Instagram officially has over a billion active users. And if we’ve learned anything over the past couple of years, it’s that the combination of Instagram’s engagement and the age of the audience makes it a crucial component in marketing to millennials.
But there's another piece to that puzzle: Instagram Stories. Every day 500 million people view Stories (one-third of those stories are from businesses), and 60 percent of people watch those stories with the sound on. Talk about engagement!
It's a great way to get information out and engage with your current and future borrowers. You can do Q&A's, surveys, promote deals, share announcements, do giveaways, and so much more in a matter of minutes. If you’re new to Instagram Stories, no worries–we’ll cover how to post them and what apps to use to make the most out of your stories.
One of the best things about Stories is it allows for human-to-human interaction and connection. Your future and current borrowers are real people that are coming to you for practical help. Using a platform where they can connect with you and get information about you will lead to a better borrowing experience.
Now, if you think this marketing approach doesn’t apply to the lending/financial world, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Credit Karma Credit Karma (formerly Mint) used Instagram stories to increase downloads by 497 percent. Their goal was to increase downloads and brand awareness, so they took to running ads on Instagram Stories. What did they find? That it was enormously cost-effective. They were able to better target their ideal audience (millennials aged 18-34), and all their Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) were not only met but were exceeded.
They ran their Story ads for 30 days, and their results were insane.
When you use Stories correctly, it can be a powerful tool that can drive brand awareness, traffic, and conversions. Now let’s get into how to post a story.
When you are posting a story, you have two options: you can either take your photo/video on Instagram or upload your content from your photo library.
How to take a photo/video on Instagram:
Share photo/video from your library:
CutStory: This app allows you to edit your longer clips into 15-second installments. Because your Stories can only be 15-seconds, using this app can be a lifesaver for your longer videos.
InShot: Edit vertical videos for Stories by clicking on the 9 x 16 canvas option. You can also crop videos, trim, or combine clips, and add text or emojis all within this app.
Lumen 5: If you’re new to video, this app is the one for you. You can take existing content, like a blog post, and create a video. And they supply you with all the tools you need like copyright free photos, videos, and audio tracks.
Unfold: Shooting video straight from the Instagram app is great, but if you want to make your stories look a little bit more branded and polished, using these template apps is a great start. With these apps, you can add a border, a design element, or your institution’s colors.
A Color Story: Brighten up or add filters to your videos, just like you would a photo.
Life Lapse: Create a stop-motion video shot straight from your phone with this app. The best part is they walk you through the whole process, step by step.
Later: With this app, you can plan out and schedule a weeks’ worth of Stories at once. That way you don’t have to be on your phone all day every day.
As you start to develop your content strategy, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you’re marketing to HUMANS. Your borrowers are real people with real lives, and your goal should be to connect with their thoughts and emotions. Here are some ideas we came up with:
You really want to hit home that getting a loan is a means for borrowers to improve their lives. When you provide informative content and entertainment, you will gain people’s trust. And when you achieve that trust, you’ll be the first person they talk to when they need a loan.