Whether you’ve plateaued in your social media outreach, started to see a drop in engagement or are just looking for a new way to reach your audience, Instagram Live deserves your attention in addressing all of the above. Not only is this feature a great way to bump up your engagement, it’s a means for establishing more authenticity, visibility and personality.
It’s estimated that up to 70% of Instagram posts go unseen. If you’re spending time, energy and money on your posts and only 30% get a nod, that’s not terribly encouraging for your efforts going forward. One way to turn these numbers around is through Instagram Stories, which place your posts at the top of the feed. But Instagram Live takes it a step beyond that.
The Privileges of Live
Not only do your live segments go to the front of the storyline, they’re highlighted, as well, which is eye-catching and an efficient way to promote your content. As a bonus, Instagram Live is push enabled, which means the moment you go live, followers that have signed up for notifications will be alerted to your segment when it launches.
Once your followers get the notification, they’re likely to tune in because the experience creates a sense of urgency and they don’t want to miss out on that. Plus, live events are a collective experience that humans are drawn to, so it doesn’t matter what shape your content takes, almost everyone has the same basic emotional human attraction to it, making it difficult to turn away from.
Enticing Content
Nothing gets more eyes on an Instagram Live feed than a contest and/or giveaway. Rather than take a frivolous approach, you can connect your contest/giveaway to something that benefits the community, such as a program at a local social service agency, the local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or YWCA, or even a local youth sporting team looking for funding. This shows that you care about more than just your own bottom line and it gives your brand more credibility in the eyes of consumers.
Attracting Attention
Keeping your followers interested takes a lot of work. You must constantly provide them with something that will attract their attention, notify them to changes in your market, educate them on new products/services and perhaps even provide a little humor every now and then.
Use your Instagram Live sessions as an education tool where you take thought leaders from the industry and have them address various aspects of it. If you’ve built a relationship with your audience, you know their wants and needs and will be able to address them directly through Instagram Live.
Looking for more information on creating content that matters? Our team can help you bring more attention to your brand.