How to promote events with the Instagram stories
Since its birth in 2010, Instagram has made its way. From app for sharing photos with filters and customizations, winking to the old Polaroid shots, IG has shown the undeniable ability to adapt to the times and target audiences, as demonstrated by the successful brand’s restyling in 2016.
However, 2016 marks another topical moment for the social media: on the wake of Snapchat, Instagram integrates the stories, namely thematic and synthetic content with limited duration (24 hours), aiming to share significant moments of the day in real time. Therefore, IG becomes the first social media to combine two different approaches to the image: the perfect selfie before leaving home and the spontaneous shooting. The stories have encouraged the trend towards real time sharing, more fresh, authentic and engaging, also thanks to the possibility of creating surveys and questions involving followers.
The aspect should not be underestimated for those who organize events. In the ephemeral bubble of stories, the probability that an active user of IG shares photos and videos during your event is much higher, compared to the timeline. In short, the feed is made for the perfect shot, before the party. The stories leave more room for improvisation and spontaneity.
What to do to promote the event through IG Stories:
1. Create an official hashtag and make it visible on different supports
2. Create expectation: months before the event, start publishing content in the stories and in the feed with interviews to people, overviews of the locations, posters and reminder on the date
3. Focus on the live event
4. Encourage sharing by guests and bounce off the most significant content on your channel
5. Create ad hoc frames for taking photos and invite sharing on IG (if possible, make sure that the name / brand associated with the event is visible)
6. Once the event is over, create a story with the gallery of the most significant moments and thank the participants. If the event went well, tell the numbers in terms of speakers and guests
To extend your event outside the frame that hosts it, we need to make it a winner in social terms, studying the target and encouraging it to visual storytelling in real time. That’s why knowing the potential of stories and knowing how to take advantage of them has become fundamental for those working in the promotion of events.