The world of Public Relations and Media coverage as we knew it has already entered a new era that totally changes the rules of the games and makes everyone adapt to the latest trend brought by social media networks. Out of all the social media channels, over the last couple of years, Instagram has shown tremendous potential for promoting businesses, taking over PR practices and basically any other form of media coverage thanks to its high development and influencers that have millions of followers. A well-made Instagram story from a high-profile influencer could bring the same results as a multi-million marketing strategy set to take place over the course of several months.
What is Instagram Story?
If you, somehow, managed not to hear of Instagram or the Instagram stories so far, learn that these are short visual messages with a medium length of around 15 seconds. The 15 seconds can be filled with a still image or a short video on top of which users can add other symbols or visual elements as well. Unlike other Instagram posts, the stories are available on top of the screen for 24 hours with the possibility of being archived and later showcased on profile pages.
Even though the idea of a story on social networks firstly belonged to Snapchat, it became a world phenomenon and a handy tool for PR when Instagram adopted the approach. The Instagram stories are so successful that even Facebook decided to integrate this system to allow its users to have more exposure.
Creating Instagram Worthy Events
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about using Instagram stories to promote specific products or brands comes from the fact that it can be applied to almost any kind of situation or event. Using the anonymous story viewer for Instagram will enlighten you that Instagram offers such a flexible approach to PR that nearly anything can be used to promote a particular brand or event. Another interesting thing about Instagram stories is that they seem to work better with small details from behind the scenes that can be used to build up excitement and expectations before an event or during one. On the other hand, in traditional PR techniques, we’re trying to focus media attention on what happens inside the event but only after it started.
Make it Easy for Your Brand to Be Promoted
Even though Instagram stories as a strong PR tool is already a widespread phenomenon, it’s not like a magic trick that you just pull and it works wonders every time. There are certain steps that you, as a brand have to make sure of, in order for a PR campaign to be successful. The most important of them all is making sure that the social influencer or journalist is well informed regarding your social media profiles and their approach until that point. Also, it’s an important move to let them know the names of key people in the company so that they can tag them in the stories they develop.
In other words, brands and the people in charge of setting up the marketing strategies should contribute to everything possible so that they make the job of the influencer a lot easier. After all, it’s all about a transfer of followers from the influencer towards the brand and if you can’t provide a strong and natural connection, then your chances get reduced considerably and if you wanna do Instagram promotion visit Instagram SMM Panel
Choosing the Right Influencer
Companies that are trying to upgrade their PR approach through influencers and Instagram stories often think that the more followers and subscribers a person has, the better he or she becomes for the job. While quantity is significant, if you really want to have a good Instagram stories campaign that will promote your company, you should be more concerned and interested in how relevant those followers are to your brand. Also, in a related flow of events, it’s crucial for a brand to carefully analyze the influencers they want to work with as certain aspects can make a difference in the influencer – brand relationship.
For the best PR results, it’s always a great idea to go with people that have a somewhat natural connection with your brand or products so that more people will get behind the concept precisely because it feels natural. If you’re selling jet fuel and choose an influencer that mostly does fashion or styling, it becomes evident that the results won’t be the highest.
Only time will need then what will be the next trends regarding PR, marketing and brand promotion in the future. However, one thing is sure: social media networks are here to stay. Despite the difficulties that Facebook has run through with the most recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, social networks are booming and have an ever-growing impact on day to day life.
This guest post was written by Nika Goddard