I’m the founder of Social Kat Media— but I’m also a social media strategist, mom of two, The Office fangirl (IYKYK), and your business’ biggest cheerleader. My mission is to make social media as simple, fun, and effective as possible for small business owners like you so you can get seen, form real relationships with your community, and (yep!) make more money.
Instagram Stories are a great way to connect with your audience and serve-up loads of value while building brand recognition! Not to mention, Instagram makes them so fun to use.
After all, with more than 500 million people viewing Stories posts every day, you need to know how to make your business stand out!
Now that you have found your rhythm and people are tuning in to see the amazing Stories you are posting, the next step is to engage with them! Instagram Stories are the perfect place to get social and make connections with your audience. In my opinion, there just isn’t a more fun way to boost audience engagement with Instagram Stories than with Stickers!
Having Stickers in your Instagram Stories posts lets your audience know that you want to hear from them! Each sticker is its own call-to-action and can prompt people to engage with your stories in the moment. Whether you’re asking your audience a question, sharing fun facts, or using a quiz to educate them about your services or products, stickers are fun!
If you’re not using stickers in your Instagram Stories, you are missing out on a chance to boost your engagement. Don’t worry. By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to jump in to the world of Stories Stickers with both feet!
I’ve been using Stickers in my Stories posts for long enough to have some personal favourites. I have seen my own audience engagement increase and am always finding new ways to use the different stickers to make my posts fun and loaded with value. Whether you are new to Stickers or looking to take your Stories game to the next level, here is a list of my favourite Instagram Stories Stickers and some ideas on how to use them to prompt engagement and connect with your audience.
Yes! The LINK sticker is now available to ALL accounts. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 100 followers or 1,000 followers—you can add a link to your Instagram stories! When you add the LINK sticker to your Stories post, it becomes “clickable” and gives your audience a simple way to check out the business, product, event or article you’re sharing with them. Using this sticker is a super effective way to direct people where you want them to go! It’s as easy as 1-2-TAP!
Use the POLL Sticker to get people to weigh in on options. This is great for market research! You can ask your Stories viewers about your products or services, about their likes and dislikes, and been about what kind of information they want to learn about in your next Stories post! No question is too big or too small with the POLL Sticker.
The QUESTIONS Sticker is especially great for connecting with your audience because you can ask them questions or they can ask you questions. It is much more open-ended than the POLL Sticker. For example, with a POLL Sticker you could ask your audience “What colours are you most excited about this season?” and give them the option of choosing between two options. But, ask the same question with the QUESTIONS Sticker, and you can find out so much more about your audience’s preferences! Another great feature of the QUESTIONS Sticker is that you can easily share people’s answers to your Stories which is amazing for building a community of people who feel seen and heard.
Do I really need to say anything about GIFs? They’re my fave. They’re fun and engaging and add extra personality to any story. Yay GIFs!
This Sticker was released in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Use it to shout out to a business you love and show your connection to your local community. When you tag a business with the SUPPORT SMALL BIZ Sticker their name and a few of their most recent Instagram photos are displayed for all to see right in your Stories. (You could even use the QUESTIONS Sticker to ask people what their favourite small biz is and then shout them out using this sticker!)
When it comes to using Stickers in your Stories, the possibilities are literally endless. In the end, whichever Stickers you use, have fun and build those connections with your audience. Give your audience a reason to connect with you and watch those engagement numbers climb!