives your business a human touch. Your brand story should weave together facts and feelings. It should include your why. Why you do what you do and why you believe it matters. It should also tell your audience why they should care about what you do.
Selling the Universal Emotion Not the Product
I remember when I first started doing marketing work a mentor saying to me, you aren’t selling a mattress you are selling a good night’s sleep. I was very confused as he dropped this piece of wisdom on my head and walked away because I wasn’t selling mattresses I was selling books. But the more I did social media and marketing the more I understood you are not selling products you are selling the emotional connections and the universal feelings. Nobody knows how your mattress feels, but everyone knows the amazing feeling of waking up feeling revived after a good nights sleep.
Be Heard in the Crowded Marketplace
Great brand storytelling allows you to be heard in a crowded marketplace. Now more than ever there are more people making things, and offering services. The marketplace is overcrowded. Some products and services are even great. So what makes you different? Why do I choose you and not your competition? How do you stand out? Your brand story is how you stand out.
Brand Storytelling is Powerful
When crafting your brand story think about what you want your business to be known for. When everything else is said and done what do you want people to say when they think about your business? What is the single most important message you want to deliver? Once you have that message in mind figure out a way to wrap that message into a story that your audience will connect with and you are now on the road to having a brand story that will connect.
Your story is the most powerful and flexible tool in your toolbelt. It should act as a compass that guides your business in all that you do.
Aspects of a Powerful Brand Story
So what are some things necessary to have a powerful brand story? That’s the thing with storytelling, it is not an exact science and there is not an exact formula. But we all know a good story when we hear a good story. So in my effort to figure out some things needed for a good story, I watched a lot of Ted Talks and searched around the internet for great sites on storytelling like echostories.com. I discovered great nuggets of wisdom, things that many of us already believe to be true. Unfortunately, I did not discover the silver bullet… the surefire way to have a story that connects with your audience. So since I can’t give you that yet here are a few tips.
Get Emotional
Inject emotion into your presentation with stories. The objective of a story is to make your audience feel something. Happy, Sad, distraught, hopeful. It doesn’t matter what emotion the story brings about per se as the emotion creates a connection. Tell the story of how your product saved a life, the story of how your business gave you a purpose, that great story about how you helped a mother connect with an estranged child. Take this commercial for example…
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
Did You Feel Something?
No matter how you feel on the issue, I guarantee that ad for Verizon (btw) made you feel something. It injected emotion into its advertisement and that emotion made for a powerful commercial and made you feel some kind of way. Verizon is saying in this commercial that part of its brand story is the power of communication to bring people together. That love can always call back using Verizon phone service. The beauty of this for Verizon, is they didn’t even have to spell out the connection. By simply having the Verizon logo at the end of that spot creates the connection the emotions you felt there are tied to Verizon, and you want to go connect or reconnect with somebody using a Verizon phone! Yes, it just as easily could have been Sprint or Metro PCS but it wasn’t.
Make A Connection with Your Audience
The other thing that made the Verizon advertisement so powerful is the connection that they made with the audience. The story they are telling is aimed at those celebrating Pride in the month of June. It was created in partnership with PFLAG, a National organization that unities families and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. They knew their audience. They knew that many people who identify as LGBTQ have struggled with coming out in their lives. This struggle is universal in the community so they were able to connect with the audience by being aware of, and sensitive to this universal truth. As a business, be aware of your audience and your followers. Is your brand story or aspect of a brand story something that they will connect with? If it is not, should it be part of your story?
At First This Then That
Change is a fundamental portion of a story including your brand story. At first, this was the truth, that is why our founder created (brand name) and now this is the truth. Apple is famous for using this in its story and in presentations. This is computing now, but with this brand new Mac we have challenged the status quo and this is what computing will look like! And those of you who are like me and want things to be easier, newer, better, and not the status quo eat it up. This then that creates suspense and excitement, both emotions and emotions create connections. And if you watch a lot of Apple product reveals you notice that they draw out the suspense to the point where your body is physically reacting to it. Ah the beauty of storytelling… when listening to a good story your body reacts like it is there and it releases hormones and endorphins. You are literally feeling the emotions and it does not matter that it is a new computer that has nothing to do with it, the feeling is what matters.
Don’t Forget Your Why
A key aspect of your brand story is your why. Why is it that you do what you do and why should your audience care? You need to wrap these into that emotional story to create the connection between the product/service, the emotions, and your overall brand. The why is not to make a profit, as Simon Sinek says that is just a result. The why is… why do you get out of the bed in the morning? What is it about your business or work that gets you excited? Why is your business special? That is what will connect with people and make your brand story special. I can’t tell you what your why is… you need to dig deep for that. Just remember that your story is the most amazing thing about you and your business so don’t be afraid to say what you believe. Highlight your values. And create a brand story that is awesome and will connect with your audience and beyond.[
Simon Sinek Start With The Why
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I hope these tips help as you begin to work on your story and make brand storytelling a hard skill in your business. If you need help with any of this check out some of our other resources or contact Jonathan at jhoward@jrhgraphics.com.
May we also recommend taking a look at this blog post.
Have I Got A Story For You: Using Stories On Social Media
Why Stories?
500 million people use stories every day. Stories are a great way to interact with your audience, experiment with content, and reach a wider subsection of the social media population. In 2018, a Facebook representative even said the increase in the Stories format is on a path to surpass feeds as the primary way people share things with their friends sometime next year (2019).
So, yeah… stories are no longer a place for throwaway content that has no real staying power. Stories are no longer just silly quotes, drunk nights, and delicious dishes. Stories matter! You can use stories to highlight your products, services, and features. Explore stories as a channel to highlight the more playful side of your brand. Use multiple slide stories to launch a new product or tell a customer’s story. There are many different ways to utilize the Stories format.
If you want to build strong relationships with your audience. Increase your overall engagement and get more eyes on what you offer, then Stories is going to be an essential tool! Just remember, while Stories can be more informal… as a business, everything you share on Stories should also be brand appropriate.
Story Basics
The Instagram Help Page has a lot of great FAQ’s with very detailed answers if you have any questions about the basics of Stories on Instagram. I am just including a few. All of the functionality between Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories is very similar so if you know one you pretty much can figure out the other. If you have questions you can always drop me a line and I will do my best to help out!
Sharing a Photo or Video to Stories
To share a photo or video to your story using the Instagram app:
- Tap
in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed.
- Tap
at the bottom of the screen to take a photo, or tap and hold to record a video. To choose a photo or video from your phone’s library or gallery, swipe up anywhere on the screen.
- Tap
,
or
to draw, add text or a sticker to your photo or video. To remove text or a sticker, drag and drop it on
at the bottom of the screen.
- When you’re ready to share, tap Your Story in the bottom left.
- Stories disappear from your profile, Feed and Direct inbox after 24 hours, unless you add them to your profile as highlights.
How can I tell who’s seen my Instagram Story?
To look at who’s seen your story, open your story and swipe up on the screen. You’ll see the number as well as the usernames of the people who have seen each photo or video in your story. Only you are able to look at who’s seen your story.
How do I @ Mention Someone In My Story?
Tap in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed
Take a photo or video, then tap
Type @ followed immediately by their username, then select the person you’d like to mention
When you mention someone in your story, their username will appear in your story with an underline. Anyone who can see your story can tap it to go to their profile.Viewing Stories
When you watch someone’s story, you can skip forward, backward and pause:
- Tap on the left of the screen to go back to the previous photo or video, or on the right to go to the next one
- Swipe right or left to skip between people’s stories
- Tap and hold the screen to pause on a photo or video
Again, the Instagram Help Page has a lot of great FAQ’s so it is linked as a resource and you can always email me. jhoward@jrhgraphics.com.
Ways to Use Your Stories to Get The Biggest Bang for Your Buck
Good use of Stories across platforms not only leads to good numbers for your Stories but also increased visibility, more brand recognition, and a more engaged group of followers. From Live Stories, to video, photos, polls, questions, boomerangs, quizzes. product stickers and much more the possible ways to engage your followers and build a greater following is endless. Play around with the options and see what is brand appropriate and works for your business. Review results regularly and proactively adapt as necessary. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Cohesive but Not Identical
Your stories should “speak” to your feed posts and vice versa. Your brand identity should match, logos, fonts and phrases should be apparent, but it is very rare that you would want to post something on both your feed and story using the same image and copy. Remember you Stories are a little bit more informal and fun, more day to day whereas your feed is a more refined and mature entity. I always think of Stories as the AAA Team and the Feed is the Major Leagues. You have some awesome players in Triple-A but they aren’t quite a Major League player. When they get to the Majors they need to learn to run with the big boys! They can do it they just need to get a bit more refined.
However, they can still work together as well. For instance, if you are running a big sale before a Holiday, you can run a feed post that advertises the sale and then during the sale, highlight certain items that will be on sale in stories. Maybe even show happy customers buying these amazing deals and leaving with smiles on their faces!
Tap into the Power of Social Media with @ Mentions
Social media is all about connections, which means that Stories are a great place to recognize those you have collaborated with, those that have given you props, and other businesses you like because an @ Mention in a story only ties you to a particular user for 24 hours. Plus the person receiving the @ Mention will love the recognition!
Sneaky Pro Tip: You can hide @ Mentions behind pictures if you like. They will still see the mention it just won’t be entirely visible.
Use the Added Interactive Features… But Don’t Overuse Them
Stickers, GIFS, Polls, Boomerangs there are so many things that you can integrate into a story to make it more engaging. Just don’t overuse these features. I promise you that we all love a boomerang of your cat… once in a while but if we see 5 of them every day, we will skip your stories for many months to come.
But using the features that solicit feedback and engage your followers is a great way to grow. Try them out, see what you like and what your followers engage with.
You can also tag stories with locations and hashtags which gets your story sometimes featured in a “location story” or “hashtag story”
They Are Called Stories for A Reason- Tell A Story
Will a series of random photos added to your story engage followers old and new? Possibly. A good visual does tend to have power especially on Instagram but what if your visuals were great and they all worked together to tell a story? HOMERUN and second baseball reference in this blog. Put your visual storytelling skills to the test and weave together some great visuals with a few well-placed items of text and see if you can’t create a powerful brand story, product reveal or another engaging piece of content.
Recently, the engagement and reach on my Stories has been increasing but I was still seeing a big drop off after the first few Stories. On average I would drop 31% of impressions and a similar percentage in reach every 3 consecutive slides. But this Thursday I flexed my storytelling muscles and created a narrative about a project I was working on that continued over 15 slides (btw too long go shorter). But amazingly, after all, 15 slides I had a drop off of just 11%!JTBBJTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGTkdOOGJIUDN0bTQlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXIlM0IlMjBhdXRvcGxheSUzQiUyMGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYSUzQiUyMGd5cm9zY29wZSUzQiUyMHBpY3R1cmUtaW4tcGljdHVyZSUyMiUyMGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRSUwQQ==
Streamline Your Story Creation
You want Stories to be on Brand. But they disappear after 24 hours. So why no create reusable templates for some of your regular content. You could spend hours each week creating appealing content that will disappear in less time than it took you to perfect it or you could create templates that were brand appropriate with a visible logo and proper colors. Then they are easy to reuse, week after week. This is an awesome tip especially if you like our next one.
Treat Stories Like A TV Channel and Schedule Content for Specific Days
Plan out your social media content and theme it together. Followers will know when to expect content to be released and if you are releasing great content every let’s say Thursday, you are essentially creating “Must See IG!” Get it! It could be as simple as New Products Monday. New Blog Post Tuesday. Wednesday is Food Feature. So on and so on. Or another option is to ask a question on Monday. Post a funny story on Tuesday. Ask followers for input Wednesday. But creating and engaging with content becomes easier when you know what is coming.
Consistency is Essential You Are Building Trust
Stories are another way to get your followers to like, know, engage with, and trust your business. Consistency is an essential part of this trust building. Customers can’t get to know you if you aren’t posting consistently. The less consistently you post the lesser chance you have of seeing growth on social media. Use stories to your advantage by being consistent and see how consistency can provide a real advantage against your inconsistent competitor. Consistency will help you build brand recognition online and offline faster. Inconsistent messaging leads to gaps in memory of your brand and general confusion about your brand.
Remember that if you post consistently but messaging is off-brand, or not clearly branded for your company you may be harming yourself despite your best efforts.
You Worked Hard for Those 10K Followers
If you worked hard for those 10K and you are able to put a Call to Action in your Stories… Do it! Don’t waste them but use them. The “swipe up” feature in Instagram’s Stories is an amazing way to direct traffic to your site. Just one simple swipe up and boom. Just don’t overuse it, if you have a call to action on every story people are quickly going to ignore it and that defeats the purpose of such a powerful feature.
Tips from The Pros (and Me)
So while writing this blog I figured I would reach out to some friends to get some tips from the real Pros on what you should and shouldn’t do on the Stories platform… But before we get to the real Pros… I get to go!
JRH Graphics
- Keep it short, sweet and valuable- always keep in mind what your follower may get out of any content you share.
- Minimize text and maximize visual storytelling. Stronger less interrupted images for bigger impact
- Please don’t put a Call to Action in every frame
Blonde in the District
- While stories are a more informal representation of your brand, they are still a representation of your brand. So its important that you are always on brand.
- Don’t make your stories too long, people lose interest and you lose engagement.
- However tempting, don’t go off on a rant in your stories. Even a brand appropriate rant. (DM Jonathan and rant to him)
Stitch & Rivet
- Do a project with your followers and get them invested and involved over the course of the project (story).
- It’s called Stories. Don’t forget to tell a story!
- Go to @stitchandrivet on Instagram and check out the Military Duffle highlight for Storytelling in A Story Done right
https://www.shopstitchandrivet.com/
This is Made in DC
- Pay attention to your overall appearance and cohesion of story from one frame to the next. Even in a single frame that is important
- Keep it fun and playful. Many times they include a cool GIF!
Wrapping It All Up
The success of the Stories Format is not a surprise to anyone in the marketing world. Stories are the perfect medium to tell the story of a brand in bitesize, easy to digest parts. Branding and Marketing are all based on the concept of storytelling so why wouldn’t a usable and versatile tool like the Stories platform win? Stories help businesses tell their story. Stories (the ones the businesses tell) sell. Actually, Stories (the ones on social media) also sell! Use them, experiment, but stay active and engaging.
Share your wins and losses as well as pro tips with us we would love to hear from you! And look for some Instagram Story hack videos from Jonathan this week on his Instagram Stories of course!
- Tap