Instagram, in my opinion, should be the go-to social media app for entrepreneurs. The Facebook-owned platform has rolled out several enhancements over the past few months that have elevated it to entrepreneur gold star status. Take a look at my thoughts on some of the most useful aspects of the new Instagram features for business success, featuring elements belonging to my beloved Instagram Stories portion.
Entrepreneurs: How to Use the New Instagram Features for Business Success
Ask a Question
With the latest Instagram roll-out, we now have access to a fill-in-the-blank question and answer tool in Stories. This addition lets your friends, followers, and customers submit questions for you to answer. One caveat: if you send a question, you will not be anonymous to the user you submitted the question to. However, if the user decides to use the easy reply back to function on Stories, you will be, but your question will become public.
This is a great way to share your brand messaging with your audience and remind them of who you are and what you have to offer. To encourage people to start asking questions, you can ask yourself a few, reply, and post to your Story. This new feature is also perfect for getting real-time input on your business. Thank you, Instagram!
Emoji Slider Poll
The emoji slider poll isn’t as new to the platform as the question tool, but it’s still heavily used and a quick, fun and interactive way to gauge users’ reactions to the content you share, and, ultimately, your brand and offerings. For example, try posting a photo of a new-to-market item and use the heart eyes emoji or the fire emoji to gauge how excited people are. Using the poll is so easy for your followers, and you still get that real-time engagement and feedback.
This vs. That Poll
Want to get input on what your consumers prefer? Use what I like to call the “this vs. that” poll option. You can type in both the left and right panels of the Stories add-on, so it’s pretty customizable in that sense. Post two photos side-by-side on your Story and do a simple A vs. B poll to get a quick answer.
What is your favorite new Instagram feature? Tweet me @lorenridinger
