What is Instagram Stories?
Facebook is not messing around and was quick to offer users of its most visual tool an alternative to Snapchat. Instagram Stories is a platform where the photos and videos shared (the stories) will last only 24 hours (just like Snapchat!). It is a way of making other types of publications, perhaps more fun and without having to be so aesthetically pleasing, which will not ‘stain’ your wall, since they will disappear.
In January of this year, Instagram Stories published the total number of its daily users: more than150 million users in just five months of operation!
{{cta(‘bb2971b9-bf36-4c36-8edc-75223dba5208’)}}
The question now is, can we use Instagram Stories to enhance our hotel’s social media strategy or is it just a diversion for users?
Instagram Stories as part of your hotel’s social media strategy
Of course, the first thing you need to know is whether your target audience is on Instagram. If your
buyer-personas
are not part of this social network, it makes no sense for your hotel to be present.
Even so, it must be said that the tourism sector is one of the sectors that can benefit the most from such visual platforms as Instagram. Traveling gives a lot of possibilities: photos of the destination, of the hotel facilities, leisure activities in the area… Endless possibilities to capture with the camera.
And do you know what? You can know which users have been viewing your story! This is a very powerful piece of information for your hotel, since you will know the interest generated by your content among a specific audience, which you will be able to narrow down and segment more and more.
Instagram Stories knows its potential for businesses and keeps making it easy for us. In January, it released new tools to make it easier for companies to launch full-screen ads and to obtain statistics on their publications. Instagram Stories is ready for your hotel.
Tips for working Instagram Stories
1. Test, test and fail. Do not always publish the same content, or at the same time. See what attracts your followers the most, which filters attract their attention and you can even create your own geofilters.
2. A very important aspect to be successful on Instagram Stories is to know which hashtags are being used and which ones you can use for your hotel. Not just anyone will do, of course. You must find those trends that are related to your sector, establishment and, very importantly, the destination. Remember that you can use as many hashtags as you want in the same publication.
3. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Social networks imply immediacy and even more so disappearing stories. Broadcast in real time without losing the opportunity to explain what is happening right now in your hotel. If it’s not your best work, don’t worry, it will be gone in 24 hours. But don’t stop explaining it.
4. Keep up to date with updates and new features. Instagram Stories has already made several changes to how it works and has opened up new possibilities for users. Do not stop innovating and surprising.
5. Appear among the first 9 stories positioned by a hashtag. The more interactions in less time your story has, the better positioned your photo will appear when searched by a hashtag. Ideally, you should appear in the ‘gallery’ of a specific hashtag. These walls or ‘galleries’ are formed by a collage of 9 photographs, the best positioned.
