IG stories are all the rage right now. You get to authentically share yourself with your audience while building a relationship with them. You can even use IG stories to help you create a product that your audience wants and needs!
IE 112: How to Use IG Stories to Create a Product
I recently did a training inside my membership site, Mastering Your Influence, on advanced techniques for Instagram stories. The great thing about this training is that it’s 100% video-based, which means that I can show you exactly what I am doing and not just tell you.
Obviously, if you are a podcast listener, you know that I share a ton of valuable information here that can help you take your business to the next level. I do, however, want you to be aware that if you are ready to dive deeper into growing your business, Mastering Your Influence might be the next logical step for you. Stay on top of trends and get the support you need by joining us today.
Now, let’s jump into our topic for this episode. We’re going to be talking about how to use the engagement you get from your audience on your IG stories to figure out what type of product you might create.
Stop Worrying About Swipe-Up on IG Stories
In case you aren’t aware, you have to have 10K followers on IG to get the swipe-up feature in IG stories. I hear constantly from bloggers who think they can’t use IG effectively because they don’t have swipe-up.
Well, I’m here to tell you to stop obsessing over it.
What if I told you there was a more effective technique you could use than swipe-up?
Listen, people swipe all day. Almost every action our phones call for is a swipe in some direction. People swipe mindlessly. Swiping is a lazy action.
Many bloggers think that you can only sell to your audience if you have the swipe-up feature but that’s not true. You can definitely sell to your audience without swipe-up.
You can simply tell your audience to DM you for the link to your post or sales page. When they take the time to DM you for that link…when they take that action…they are not only telling you that they are interested, they are more likely to follow through on whatever action it is you are asking them to do.
I have 2 clients with more than 20K followers on IG. They have the swipe-up feature. But for the past 6 months, they have been testing using DM’s to lead people to their posts, email sign-ups, or sales pages.
Any guesses as to what they’ve seen in those 6 months?
They’ve seen a higher click-through rate and people staying on their site longer than when they use the swipe-up feature. The clicks they get are more valuable.
Be Authentically You on IG Stories
Back in episode 97, I talked about how to get more views on your IG stories. One of my points was to be authentically you.
In your feed, go ahead and share those gorgeous photos you take. But in your stories, let people into your real life. Show them who you are when the house is a mess and the dog left muddy footprints on the floor.
You also have to train your tribe on how to engage with you. If you’re teaching your audience to DM you for a link, they know how to interact with you.
If your audience is following you because of who you are and the solutions you offer, you are doing a great job at showing them the real you. Talk to them like you would a friend if you were sitting down for coffee together.
Take your audience behind the scenes with you and show them the real person behind what you share. Again, if you haven’t listened to episode 97 yet, I go into great depth on exactly how to share your authentic self in that episode.
Talk to Your Audience on IG Stories
In order to begin to build relationships with your audience, you have to talk to them and share those stories behind the scenes.
Instagram gives us lots of ways to share with our audience through their amazing features.
The first feature to use is your DM box. Tell your people to DM you. Ask them a question and tell them to send you answers in a DM. Ask for suggestions for something you’re dealing with. I recently did this when I had to give up sugar and I got tons of DM’s from my audience giving me their suggestions!
Another way to reach them more effectively is to use text on your IG stories. Lots of us don’t have the sound on when watching stories because we have the kids with us or we’re somewhere that we can’t turn it up.
Start creating short paragraphs of text that summarize what you’re saying in the story sections so that your audience can read it and know what’s going on without listening.
What Problem Are You Solving in your IG Stories?
If you’re using your DM’s and you’re putting text on your IG stories, the next step is to use the questions feature. If you look in your stories features, you will see that it says, “Ask me a question.” You can change that to you asking them a question and they can use the box to respond.
Let’s think through how to use the questions feature to figure out what kind of product to create. I’ll use the example of a DIY/home decor blogger.
Let say you’re thinking about creating an organizing course or a course to help people find out what their decorating style is. I might use the questions feature to ask my audience what their decorating style is.
Once the answers start rolling in, you will get notifications that you’re getting responses. And the great thing is, you can DM those who respond to you. You are going to continue the conversation in the DM’s.
You could ask, “What are your biggest challenges when it comes to decorating your home?” And wherever they go with their answers will help you determine what type of product you need to create to help them.
Think about your niche, your content, and your audience. You know them and what they’re following you for. Take that information and figure out what kinds of questions you can ask them to find their pain points. Then develop products that address those pain points and that offer solutions to their problems.
Poll Your Audience in IG Stories
Okay, we’ve got you talking to your audience in their DM box, you’re using text on your stories to help your followers connect with what you’re saying, and you’re asking them questions to find out what they need help with.
The next feature you want to use is the poll feature.
Now, I follow bloggers who use polls to ask questions but they never follow up with any of the answers. They just give poll after poll and then share the results. But they don’t DM the people who respond.
That’s not what you’re going to do when you’re using the poll feature to help generate ideas for a product.
If you are a food blogger, you might poll your audience and ask if they want to see more dessert recipes or more salads. If the majority say desserts, go into their DM’s and ask what kinds of desserts they want to see.
Always follow up your polls by interacting with those who took the time to vote. This is how you build trust and relationships with your audience.
Stop with the “Link in Profile”
One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is the whole “link in profile” or the Linktree junk. You know what? If you make me click 3 extra places just to read your content, you’ve already lost me!
I see people constantly using Linktree to get people to their posts so they can get them on their email list. There’s an easier way! Tell them to DM you for a direct link and then give them the link in their DM box.
I’ve literally seen people use their IG stories to teach their audience how to find what they’re linking to on Linktree. One blogger took up 5 slides in stories to teach her people how to use Linktree.
And I’m over here like, “Come on. If it takes you 5 slides to show me how to do it, I am OUT.”
Having people DM you for the link gives you the opportunity to personally interact with them instead of just sending them through a chain of 5 clicks to read a post on your site. If they even stick with it that long.
Remember I told you earlier, people are lazy when they’re scrolling on social media. They aren’t going to take the time to DM you unless they really want what you’re offering. But swiping? They can do that all day. It means nothing.
How many times have you swiped up to look at something you want to buy and then you get a notification and you click out, only to completely forget that you were ever about to buy something?
I do it all the time! Do you want people swiping and then leaving or do you want the chance to engage with them? It’s too easy to lose people when swiping. DM your people and watch your engagement grow.
100 trained followers will always be better and worth more than 10K untrained followers.
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