We are all familiar with the short clips that are located at the top of our screens on Facebook and Instagram, but have you ever tried sharing one for business? 20 seconds may feel too short to get your message across, but there are a few ways to make the most of your time. Read Tindall-Creative Marketing’s top advertising tips for Facebook and Instagram stories to build awareness of your brand and lead to conversions.

Use Meaningful Text

Although the media you choose is important, words still hold a lot of value to your users. In fact, there is a 75% chance of better performance for stories that include central-placed text for add-to-cart objectives. Not only is it important to add a text overlay to sum up your message, but if there is a video or audio recording, you also want to add closed captions for those who are unable to hear it. There are many reasons someone can’t hear the video, whether they have a disability or they simply don’t have their volume on. No matter what the reason, you want to be sure everyone has a chance to hear what your video is saying, so there are no limitations.

Switch Up the Media Source

Photos and videos are both great choices to capture the message you want to spread. However, there are alternative media options that you can share as well. GIFs are a popular choice among businesses who want to send light-hearted messages to their customers. GIFs consist of a series of images or soundless videos that loop continuously and automatically. This can offer an entertaining way to share your content. For instance, you can utilize GIFs from scenes of your audience’s favorite shows and movies to capture their attention. If a user has a positive association with the scene you are sharing, chances are those feelings will transfer onto your business as well.

Add in Some Audio

Once you have the visual and text on your highlight or story, the last sense you need to cater to your digital viewers is sound. The audio of your short clips offer a simple way to capture your users’ attention. 80% of stories with audio have better results than ads without sound. Depending on your message, you can add a sound effect or music that correlates to it. During Halloween, you can add spooky music to highlight your new deal during that time of the year. In the Summer, you can add in a song that is about going to the beach to remind users of their vacations they have planned. Your music or sound effects can go a long way in the engagement of your audience.

Make it Interactive

After all the effort you put into your highlight or story, you don’t want a user to simply scroll past it. It’s important to find ways to make the viewer want to engage. One way to do so is to directly ask them to participate with the clip. Instagram and Facebook both offer a variety of methods to get a response from your users. One way to do so is adding a poll that relates to your products, such as what your next shampoo line should be focused on. You can include options that you are currently thinking of, such as natural products, color-safe ingredients, etc. This not only helps your team receive feedback, but also allows your customers to have a voice. You can also go the route of sharing a survey on something unrelated to your brand, but light-hearted. One idea is asking what your viewers’ favorite Fall activity is. The more your users interact with your stories, the more likely they will be to want to learn more about your business.

Use a CTA

Similar to a Facebook or Instagram post, you want to include a clear call to action (CTA) in your story/highlight. You can do this by making it known what the next step should be after someone watches your clip. On Instagram, a user swipes up to click on a link, so your CTA can be as simple as “Swipe Up” or you can use a CTA that directly relates to what you want the user to do, like “Add to your Cart”. For Facebook, you can add a CTA button right to the story. Popular options are “See More” or “Shop Now”. Making the conversion path as simple as possible will go a long way in encouraging users to follow through.To learn more about how Tind-All Creative Marketing can help you with your social media marketing needs, call us at (860) 916-4561 or visit tind-allcreativemarketing.com