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If SEO were an Olympic sport, it would be race walking.
Everyone is after that first place slot – but it’s a long, slow, and strategic path to getting there.
By now, just about every marketer knows the basics of how to rank.
Find and target the right keywords.
Create high-quality content that your audience is looking for.
Prove time and time again that Google should value your content – and that it’s worth showing off to their users.
It’s a tedious and time-consuming process.
And if you do happen to make it to the top slot, it can be snatched away by a competitor at any moment.
Do you ever wish there was a shortcut that would allow you to breeze right past the competition and secure your slot at the front of the pack?
There is an underutilized market that might allow you to leapfrog your competition in a ranking list.
Featured snippets.
Featured snippets can act like your race track to first place.
By targeting this up-and-coming feature, snippets can help you rank highly in less time.
When searching on Google, have you ever noticed the text boxes that jump out and answer your question before you ever even make it to a website?
Well, that is a featured snippet.
These descriptive boxes flip the traditional Google search result listing around.
Rather than giving you the headline, URL, and website first, you get the information, otherwise known as the “snippet.”
Featured snippets can come in many different forms.
First, we have the paragraph featured snippet.
Do a quick Google search of “why is the sky blue,” and you’ll be met with this result:
This box breaks down exactly what makes the sky blue is an example of a featured paragraph snippet.
The paragraph featured snippet is the most basic of all the snippet forms.
However, it’s the standard response to questions like “who is…” and “why is…”
For “how to” questions, you’re likely to get a list featured snippet.
Let’s say you clogged your drain and you’re looking for some help before calling the plumber.
You jump on to Google and search “how to unclog a drain.”
These are probably the results you’ll get…
Like the paragraph featured snippet, a list featured snippet provides the details first.
While less common, how to questions may also bring up a new kind of featured snippet – a video.
Let’s do a quick search for “how to braid hair.”
The featured snippet you’re given is taken straight from YouTube. You can watch the content right on the results page.
You’ll also notice that the snippet offers additional options to make your search more specific.
These are known as refinement bubbles.
Refinement bubbles help to narrow down your search without needing to start the search over.
Another popular type of featured snippet is the table.
You’re most likely to see a table featured snippet after searching for comparisons or statistics.
Here is the result when you search “biggest growth industries” in Google.
As you can see, the CollegeBoard table is pulled directly to the top of the SERP.
Featured snippets like these now appear in about 30% of Google results.
However, featured snippets can cause some complications when it comes time for Google users to go back to your site.
According to a study from Ahrefs, only about 8.6% of clicks go to the featured snippet.
Compared to 19.6% of clicks to the first natural search result, this is a major difference.
However, those 8.6% of clicks can still drive a massive wave of traffic to your website if you were previously struggling to reach the top of a SERP.
Featured snippets also have the added benefit of making your content competitive for voice searches.
With an estimated one billion voice searches each month, it’s an area you can’t afford to ignore.
When a user performs a voice search, the response played back to them is often a featured snippet.
In fact, Moz did a study to see how many featured snippet searches would deliver a voice response.
Pulling 1,000 searches that contained featured snippet results, they performed voice searches to see if the response matched.
71% of the time, the answer was yes.
However, they then broke down these results based on type.
Text snippets were 87% likely to be featured as a voice response.
List responses appeared about half the time, while tables only came up about a third of the time.
When we think about the nature of voice search, this isn’t too surprising.
While lists and tables make for great visual results on a traditional search engine, the ease of reading a snippet makes text much more practical for voice search.
As more and more individuals purchase voice-powered smart speakers, the need for appropriate responses will only become more important to brands.
However, there is no guarantee that you’ll land a featured snippet slot.
Like all things SEO, getting your content placed in a featured snippet slot takes some planning.
Here are the steps you need to follow to secure a featured snippet slot of your own.
Featured snippets typically appear as a result of a direct question.
Moz posted a study on featured snippets where they compared results using the following question starters.
They found that most of these questions delivered paragraph featured snippets.
Questions beginning with “does,” “why,” and “are” resulted in paragraph featured snippets about 99.9% of the time.
“How” and “have” questions resulted in list featured snippets while “which” questions were the highest for table featured snippets.
Let’s take a look at the featured snippet that appears when you search “how to tie a tie.”
When you type this question into the search bar, you’re given a featured snippet.
However, let’s look what happens when you simply search “tie a tie.”
The results are much more basic.
Rather than the featured snippet, you’re given images and traditional results.
Simply targeting keywords associated with questions isn’t enough. To land the featured snippet placement, you need to be sure to include a direct question.
Let’s look at the way some other questions turn up on Google.
Say I want to learn more about who Mark Cuban is. I go to the search engine and just type in “Mark Cuban.”
This is my result.
While I’m able to pull some key information from this listing, the snippet isn’t the primary resource.
However, let’s turn my search into a question.
Here is my result for searching “Who is Mark Cuban.”
By simply adding the “who is” to my search, we get an entirely new featured snippet.
Again, you’ll notice that the source of the featured snippet is not the same resource from the first search.
To secure the featured snippet placement for yourself, you want to be sure you’re targeting direct questions – not just keywords that may appear within the question.
If you’re trying to secure a list featured snippet, focus on “how to” questions.
Use “which” when trying to target table featured snippets.
Stick to the basics. “Who,” “how,” “why,” “when,” and “where” are all great places to start.
One way to cover a number of questions at once is through an FAQ or Q&A page.
Moz was able to help an orthodontist increase organic sessions to their website by 46.10% by targeting featured snippets through a Q&A.
A FAQ or Q&A page can help you cover many questions without overwhelming your visitors.
By providing short, scannable responses to questions you get asked frequently, you can provide high-value content to your target audience while also increasing your chances of getting a featured snippet slot.
However, you want to be strategic about the questions you target.
Which brings us to our next point…
What is one of the key best practices when doing SEO?
Keyword research.
But what is one of the most important things to consider when doing keyword research?
Your audience.
If the keywords you target aren’t used by your audience, you may turn up in a search, but you’re not going to get any clicks.
Featured snippets work the same way.
Targeting just any slot is a waste of time and resources.
Instead, you want to get your featured snippets placed at the top of searches your audience is already looking for.
You can identify these ranking opportunities in a few different ways.
First, start with keyword research.
To rank for a featured snippet, you need to be among the Top 10 results for that keyword 99.58% of the time.
To identify snippets you may be able to be featured for, consider what keywords you’re already ranking highly for.
Next, think of a basic question that applies to your industry or business.
For this example, let’s use “what is AI.”
Here are our results.
While this doesn’t show a featured snippet, what we do get are some additional questions people are also searching for under “People Also Ask.”
Users can click one of the “People Also Ask” questions and get a short response.
These “People also ask” questions can be a great place to start learning about what your audience is looking for.
There are a few different ways you can find the questions your audience is asking.
One of the best places to look is on Quora.
Quora has 190 million monthly users, all asking questions, providing answers, and engaging in conversations.
Here is what you find when you search “what is AI” in Quora.
In addition to a response, you’re also shown a list of related questions.
Like the “People Also Ask” section from your Google search, these questions can give you an idea of what people want to know.
Another great place to generate potential questions is Answer the Public.
By typing in a keyword, Answer the Public will generate some question responses.
However, these questions are computer-generated without considering important metrics like search volume or popularity.
Based on these suggestions, you’ll want to do additional research to see what questions are actually being asked by your audience.
You can also use the SERPStat tool to pull some additional data about questions.
The content marketing section of the tool can break down different search questions associated with the keyword you’ve searched.
This can help you better understand which questions are actually being used and how frequently they’re appearing.
SERPStat also allows you to see which keywords are already displaying featured snippets.
Within the Keyword Selection tool under SEO Research, you can filter results to see only those already featuring snippets.
This can help you hone in even more on the keywords you should target.
Doing the proper research before determining which snippets you’d like to target can increase your chances.
However, you need to remember that you’re trying to connect with your target audience.
Pay close attention to their unique needs or search behavior.
In addition to knowing what keywords and questions are popular with search engines, take a minute to look through social media or other platforms that can give you direct access to your target audience.
The more you learn about your audience, the more likely you are to reach them through a featured snippet.
If you’ve ever done SEO before, you know that keyword placement alone isn’t enough to rank in the top spot.
In fact, there are dozens of on-page, backlink, off-page, and domain factors that are considered in where a piece of content ranks.
On-site factors include everything from domain authority to affiliate links – and this is just the tip of the SEO iceberg.
However, each factor revolves around one thing – user experience.
When Google decides which results should make the top of the list, it looks at which pieces are most likely to help the user.
The same applies to featured snippets.
If you want your snippet to be featured, you need to produce the best response to the question.
As we mentioned in the first point, your response should be in answer form.
You’ll also want to make sure your response is clear, to the point, and your steps are not extremely detailed.
The results for “how to screenshot on a Mac” are a great example of how you can do this.
Within this featured snippet, we’re able to see the entire four-step process of how you can take a screenshot on a Mac computer.
Each instruction is direct and concise, allowing the user to get the full amount of information right within the SERP.
You’ll see that some steps have an ellipsis.
This indicates that there is additional information that goes with that step, but it isn’t necessary for the instructions.
Keep this in mind when writing out your instructions. Start each point with a sentence that is capable of standing alone.
When formatting this content on your website, you’ll also want to display it as the featured snippet type you’re trying to target.
Here’s what that same bit of information looks like on the Apple Support website.
While you’ll see there are some additional bits of information, it’s more or less formatted the same as the snippet.
This is particularly crucial for table snippets.
With paragraph snippets, you don’t need to have particular formatting to get featured.
You do, however, need to use concise writing.
Here is a featured paragraph snippet that appears when you search “who is Elon Musk.”
Within this one paragraph, you get his full biography.
If you’re hoping to target paragraph snippets, then try to fit all your information into two or three sentences.
To further increase your chances, use an H2 header containing the question you’re trying to rank for.
Then immediately after, provide a short and concise response that also contains your targeted keyword.
Structured data, sometimes just called Schema markup, can also help you rank for a featured snippet.
However, you don’t need to have structured data to be ranked.
Structured data just helps Google understand what your content is about. The easier it is for Google to see your value, the more likely you are to rank highly.
You can use the Google Structured Data Markup Helper to get started with your markups.
So, you’ve landed the coveted featured snippet position.
You can finally relax, right?
Nope.
Just like traditional SEO, a featured snippet can be snatched away from you before you even get comfortable.
With competitors making their own strategic movements to land that “0 placement,” you always need to be aware of what they’re doing.
Even if Google deems you the most worthy of that slot for a little while, they’ll constantly be searching the web trying to find someone who can answer the question better.
If you’re not paying attention to the responses your competitors are generating, they may surpass you.
However, SEO competitors aren’t necessarily your business competitors.
This is especially true when users are looking for questions.
Here’s an example.
When you search “content marketing,” you can select between two posts – one from my site and one from Wikipedia.
While Wikipedia may not be one of my direct business competitors, when it comes to fighting for SEO rankings, we might as well be enemies.
If you’re only monitoring your direct business competitors, more generic response or information pages may sneak up behind you.
There are a few ways you can identify and track these SEO competitors.
First, let’s go back to Google “People Also Ask” questions.
Here are some related questions when searching “what social media is most popular.”
While neither of these responses answers the question of the most popular social media, they’re still responding to the same audience and industry.
Both Small Biz Trends and Statista should be seen as competitors within this space – even if they’re not necessarily your business competitors.
Once you have a list of a few potential competitors, you’ll want to keep your eye on them.
Now, you don’t need to check every blog post they upload.
You don’t need to spend hours trying to scan their social media profiles.
Instead, you can set up alerts so you’ll be notified whenever there is new content on a particular topic.
Google Alerts is your best friend when it comes to tracking specific topics or individuals.
Let’s say you’re Statista wanting to defend your feature for the question “how many users are on social media.”
You might set up a Google Alert that looks a bit like this:
Every time a new post containing the phrase “how many users are on social media” is uploaded, Google will send you a message or deliver the content to an RSS feed.
Here is an example of some of the results you may get.
Google Alerts also gives you some options to create an alert that fits your unique needs.
If you’re looking for only results in a specific language, only blog posts, or even only posts coming from a certain region, you can narrow your alerts down.
You’ll want to create a few different alerts around the featured snippet questions you’re targeting.
In this case, you may also want to establish alerts for phrases like “social media users,” “number of Facebook users,” or “how many users on Twitter.”
Slow and steady may win the race when it comes to traditional SEO, but featured snippets are here to shake things up.
As snippets become more and more popular and new forms of featured snippets are rolled out, the competition will only grow.
By appealing to these newer areas of SERPs early on, you can leapfrog your competition – getting you more search engine traffic faster.
How have you used featured snippets to increase awareness or website traffic?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
Blogging is one of my favorite ways to drive traffic to your website and engage with your audience.
But for those of you who have been staying up to date about the newest marketing trends, you know that video content has been on the rise.
In fact, experts predict that 80% of the global Internet traffic will be videos by 2019. More than half of marketing executives say that video content is their most profitable ROI.
Blogs that contain videos have triple the amount of inbound links compared to blog posts without videos.
So it’s understandable why you might be interested in starting a video blog.
Based on all of these numbers, it’s no secret that people love to consume video content. But establishing yourself as a prominent video blogger can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve never done it before.
There are so many factors to take into consideration.
What kind of equipment should you use? How do you behave in front of the camera? How do you promote your new video blog?
You’re not the only one who has recognized these video trends. Research shows that businesses are planning to add more content distribution channels in the next year.
Do you see a common pattern in the top three responses? All of these are platforms for video distribution.
So for those of you that need some pointers for launching a new video blog or improving your existing one, you’ve come to the right place.
These are the top 12 tips to keep in mind if you want to run a successful video blog.
Audio is one of the most important aspects of your video blog. People need to be able to hear what you’re saying.
Having a quality microphone can help make sure that you’re not wasting any time recording your blog. Sometimes, you’re going to have poor video quality. It happens.
But even if your video sucks, you can always salvage the audio and use that for something like a podcast. Or you can use the audio to voiceover a presentation or something else that’s not live.
Your computer has a microphone built into it, but you can do better. Even some cheap cameras don’t have the best microphones.
If your video blog is something that you want to take seriously and do often, high quality audio needs to be a priority.
So which type of microphone should you get? I’ll be honest with you, I’m not an expert when it comes to this type of equipment. You’ll need to do some research yourself.
But with that said, you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune on this investment. You should be able to find what you need for roughly $100 or less.
Just make sure that you’re able to balance your audio levels with the microphone. Test it out each time before you start broadcasting so you don’t waste time recording audio that’s unusable.
Know your environment. Where do you plan on recording the most?
There are certain microphones that are meant for different things, such as being in a large room with echoes, outdoors with high winds, or in areas with crowds and lots of background noise.
So find a microphone that’s suitable for your broadcasts. It’s worth the investment.
We’ve all seen videos that look unprofessional. Everything from those low-budget local commercials to your family home videos.
It’s unacceptable for your video blog to look like this. So it’s important for you to understand the concept of a basic three point lighting setup.
Sure, sometimes you’re going to be filming on the go. So it’s not always reasonable for you to be carrying around an entire studio worth of lights with you.
But if lots of your video blog content is going to be filmed in your home or apartment, you should definitely have these lights set up like the example above.
Lighting can do so much for the quality of your video. These are the three terms that you need to get familiar with.
Your key light will serve as your primary light. For the most part, it’s placed on the right side of the camera and should be roughly three feet higher than your eye level.
The key light will be the brightest of these three lights. Angle it at a downward angle so it replicates the sun and has a natural lighting effect.
Due to the angle of your key light, there will be a shadow. So you’ll need to a fill light on the opposite side of the camera to eliminate that darkness.
With two lights placed in front of you, you’ll need a back light behind you so that it looks natural. Otherwise, you may have some dark shadows on your shoulders.
The back light should be diffused so it’s the least bright of the trio.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on your lights, but you should keep in mind that inexpensive lights won’t last forever. So if you’re in this for the long haul, it may be worth it to invest now and save yourself some money down the road.
Whenever you’re shooting outside of your home or office, you need to position yourself properly with natural lighting resources.
Use the sun to your advantage when you’re filming outdoors. Try to position your camera so the sun would be at the same angle as your key light.
Not everyone will be watching your video with volume. So you’ll need to add captions to your content.
You’ll have much higher engagement rates if your video blog has captions. Videos with captions have 40% more views. Furthermore, the chances of a viewer watching your entire video increases by 80% if you make closed captions available.
Are you planning to share your video blog on Facebook? Take a look at these numbers.
85% of videos on Facebook are watched on mute. So it makes sense that captions can increase the view time by 12%.
Think about all of the different scenarios when someone will be watching your video blog. They might be at work, at school, or in a room full of people that they don’t want to disturb.
Do you watch all videos with the sound on? Probably not. So make sure that you add captions to all of your video blogs.
Let’s get back to talking about your equipment. In addition to a microphone and lights, you’ll also need to have a reliable camera.
Again, I’m not saying you need to go spend thousands of dollars on this. Just make sure that you take certain factors into consideration before you make a purchase.
Depending on where you are going to be filming, you won’t always have access to a power outlet. So battery life is really important if you’re filming on the go.
You should also consider the size of your storage cards. You’d hate to be in the middle of filming great content and run out of space on the camera.
The physical size of your camera should also be at the top of your priority list. Make sure that it’s small, easy to hold, and convenient to transport.
If you don’t have your camera with you at all times, it’s not the end of the world. You can definitely use your computer or smartphone for some videos.
But if you are really serious about becoming a successful video blogger, carrying a high quality camera with you everywhere you go will give you the opportunity to film great content any time you have some inspiration or see something that’s cool and worth filming.
You should also know the video format that your camera records.
Popular formats include .mov, .avi, .mp4. This is important to know depending on how you plan to edit, export, and share your videos. You want to make sure that the format can easily be converted.
Sometimes you won’t even need a camera to video blog. Well, at least not for all of your posts.
If you want to show your audience how to do things on your computer, you’ll need to be able to record your actions with software like ScreenFlow.
You’ll have to pay for the software, but it’s worth it if you plan to do any screen recordings on your Mac.
For those of you who are PC users, you can use something like Camtasia instead.
There are other options out there too. But these are my top choices for Mac and PC. So you can use them as a reference point in terms of price and features if you’re shopping around.
Part of being a successful video blogger means that you need to have a great personality. So don’t be shy, timid, or boring.
If you’ve got a sense of humor, let it shine.
Remember, this is your video blog. So there aren’t any rules when it comes to the type of content that you’re sharing.
Just be aware that anything you say or do could affect your personal and professional brand. So I’d recommend staying away from controversial topics. But go for it if that’s a risk you’re willing to take.
Mix up your content so it’s engaging. Nobody wants to watch the same thing every day, week, or however often you plan to upload a new video.
This relates back to our last tip about engaging with your audience. There are some questions that you need to answer about the direction of your video blog.
What is the point of your video? Are you teaching your audience how to do something? What are your qualifications?
Sure, video blogs can be entertaining, informative, or both. But you need to make sure that your audience has an incentive to watch.
Unless you’ve got one of the best personalities in the world, nobody is going to want to just listen to you talk about your day.
Understand what your audience wants and give it to them.
You’ll need to know how to edit your videos before you publish and upload them. Just make sure you don’t go crazy with this.
Lots of cuts and edits don’t look professional. If you’ve got a Mac, you can use basic software like iMovie to get the job done.
It’s great if you’ve got multiple iOS devices that you’ll be recording on.
For windows users, Movie Maker is the equivalent free software.
These tools are necessary because they can help you accomplish basic needs like trimming clips and piecing videos together.
You can adjust the audio and things like that as well. Just don’t go overboard with too many effects or it will look unprofessional.
Another way to keep users engaged is by enticing them to comment on your video blogs. This can be easy if you position your videos accordingly.
Ask for their opinions. Try to spark a discussion or a debate.
If you take a stance on a particular subject, say something like, “Well let me know what you guys think in the comments section.”
Respond to comments as well. This is a great way to keep people coming back to your content even when you haven’t uploaded a new video.
If you’re handling this effectively, you could be getting new comments on videos that you uploaded months or even years ago.
If you think your content is getting stale or you need to spice it up with something new, bring guests onto your video blog.
Sure, people may love you. But seeing the same face over and over again could get old and boring.
So bring in an expert on a particular subject. Do you have any connections to an athlete, movie star, or some other celebrity? Even if they are a D-list actor, a fresh face can help you build hype for your video blog.
If you don’t have those kinds of connections, just ask your friends. I’m sure you’ve got someone in your circle or in your family who is funny and has a great personality.
It’s all about keeping your content fresh. So don’t think that your video blog needs to be about just you every time.
Once you’ve recorded a video blog, you’ve got to get it into the hands of as many people as possible. YouTube is the best platform for video distribution.
All of my video content starts on my YouTube channel.
The great thing about YouTube is that you can always repurpose your videos after you add them to your channel.
Post these videos to social media. Add video blog links to your website. Send video content out to your email subscribers.
If you’ve got a written blog as well, you should be writing about your video blogs and embedding links in your content to drive more traffic to your videos.
Again, I’d start with YouTube first. But some video bloggers like to use other distribution channels as well, like blip.tv or Vimeo.
You won’t use every piece of film that you record. So don’t be afraid to tape as much content as you can.
That’s why it’s important to have a camera with you as often as possible.
You can always filter through the content later and discard it if it’s not that great. Or save it to your archives and maybe find a way to use a clip for a later broadcast.
But regardless, it’s important that you’re always recording so that you don’t miss out on any opportunities.
Telling your audience about an experience is one thing, but being able to show them the video to back it up will make your video blog that much better.
With video trends on the rise, it’s a great idea to start a video blog. But with so many other people out there doing the same thing, it can be difficult to separate yourself from the crowd.
Take the tips that I’ve outlined above and apply them to your video blog if you want to be successful.
You need to start off by doing simple things like getting the right equipment and editing software.
After that, it comes down to your personality and marketing ability to get your video content out there for people to see.
Follow these basic concepts and your video blog will rapidly grow in terms of traffic, view time, and engagement.
Which tools, software, and principles have you used to drive more traffic to your video blogs?
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Out of all of the different facets of digital marketing, social media tends to change with the most immediate and drastic results.
There is always a new platform emerging for marketers to look into and master to stay ahead of the trends.
And with algorithms on big platforms like Facebook always evolving, you have to stay on your toes as you figure out how to engage on them.
However, through all the change, there is one thing that remains consistent:
Users want to engage with brands in a personal way.
For this purpose, Instagram stands apart from all other platforms. It’s one of the best places for you to promote brand engagement with your users.
It’s grown by 1,400% in just the last five years. With growth like that, it’s a no-brainer for marketers to implement Instagram into their social strategies.
In particular, Instagram Stories makes easy for marketers to engage with users, humanize their brands, create leads, and generate customers on the platform.
They’re a great tool for showing potential customers (and existing ones) why your brand is relatable or interesting.
So, how do you get the most out of Instagram Stories?
That’s what this guide is here to help with. It will give you ways to use Instagram Stories to build your brand and convert leads and sales.
All marketers know that social media engagement is important. It’s one of the best ways to develop trust from prospects.
And the more they trust you, the more likely they are to become loyal customers.
While all social media platforms are great avenues for driving audience engagement and ultimately sales, Instagram is on a whole different level.
Of the 700 million users on Instagram, 500 million users are active on a daily basis.
Instagram also excels in terms of engagement. 68% of users regularly engage with brands on Instagram while only 32% of users regularly engage with brands on Facebook.
Why? Because features like Instagram Stories make it easy for brands to show themselves in a fun and interesting light. It’s easier than ever to humanize a brand.
Tarte Cosmetics does this well. The brand regularly travels to exotic places for photo shoots of new products or company bonding trips. And when they travel, they bring their followers along on the adventure.
From showing products that they’ve staged for shoots in Bora Bora to showing team members on a mother/daughter retreat in Hawaii, Tarte uses Instagram Stories to give followers insight into what it means to be a “Tartlet.”
Lululemon is another great example. Being a popular fitness clothing brand, the Instagram team at lululemon regularly takes followers through their own personal fitness journeys using Stories.
From live yoga practices to cooking healthy meals, the brand gives great insight into how employees are working toward the same goals as their followers.
Just recently, lululemon took viewers on one employee’s daily run through Austin, Texas.
You experience the route she took, the music she was listening to, and the trials she had along the way. Instagram Stories like this make it very easy to relate to a brand.
Instagram Stories give marketers a variety of ways to facilitate easy interaction with users.
With features like geographical location tagging, hashtags, polls, gifs, stickers, and more, growing your following and facilitating brand engagement is simple. You just need a little creativity.
Features like hashtags and geotagging make it easy for users to find you based on location and interest.
If you’re a local business, geotagging is vital when it comes to your interaction on Instagram Stories.
Each time you enter a city, Instagram aggregates Stories that other users have geotagged in your location.
This is a great opportunity for small businesses and city tourism brands as they can utilize geotagging to show Instagram users exciting things taking place around them.
Carrigan Farms, which is in the small town of Mooresville, North Carolina, takes advantage of geotagging to show users in the area the fun activities visitors can take part in at the farm.
With a huge water quarry on the property, Carrigan Farms visitors can jump off of cliffs into the deep, clean water.
Capturing and sharing videos of these activities on the farm’s Story with geotagging brings awareness to others in the area of the fun they could have on the farm.
Hashtags make it easy for users to find your content based on topic.
Many brands or celebrities will have a hashtag that they use across social media so that anyone looking for content about the brand or person can easily find it.
For instance, Justin Timberlake just recently canceled shows up north due to the massive snow storms.
In addition to his publicity team notifying showgoers of the cancellation via email and his website, he posted to his Instagram Story.
Using hashtag #MOTWTOUR, he added another way to notify his fans who have been following along with his tour on social media about the cancellation.
Items like gifs and stickers enable brands to add to images and videos that they share on Instagram Stories.
Lake Norman Surf Co., which is on Lake Norman in North Carolina, offers wakesurfing lessons. The brand regularly uses stickers and gifs to demonstrate their light attitude.
Just recently, Lake Norman Surf Co. shared a video of the lake water and used a sticker to show the temperature. They did this to remind their followers that wakesurfing season is coming.
The poll feature, which Instagram recently rolled out, is a creative way to create easy interactions with followers.
As a marketer, you always want feedback from our prospects and customers.
Polls on Instagram Stories provide a way for you to get that feedback from fans while making your audience feel like your brand is empowering them.
Companies can utilize polls to ask fans anything!
Ask about their opinions on new products, how often they’d like to receive brand emails, their favorite kinds of sales, what kind of content they’d like to see from your brand on social media, and so on.
Perhaps you’re a clothing company, and you’re wondering if your fans are ready to see summer transitional pieces or if they are still looking for winter/spring clothing. In that case, use a poll.
Or maybe you’re an outdoor adventure gear company, and you’re wondering if your fans prefer to see behind-the-scenes stories from product shoots of if they prefer to just see the new products.
Ask them in a poll.
For instance, HomeGoods and Kurgo will often show items in their shops and ask followers which color they prefer.
This is an interactive way to get followers interested in new product rollouts. They might come in and purchase the color of the item that they chose from the poll.
Some sports teams and leagues will even use polls that ask fans who they think will win the big game.
These are fun ways for followers to engage with a brand and feel important.
Adding Instagram influencers to your social media marketing strategy is an invaluable way to both increase your follower base and drive sales.
You can classify Instagram influencers in the micro (1,000 to 100,000 followers) level or the macro (100,000+ followers) level.
There are many types of influencers. You can find celebrities, TV stars, bloggers, and even animals!
There are two ways that an Instagram Takeover can work: An influencer can take over your account for a day, or your brand can take over their account for the day.
Leading up to a takeover, both the influencer and the brand regularly remind followers when it will be taking place.
This builds the hype and reminds users where to tune in. Here’s an example from Kurgo.
Another dog brand that regularly hosts Instagram Takeovers is BarkBox.
The popular dog box subscription brand will allow major dog accounts on Instagram to take over the account for the day.
During the takeover, you get a hilarious inside look at a day in the life of that pup.
Throughout the day, they add plugs for BarkBox products from the BarkShop that users can purchase, and they typically offer a coupon for followers to subscribe with a free starter box.
At the end of the day, we’re digital marketers. If our efforts aren’t generating leads and sales, we’re not impacting the company’s bottom line.
So how do all of these visual storytelling and humanizing tactics impact lead generation and sales conversion?
Well, storytelling boosts conversions by 30% when you use it to answer customer questions.
If you’re not telling good stories, you need to get on board. As many as 78% of enterprise marketers believe that their team is very or extremely effective when it comes to storytelling.
With the new “Swipe Up” link feature on Stories, Instagram has revolutionized the way brands can convert users through social media.
The “Swipe Up” feature allows brands to add links to pictures and videos that they share on Instagram Stories.
This makes it simple to move a prospect through the sales funnel directly from Instagram. All that a user has to do is swipe up with their finger.
Here are three ways to generate leads and sales using this feature.
By now, it’s old news that content is king.
And generating remarkable content is important for SEO, lead generation, lead nurturing, customer retention, and lots more.
Instagram gives marketers another great way to get their content in front of new prospects, existing leads, and customers. How?
Brands can share a relevant photo or video with Instagram Stories and link to any piece of content – a blog, a page on the site, a YouTube video, an e-book, and more!
This lets a brand bring users back to their website to interact with the company on a deeper level. And it works.
During March of 2017, over 120 million Instagram users visited a website, got directions, or contacted a business to learn more about them from Instagram. That’s a lot of interaction with businesses in one month!
Explore Canada does an excellent job of using links in Instagram Stories to drive users to its blogs.
The tourism company partners with many country-wide travel groups and implements links on Instagram Stories to share travel guides.
The example below uses links in Stories to bring users to a blog post that offers tips for planning a trip to the Great White North. At the end of the blog, they give the reader an opportunity to reach out to a travel agent, thus securing the lead.
These types of tactics are great for getting users to engage with your website and convert to a lead.
You can also use Stories to promote an immediate sale from Instagram.
In fact, at least 30% of Instagram users have purchased a product that they first discovered on Instagram.
Why is that?
Because 62% of consumers use social media when deciding whether or not they want to purchase a product or service.
This makes sense since photos influence purchase decisions even more than videos do.
One of the most valuable features that Instagram Stories gives marketers is the ability to include a link that brings users directly to the purchase page of a product.
This feature eliminates the need to visit a company’s website, find the item you saw on Instagram, and then make a purchase.
Instead, it facilitates the impulse buy. It puts the product right in front of a user with the swipe of a finger.
Pottery Barn regularly uses Instagram Stories to drive users to its products.
In this example, Pottery Barn uses Stories to show beautiful pictures of new products from the collection with Jamie Durie, HGTV’s beloved Australian landscape artist.
After enticing users with a few behind-the-scenes pictures of the collection, they invite users to ‘See More’ by clicking the link to browse products.
Target also uses Instagram Stories to promote impulse buys.
Across the brand’s two platforms, Target and Target Style, the company shows products that designers have staged. Followers can to swipe up and purchase.
Let’s come back to Instagram influencers. Right now, 95% of influencers report Instagram as their favorite social media platform to work on.
So, how does influencer marketing on Instagram work?
In a nutshell, brands build relationships with Instagram influencers and brand ambassadors by offering them a free or discounted product to promote with Instagram Stories and in their feed.
They also give the influencer a coupon code so that their followers can shop at a discount.
It’s relatively easy to attach a dollar amount to enlisting an Instagram influencer, too. You can use digital marketing tactics like custom URLs or give influencers tracking URLs to use in their Stories.
While enlisting Instagram influencers is common throughout all industries, marketers especially use them within the beauty, fashion, and fitness communities.
Past Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise contestant Jen Saviano is constantly promoting brands as an Instagram influencer through her stories.
Jen has a whopping 203,000 followers on Instagram.
And according to SocialBlade, that number is only going to increase.
She uses her feed and stories to promote a variety of products that range from clothing to makeup, jewelry, vitamins, furniture, food subscription boxes, and more.
She posts a product she loves with a coupon code and a link to shop in her Instagram Story daily.
Fashion blogger Katy Harrell is another example. With 187,000 followers, she is constantly modeling for clothing boutiques, offering clothing reviews, sale updates, and coupon codes.
Boutiques nationwide work with mumuandmacaroons to have her share updates on her Instagram Stories about their businesses and products.
With her Southern drawl and honest reviews, it works.
Plus, rather than seeking out Instagram influencers to promote products and sing praises, some brands hold casting calls for brand ambassadors.
MVMT, the popular jewelry and watch brand, recently held a casting call for brand ambassadors.
In addition to reviewing a candidate’s Instagram’s influence, the company essentially has an application and interview process.
Since most Instagram influencers rely on companies using them to grow their individual brands, they are always looking for businesses to work with.
As the number of users on Instagram continues to grow, so does the number of ads on the platform. In 2017, the number of ads grew by 28% in just six months.
In a year, the number of ad posts doubled. And it’s easy to understand why:
They work.
Instagram uses Facebook’s advertising system, which has unparalleled targeting ability.
You can target ads based on an audience’s interests, behaviors, demographics, language, location, and more.
And since Instagram and Facebook share the same ad platform, brands can choose whether they want their ad to run on Instagram Stories, in the Instagram feed, or on Facebook.
When ads run on Stories, users often don’t even realize that they’re seeing them. The ads flow smoothly as the user transitions from one story to the next.
La Mer, a high-end skin care line uses Instagram ads to reach users of a certain age who have shown interest in similar brands.
The brand uses a short film to express the type of woman who uses La Mer.
The ad includes a link at the bottom that allows viewers to swipe up and shop the skin care line.
In order to implement Instagram Stories to build your brand and convert more leads and sales, companies have to be prepared to respond to a heightened influx of direct messages (or DMs).
A direct message is a message that a user privately sends to your business account on Instagram.
At the bottom of each Instagram Story that does not include a link, users will see a message bar. This tool enables a viewer to easily DM the brand.
While this is feature is an excellent way to narrow the gap between brands and followers on Instagram, it can be detrimental to a brand if they aren’t diligent about responding.
Everything on Instagram is at the touch of a finger for users. It’s easy for them to get the content and information they crave on this social platform.
So, if a brand isn’t quick to respond to a DM, the user who sent it will go elsewhere to find the answer.
That’s why it’s important for marketers to be aware of their customer response times on Instagram.
As you begin actively using Instagram Stories, you need to put a strategy in place for responding to direct messages from followers.
Understanding how Instagram Stories works and the benefits marketers can gain from it is half the battle. Now, what you do with the information is what matters.
With its unique visual storytelling ability and strong conversion methods, marketers in any industry and any consumer base can use Instagram Stories.
It’s a weapon you need to have in your social media arsenal.
Take advantage of the ease of engaging with fans by using Instagram Stories to build your brand.
Show what makes your brand fun and relatable. Implement the features within Stories to easily engage with your audience and help people find your brand on the platform.
Build relationships with Instagram influencers to expand your brand and gain the stamp of approval from a trusted source on the platform.
Then, grow your leads and sales using the link feature.
Put your web content and products at the fingertips of your prospects and buyers on Instagram Stories.
Utilize relationships with brand ambassadors and Instagram influencers to have them promote your products and services and encourage fans to shop.
Test the waters within Instagram Ads to discover the ROI of putting some of your marketing budget toward Stories.
Don’t forget to have quality response times as your brand’s Instagram becomes a regular gateway for consumer conversation.
And as you go forth building out your social strategy on Instagram Stories, keep in mind that no marketing action is worth taking if you can’t measure the results.
Be sure to utilize tracking URLs, custom coupon codes, and lead/customer sourcing to determine how your use of Instagram Stories is impacting your overall marketing strategy and goals.
How will you use Instagram Stories to grow your brand and increase your leads and sales?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
