As Hootsuite’s social media coordinator by day and a professional DJ by night, Christine Colling uses Instagram Stories—a lot. That’s why we asked for her advice when it comes to using the Story feature to boost engagement and build an audience. Here are her seven pro tips.
1. Add UTMs to your links to track success
Since Instagram’s analytics can’t track link clicks, Colling’s number one Instagram Stories tip is to use UTM parameters—short text codes added to a URL that allow you to track website visitor data and traffic sources.
“Tracking URL clicks are important for revealing what content is resonating with your audience,” Colling says. “What your audience likes and what keeps them engaged can show you gaps in your social media strategy and where you need to shift as needed.”
Verified accounts can add a ‘Swipe Up’ feature to their Stories that allow a user to get more information by following a link to another page—usually a landing page or another piece of content.
For more on this, check out our post on how to use UTM parameters to measure social media success.
Bonus tip: Not everyone is verified on Instagram. If you don’t have the ‘Swipe Up’ feature, add a link in your bio and use include a call to action in your Instagram Story to encourage your audience to follow that link. And then use UTM parameters to keep track of clicks on that link.
2. Use polls to increase engagement and gather feedback
Polls are a smart way to engage people on social media because participation is easy. Plus, it doubles as a learning opportunity for your business.
With a poll, you can survey your audience for real-time results and see what people think of your content. The better you know your audience and what they like, the better you can serve them.
You can also use polls to crowdsource ideas from your followers—like suggestions for new blog content or your next social video.
Another way to use polls is to simply keep the online conversation flowing.
“I like to have fun with polls by posting random questions on current events or popular culture references,” Colling says.
3. Stick to your brand…
