The Daily ListRapport — How to Use Instagram Stories
Ever wonder about how you can use social media to captivate and interact with your leads to ensure they stay engaged? Instagram Stories can be used as a multidimensional marketing tool to promote your brand and streamline communication between you and your clients!
ListReports’ Communications Specialist, Ashley Musick, is here to inform you of handy Insta tips and tricks to promote your business. In this episode, she uncomplicates the confusing process of creating and posting an attractive story to grab the attention of all of your followers!
To find the Instagram Story feature, open the Instagram app and swipe to the left of your homepage, or click the plus icon on your profile photo. This will make the camera feature appear, along with multiple diverse functions!
Creating a Story with Content from your Camera Roll:
Once you have opened the camera feature on Instagram, click the square icon on the bottom left to access your camera roll. Once you’ve chosen your desired photo, you’ll notice 5 white icons on the top right of your screen. The ‘Aa’ icon indicates “text” and allows you to type anything (such as the date of an open house, listing details, or simply a fun caption) and place it wherever you’d like on the screen.
From there, you can access various font styles, highlight or shadow your text for effect, and resize it! Instagram offers a pre-selected color palette, or allows for color customization by using the eyedrop feature to match the color of your text to a specific color in your image (a tactic that is especially helpful for making your stories look more coordinated and professional).
Use one of ListReports’ aesthetic Shareables, or use a design you’ve already created and saved to your camera roll so you won’t have to spend as much time editing on Instagram!
Another major feature of Instagram Stories that you can use to your advantage is the square icon with a smiley face. Here you can find a world of GIFS, stickers, and call to action buttons such as: polls, mentions, hashtags, and location. You can also search for images by typing keywords in the bar at the top. Note: Polls or questionnaires are the easiest methods of gauging your client’s needs and preferences by encouraging your followers to participate in a quick, engaging activity.
For example, click the button that says “QUESTIONS” to ask a question that your followers can respond to (ex. “Ask me anything!”), or choose the button that says “DM ME”, which makes it easy for followers to message you directly by sending them straight to your Instagram inbox. You can also use the “MENTION” button to tag your fellow agents, clients, brokerage, or team to drive even more traffic to your page!
Try not to overcrowd your story with too many stickers and buttons, as it can distract your followers from taking the action you want them to. When it comes to interactive or animated elements, a little goes a long way!
Creating A Brand New Story:
When using the Story camera, there will be several useful icons on the left-hand side of your screen. The “Aa” icon labeled “Create” can be used to design and share updates using text, without actually recording anything or using an image. The Create feature is perfect for sharing relevant industry news, or home tips and renovation ideas! You can test out colorful backgrounds and add stickers or action buttons along with your text.
The next noteworthy icon is the “Layout” feature, which allows you to upload or capture up to 6 separate photos and post them as a collage (perfect for showing off multiple rooms in a listing, or displaying 6 listings at the same time). The “Multi-Capture” feature allows you to upload or take 8 individual photos and simultaneously post them in a consecutive order that your followers can tap through when they view your story.
To easily snap photos or film live videos, simply tap once or hold down the white button in the bottom center. Switch to your front-facing camera using the camera icon on the bottom right to record live videos of yourself (perfect for answering questions that may have been sent to you through the “QUESTIONS” button mentioned earlier).
Utilize the “Hands-Free” icon (at the bottom of the list of icons to the left of your screen) to record without having to hold down the white button the entire time. Before you hit record, you can swipe through multiple filters on either side of the white icon to add more personality to your story!
For more in-depth details about how to maximize engagement from your existing follower base, watch the full episode here.
As a bonus, you can also learn more about our Social Media BINGO challenge for posting inspiration and fun content ideas!
