Currently, Instagram has over 600 million users all over the world, and is growing at a rate of 200 million new ones per year. To give you an idea of this, the users of Instagram number the same as Twitter and Pinterest together, and they’re growing every month! Indeed, Mark Zuckerberg has known how to get the most out of the platform, which has reached its highpoint after making its own some of the principal characteristics and tools of Snapchat.
Instagram Stories is now part of the daily lives of 250 million active users per month, surpassing Snapchat’s figure of 166 million active users per month. In fact, the advent of Instagram Stories and its continuous novelties has revolutionised both individuals and companies of all kinds, growing more in one year than Snapchat throughout its history.
¿Por qué ha tenido tanto éxito Instagram?
Right from the outset, this social network was created with the objective of being used almost exclusively from the mobile, the device to be found in every user’s pocket. In addition, it’s 100% visual (excluding the hashtags, there’s hardly any writing), it emphasises simplicity and minimalism, key aspects which have always distinguished it from Pinterest, a social network of graphical and visual format which, unlike Instagram, has not known how to leverage itself.
Instagram is fleeting, and even more so with the arrival of stories, outshining the famous Twitter. And not only does it outshine in functionality, advantages or qualities proper to other social networks, but it outdoes itself every now and again. Instagram started out as a social network based on photography, making the most of the fact that all mobiles started to include cameras of good quality and easy to use. At that time, all of us wanted to be photographers, as we could publish beautiful photos simply by applying a filter or making use of its simple features and, best of all, without needing to know about the world of photography.
Photos weren’t enough, so that the possibility of making and publishing videos began to be incorporated. Thus, little by little, it became what we know now as Instagram Stories, a perfect channel for recounting tales in a more dynamic and fun way. The fact is that Instagram has known how to leverage the technological and social trends of the moment, turning this social network into an indispensable and inseparable part of the user’s day-to-day.
INSTAGRAM STORIES, THE NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR COMPANIES
And not all the advantages are for users: Instagram Stories offers a multiplicity of opportunities for boosting conversions, raising sales, capturing leads, increasing traffic, etc. Just what every company needs these days!
On the one hand, as we mentioned above, Instagram already has more than 600 million users all over the world. All these users then become the golden opportunity for companies, as they entail greater traffic towards the destination web page.
And, unlike organic publications, stories do allow links to be inserted, and these are perfect for attracting traffic more directly. Up to now, the user had to go to the bio and click on that link if they wanted more information or to buy a product. Now, stories are giving the brands an opportunity (that is, the ones with a large number of followers) to incorporate buttons along the lines of “See more”, which take the user to the web page desired. Certain brands of recognised prestige already use this channel as a complement to their traditional ecommerce, inserting links by which the users can purchase directly.
Other aspects which could be key for a company are the locations and hashtags which can be inserted into stories. The users will know how and where to find the company, and on the other hand, the companies know through which hashtags to reach their quality target market to make their best offers and promotions visible.
On the other hand, users are employing Instagram more than ever for publishing stories. There are many who have practically stopped publishing posts as such (and following either their own timeline or the profiles of other users or brands), using solely this part of Instagram. And all this is highly spontaneous!
Companies, the most prestigious brands, bloggers and influencers are aware of this current trend, and so they also have chosen this kind of format, leaving publications in the background. They know that users can be entertained for a very long time seeing stories, one after another, so their own story needs to there too and capture their attention.
To achieve this, brands do everything in their power to publish the most original story they can, the never hitherto seen, deploying all their creativity to leave the spectator open-mouthed. And now, stories offer a plethora of super-innovative and original possibilities such as, for example, the highly novel surveys which have given so much to businesses and individuals to play with.
Finally, we should highlight the metrics and statistics Instagram offers to Business profiles, very important for brands to know, among many other details, what kind of public has the most affinity with their stories, which story has been the most watched or has directed most traffic to the web. Crucial data for defining a correct content strategy for this social network.
HOW HAS LIFTING GROUP HELPED UNIQLO TO ACHIEVE GREATER LEVELS OF INTERACTION WITH INSTAGRAM STORIES?
Uniqlo is one of the world’s largest companies in the retail sector. The Japanese fashion titan is present in over 2700 shops all over the world and arrived recently in Spain, with the first shop opening on Paseo de Gracia (Barcelona) on 20 September.
The strategy which Uniqlo pursues with respect to its competitors is to offer a quality product different from what’s on the market and at a very competitive price. Leveraging this, our Social Media strategy expert team of Lifting Group has defined a Social Media content strategy which will undoubtedly boost all these competitive advantages.
We at Lifting Group have dedicated 10 years to understanding the needs and identifying the specific features of our clients. In the specific case of Uniqlo, the challenge lay in positioning the brand in the top-of-mind of its target public, while in addition this public is very broad, as it also aims at Made-For-All: thus the challenge was a major one.
Our team managed this by developing a strategy for the publications in its Social Network profiles. This Social Media strategy goes beyond publishing the product and incentivising its sale: it is based on bringing value by seeking to approach the consumer through interaction, working on different categories of content which awake their interest and build up a loyal relationship. In this way, we achieve a large community with high rates of engagement.
At Lifting Group, we know that Instagram Stories offer a new opportunity for companies to achieve conversions more easily, capture leads and increase the traffic to their web page. In addition, the high rate of engagement yields strong links with the consumer, that is, it builds loyalty.
The team of experts at Lifting Group has proposed a strategy for the social networks of Uniqlo which is fed by Instagram Stories to increase visibility on the network, present new collections, create expectation about products and/or events and redirect traffic to the web page thanks to the swipe. functionality. Even though the contents of Instagram Stories are spontaneous and expire after 24 hours, the strategy is worked on in advance without forgetting the image quality or the visual line of the brand. A frequency of 3 or 4 publications per week in Instagram Stories helps the consumer to be alert to the new developments without the brand becoming intrusive.
At Lifting Group, we are collaborating in the arrival of Uniqlo in Spain, accompanying them in the opening of their first shop in the country; our experts in Social Media took the opportunity to retransmit the event in its entirety through the Instagram Stories profile of the brand. Both the ceremonies prior to the inauguration, characterised by great expectation and enthusiasm for being there, and the official inauguration of the first shop on Paseo de Gracia, in Barcelona, were published.
The opening of the second shop in Spain, in Glòries (Barcelona), also had a slot in Instagram Stories before, during and after the inauguration, with the aim of communicating all the acts which were to be carried out. One example of this took place during the days before the inauguration: this was announced with the idea of creating a Call To Action and inviting the consumer to be there. The Instagram Stories published during the opening helped to generate a high rate of engagement, also generating interest among consumers who had not yet participated in the event, which meant that attendance at it was plentiful.
Through the Instagram Stories strategy, Lifting Group has successfully strengthened the relationship between Uniqlo and its consumers. These are more and more active, also in Instagram Stories, sharing both their outfits and their experiences with the brand (for instance, during the events).
Overall, Lifting Group has managed to harness Instagram Stories, fostering not only the creation of a community but also brand recognition, to increase web traffic and, as a consequence, to increase conversions.
NETFLIX, THE KING OF INSTAGRAM STORIES
We can’t argue that Netflix has known very well how to make the most of Instagram Stories. Its publications are indisputably surprising, it reinvents formats and creates new ones, to be unique on Instagram. But where it’s developing its full potential is precisely here, in Instagram Stories.
Creativity, originality and innovation: the perfect combination and its premise in every story it creates and releases to the public. Not a day goes by without these qualities standing out. Day after day, Netflix creates maximum surprise, publishing stories all different from each other and from all the other brands on the planet. In addition, Netflix is the best at conveying the essence of the series, films and characters it advertises and promotes in its stories. Likewise, reflecting perfectly the plot and type of the series or films, such as creating mystery or prompting a smile.
All its stories are absolutely viral, they create a need to carry on watching more and more stories, all of them staying firmly in the user’s memory. After you’ve seen the story from Netflix, you’ll be left open-mouthed! And you’ll watch it again. And you’ll share it with your friends. And you’ll just have to turn on the TV, connect to Netflix and start watching that series you saw earlier in the story on Instagram. That’s why it’s the king of Instagram Stories!
Corporate Information: Founded in 2007,Lifting Group is a Strategy and Marketing Consultancy and Agency that offers innovative solutions for boosting the growth of companies and organisations and services based on Business Strategy, Channel Performance and Web Usability, among others. Its mission consists of leading marketing, communication and design from the leading edge and through innovation, being the leading consultancy and agency on the market for SMEs, as well as being a touchstone for specialisation for big companies in the areas of Strategy, Marketing and Sales.
