Introducing Instagram Stories
Instagram has launched a new feature called Stories, which has the concept of fun and short-lived posts that disappear after 24 hours. Sound familiar? (ahem, snapchat!)
First, let’s look at what Instagram stories look like. When you log into your Instagram app, you’ll see the latest Instagram stories by the people you follow at the top of your news feed.
When you tap on one of these circles, you’ll see that user’s Instagram story for the day in 10-second increments of photos or video.
When you visit another Instagram user’s profile that has a current story, you’ll notice a circle around the user’s profile photo. When you click on the profile photo, you’ll be taken to that user’s current story.
So, now we’ve explained what stories are, how can you create them and use them for your dental practice?
#1: Update Your Instagram App
Your first job is to update your Instagram app to see if you have the ability to create Instagram Stories.
#2: Configure Your Settings
Here, you have two options. You can modify your privacy settings for each individual story you publish or for all of your stories from your main Instagram settings. To do the latter, go to your Instagram profile and click on the settings wheel icon at the top right. Next, click on the Story Settings under the Account section. From here, you can select specific people that you do not want to see your stories.
#3: Create Your First Instagram Story
When you’re ready to create your first story, tap on the circled + button at the top left of your screen.
From here, you can use the icons at the bottom of your screen from left to right to configure flash settings (if you’re taking a photo), take a photo or video, or switch the camera from front to rear facing. If you tap and hold the central button, you can record a 10-second video.
It’s good to note that you can turn your camera orientation to landscape while shooting, but Instagram will post your photo or video in portrait mode to your story.
Once you’ve finished, you have the option to add text or draw on your photo or video using the options at the top right of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, you have the options to cancel and start over, or download the photo or video to your camera roll.
When you’re satisfied, tap on the checkmark at the bottom to add the photo or video to your story.
You’ll then see your own profile photo at the top of the news feed. Your photo will always appear first so you can easily access your current story at all times.
If you want to add to your story, tap on the circled + icon at the top left to record video or take a photo. Each new video or photo you take will be added to the end of your story and lasts for 24 hours.
#4: View Analytics
When people start to view your story, you’ll see a number at the bottom of each portion. You can swipe up on that number to see more details
How can you use these analytics? If you have one particular photo or video that is getting a lot of views, you may want to share that to your profile and use it to encourage more people to view your story.
Or, if you notice a significant drop-off of views at a particular part of your story, you might want to delete that photo or video to see if people will continue viewing past that point once you’ve removed that particular photo or video.
If you would like more information about how social media can benefit your practice’s dental marketing, speak to a member of our team on 01202 677 277, who will be happy to help you.
Thanks to search engine watch and social media examiner for the inspiration for this post
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