It must be admitted that Instagram Stories have been taking the world by storm for quite some time. More and more companies are also choosing to publish stories on Instagram or Facebook, so it's worth fully using the features they offer.
Instagram Stories offer a fantastic way to interact and connect with your audience, and they are also an excellent marketing tool. However, to succeed, they require thought. If you want to maximize your potential and improve your reach and engagement, avoid these 8 Instagram mistakes.
1. Avoiding VIDEO content
Avoiding VIDEO content
Video clips reign on the internet, and it's time to face it. There are many statistics confirming that it's worth spending more time creating short-form video for your brand.
Tip: Don't be afraid to experiment.
Instagram Stories are a great place to start if you're just beginning your video journey for your brand. All the more so because videos have a free form and are mostly created with a smartphone. Even big brands use phones to create Instagram Stories, because it gives a feeling of spontaneity and authenticity.
2. Wrong format
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Wrong format
Instagram Stories are displayed vertically, so the content published on them should be vertical too.
Tip: Publish graphics and photos in portrait orientation or turn them into a collage.
Horizontal content takes up only about 1/3 of the available space and presents its details much less effectively.
Find more about Instagram content sizes: Instagram - dimensions
3. Poor photo/video quality
Poor photo/video quality
Your Instagram Stories are blurry and lose quality after you post them, because the proportions are incorrect. Instagram also compresses files that are over 1 MB.
Tip: Publish files under 1 MB in 9:16 ratio
To keep Instagram from ruining the quality of the Stories you publish, you need to make sure you upload photos or videos under 1 MB and with the correct proportions. All Instagram stories are limited to a 1080 by 1920 pixel ratio, so if you have an image that doesn't fit, it will be compressed or will need to be stretched, which causes a loss of quality.
4. Too many photo dumps
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Too many photo dumps
Nobody wants to keep seeing the same or similar content.
Tip: Try new things.
Keep your Instagram Stories interesting and fresh by mixing media. Publish content in different formats, alternating with videos, images, and even polls. This will help prevent predictability and repetition. Also make sure you're up to date with the latest Instagram resources so your Stories keep attracting attention. You might consider using a template to make your content more visually appealing.
5. No hashtags / location
The most common Instagram Story mistakes and effective ways to avoid them
Hashtags and geolocation are great for increasing the reach of your content and making your brand and what you publish visible to users outside your audience. You can build a community and expand your audience with similar interests or location by using relevant hashtags and tags in Instagram Stories too.
Tip: Add hashtags and geolocation
If you use a hashtag in your Instagram Stories, your story has a chance to be found by that keyword. Remember that your profile must be public, and your Instagram community must be relatively well engaged for Instagram to publish it in a hashtag story.
You can publish up to 10 hashtags in an Instagram Story. Although using many hashtags can increase the reach of your story, a long list of hashtags can be a bit annoying, so it's worth using just a few.
6. TikTok watermark
Videos with the TikTok logo or a watermark from any other platform are very discouraging. TikTok may currently be the most important social network, but that doesn't mean you should use its logo in Instagram Stories.
Tip: Don't publish content with logos from other platforms
Instagram has its own community and doesn't need copied content from other social media. Using another platform's logo will make your brand look amateurish and unprofessional.
Even logos other than TikTok will reduce your reach. This was confirmed by Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram.
7. No captions for users watching content without sound
If you're experimenting with video content in Instagram Stories, that's great! But did you know that you might accidentally exclude a large part of your audience?
Nearly half of Instagram stories are viewed with the sound off. This means that a significant portion of your audience will miss your message if you don't add captions to your videos. As online videos become more popular and easily accessible on the go, more and more users watch online video content without sound, especially in public places.
Tip: Add captions to your videos
Add a literal caption or a short summary of the audio content in your Instagram Story videos, so everyone has a chance to understand the main message of your content.
8. Content that's too formal
Instagram Stories are a great tool that makes your brand seem more authentic. Stories are usually meant to show your personality and take your audience behind the scenes. They should be much more casual than posts.
Tip: become more authentic
A few ways to connect with your audience and show your personality:
- Show your workplace
- Share fun facts about your employees
- Show what a standard workday and behind-the-scenes look like
- Ask your audience what they think about ...
Instagram stories are a fantastic way to connect with your audience. Make sure your content is consistent, on-brand, and fresh. Use different publishing formats to keep viewers engaged and use tags. Keep your stories focused, and above all, remember to make them visually appealing.
By following these simple steps and avoiding these Instagram mistakes, you'll succeed in making your Instagram account more effective and engaging. With greater engagement in your stories, you'll be able to increase your follower count, actively promote your products or services to a wider audience of fans, and help your business achieve growing success.
Summary
Publishing effective Instagram stories requires avoiding eight key mistakes: neglecting video, the wrong format, low-quality files, monotony, missing hashtags and location, watermarks from other platforms, skipping captions, and too formal a tone. By following the tips – such as vertical materials in a 9:16 ratio, files under 1 MB, or adding captions – you can significantly increase reach and engagement. Fun fact: nearly half of stories are viewed without sound, and the presence of the TikTok logo, confirmed by Instagram's head, reduces reach.
