Instagram Story: Now with surveys, opportunities and risks for influencers and brands

An interesting Instagram tool is the Story function. Since such a story is only active for 24 hours, it is to be assumed that the effect with users probably remains manageable. What are your experiences with this tool?

Instagram Stories: The New Surveys

With the principle of the Stories instagram has expanded itself by a substantial core feature. Stories give users the opportunity to get to know Influencer even closer and more directly. Stories are posted four to five times as often as photos and videos. This gives the influencers even more room to shape their channel, to tie fans even more.

Photos or videos in the stream, compared to the stories, are much more complex to produce. They must be higher quality and therefore require longer planning and production times. A story, on the other hand, is very short, non-committal and does not have to be perfect. Rather, it is about the idol to see outside the perfect photos. Whether Caroline Dauer in the morning, still sleepy out of bed, unpainted, only half sentences or whether Lena and Lisa a new musical.ly up upload.

Instagram Stories are the tabloids of the new era. In the stories fans can be closer to their idol in the stories, than it would be possible in the usual postings. Influencers deliver “supposedly” intimate insights into one’s own life – free home. What most fans at the Instagram Stories really excites, and “the view into strange living room,” the classic mediaeval sprinkling.

Our own experience shows that not every Influencer mastered the art of acting professionally in front of the camera, even improvised. The stories require a lot of spontaneity and also loose characters, which do not take themselves too seriously. This is not possible for every Instagramer.

The production of stories is just as elaborate and always has to be thought of the next story. Whether it is at the breakfast table, at noon in the university or in the evening in the club. The fans always want to be there, reacting equally emotionally to successes as well as to failures of postings. This is why Instagram Stories are more time-consuming for Influencers, but they offer the potential to tie fans even more intensively.

The limited publishing time of 24 hours gives the whole of course an additional charm. Information is only available in a limited way and similar to online marketing, the scarcity works flawlessly.

Successful Influencer Marketing: Geth That With Surveys?

In which industries or in connection with which offers, has this tool the greatest success?

In terms of product placement options, Instagram Stories are interesting for the same vendors who also work with postings in the Timeline. Ultimately, however, the target groups or followers of the influencers and their interests are the same. Therefore the product placement in similar areas as in the classic Instagram are also successful. These include fashion, beauty, fitness, nutrition and travel. Every single industry can, of course, once again be subdivided into many. In the fashion sector alone, there are sunglasses, handbags, new trend brands, but also the giants in the industry who are involved in Influencer Marketing.

As described, products in Stories can be advertised more effectively, as more time is available.

Stories can be linked so that each one tells a little story. If the Influencer then published four, five postings in a row, a bigger story develops. For the viewer or the followers a bigger, more intense bond to the topic than it could create a postings. We know the same effect from the classic TV advertising. The more often we see a brand in the commercial, the sooner we have the product in mind. Who then buys a Papiertaschentuch, knows what he will in the supermarket back. We trust the recommendations of others, which makes Instagram and Stories for Social Promotion so valuable.

Instagram campaigns: The new opportunities for companies

The story function now has the option to insert “polls” or votes.

What new possibilities are there for Instagram campaigns?

The new survey feature is a very interesting option as it gives the user, besides the classic Likes and the comments, another way to interact with the influencer.

A good example of best practice came early in the year, when Shirin David, known from YouTube and Instagram, called on their followers to create and create their own perfume. Their fans were then able to participate in a multi-stage survey, the perfume was then titled with “created by the community”. More than 300,000 young people participated in the survey and thus took part in the new perfume and its creation.

This best practice shows the power behind surveys and behind the user participation. From the simple question to the outfit in the morning, “What do you think, which shoes fit my outfit?” Up to the detailed marketing tool for product development.

If votes are included in Instagram stories, they remain anonymous for the users only. Because who inserts the survey option in Stories can not only see how many users have voted, but also who has exactly what voted for.

Data evaluation: profit or risk

How does this feature of the poll function affect its usability in marketing?

The question naturally brings us deep into technical development.

As we see at different analysis tools, but also at simpler bots, which are available for platforms like Instagram, the use of the data is an absolute goldmine. For marketing companies and advertising agencies, which accompany customers in the larger and international segment, the development of such programs is quite exciting and will be invested in them.

For example, via the interface to Instagram and reads the channel of the influencer with authorization, one could relatively easily create targeting for the user groups. Who then makes a decision, which is A, B or C, gets a corresponding advertisement, matched to the own opinion, played. A simple example here would be the spread of advertisements with individual name t-shirts in social networks. The highlight: Users see an advertisement, but with their own, printed names. Direct response thanks data recovery.

Of course, the chance of interacting with targeted ads is much higher, since the approach is individual and thus less attractive. The user’s name is immediately addressed to the users. The same principle can also be applied to the new functions and options of the polls.

However, the evaluation of the data is very complex, one can see the range or the impressions of an average influencer, with a million followers, then reaches eg. a single story about half a million people. If 10% of them interact, there are 50,000 different people who took part in the survey. These can not be easily exported in a CSV and even that would be for most influencer already too much of the good. For larger and more complex projects, however, there is an extremely high potential for evaluating the data. Especially when advertising advertisements, which are based on the individual decisions of the user and thus significantly increase the probability of interaction. However, complex software and the necessary background are required for this, as the individual data acquisition is not feasible.

Does this have a negative impact on companies using this function?

The use of the resulting data to improve products or to create new ones is nevertheless a positive signal for users. Your own opinion is taken into account and also your own wishes are seen and perceived by the idol or the influencer. If the communication strategy explains the model transparently, however a corresponding campaign looks, it stands nevertheless for customer wishes and just for the participation of the community. As we see in politics, the desire for people’s decisions, or the desire for respect for one’s own opinion, is very important to many. If users are able to help themselves and can influence themselves, you will evaluate this as a positive character if all processes are displayed transparently.

Caution Shitstorm! Topics must be well thought-out

Which survey categories should companies avoid?

Of course, survey categories should always deal with their own thematic area, their own industry or their own environment. In general as well as in the social networks, politics and religion should be avoided. The clear positioning in our own market environment is recommended. Beauty brands should incorporate subject-related content. For example Fashion, fashion weeks or even stars.

The topics should be fun for people, social networks, and, of course, instagram work, because they distract people, make them happy, give them a little holiday from everyday life. In this environment, nobody will be concerned with sad or highly emotional issues. People want fun and a little distraction. This is how to position thematically.