3 Instagram Stories Mistakes to Avoid | Social Media Marketing
Instagram stories is probably the most popular feature on Instagram. It’s estimated (Hootsuite) that more than 500 million users use stories every day. So needless to say if you’re active on this platform and not using this feature — let that be one of your Instagram stories mistakes (before we even really got started).
Now, there are 3 major mistakes I will dive into today .. however, among other common ones are;
We’ll save these 3 for a future blog because today I want to focus on; not using captions, not tagging location and, hard selling.
3 Instagram Stories Mistakes to Avoid ASAP!
One key thing I really want you to remember when you’re making the necessary tweaks to avoid these Instagram stories mistakes is this; things take time to get used to. Knowing this, spend the time needed to poke around the platform and you’ll find much of the user experience is plug and play.
In a lot of cases, when you’re adding features to your stories, the suggestions of different things to use/add are already there! Things like;
… and so on.
Don’t be afraid to create different ones and save them instead of posting initially. This is a great way to become familiar, refine the visuals and have you making less Instagram stories mistakes along the way!
OK, let’s dive in.
Mistake #1 — You’re not using Captions
Think about the last time you were waiting somewhere — maybe to have maintenance done on your car, a doctors office, children’s gymnastics, etc. did you open up your phone? More than likely, right? And, it’s probable you turned the sound right down while you binge watched stories. (public place, common courtesy).
So how much of the content that you were watching had you missing out on the value because the creator wasn’t using captions? Using captions WILL increase your views and in turn, your engagement.
Mistake #2 — You’re not tagging a Location
Next up for the most common Instagram stories mistakes is that you are not tagging your location. Think about that foodie pic you shared with your audience. Did you tag the restaurant? Mention the Chef?
Had you tagged them we’re finding it’s more and more common they will repost your story!
As a father, husband, son, brother, and friend appreciate that we want to be safe and location can be scary — I get it. So, consider uploading your story later once you’ve already left the location as an option.
In addition, when you tag locations have you ever noticed that TONS of locations have their own story feeds? Landing in those is a great way to gain more exposure, new connections and a ton more engagement.
Mistake #3 — You are Hard Selling in your Stories
In the kindest way … STOP doing this! No one likes hard selling anywhere, including you! This is probably the worst of the Instagram stories mistakes that marketers and entrepreneurs are making. Hard selling comes across like word vomit on a screen.
It’s also where you’re using stock photos as your own (take the time and take real life shots — it will pay off!) and often, these photos are branded by a company other than your own.
Stop giving away the whole cookie!
Remember, people want value … micro content, original to you will win every single time.
If you’re currently sitting there with your face in the palm of your hands .. don’t worry! We all make mistakes and it’s all part of the growth process. The good news is, those stories disappeared after 24 hours and you have a whole new 24 hours to work on getting them right.
If I can help you and your business, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments. Knowing which Instagram stories mistakes to avoid is a piece to the puzzle .. you are the innovator and creator and I can’t wait to see what you put out there!
(are we following each other on Instagram yet? Drop your user name in the comments below!)
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