Instagram has evolved in many ways over the past few years, but the most significant change was probably the addition of stories. They are a unique way of sharing things that may not be worthy of your photo stream but still a part of your life or work that you want to share. Everyone has pretty much been using it like Snapchat even though it offers different features, such as uploading content just as if it had been taken with your phone. Jesse Driftwood shows us how he takes advantage of this opportunity to create unique content that drives engagement up.
Stories are 15 second long video clips or images that are shared either with everyone on Instagram or with people you follow. Thus it has a potential reach much larger than Snapchat. Although it doesn’t have all the crazy filters the latter offers, it includes a much more attractive feature for photographers and videographers: uploading content from another source and include it seamlessly with the rest of your stories. Driftwood uses this unique feature to create mini vlogs that he edits before uploading, essentially offering his followers better content than raw footage taken with an iPhone, but also taking the concept further than just sharing random content captured once in a while.
Even though this may sound like overkill for content that is going to disappear after 24 hours, it could become a powerful marketing tool. The work displayed on your photo stream may convince people to follow you, but quality stories may get them to engage more with your work and share it on a more regular basis. Creating engagement should essentially be the driving goal of anyone using social networks professionally, and this could be a new tool to add to your belt to reach it.
Thanks to Peter McKinnon for bringing Driftwood on his fantastic channel to share his ideas on the concept. Be sure to check both McKinnon's and Driftwood's YouTube channels for more content like this.
What do you think of Instagram Stories? Do you still use Snapchat? Will you be trying to create more engaging content for your stories or do you see them as a way to quickly share random things? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
the point of having these stories is to not having to produce things seriously. just fun and casual. content matters. Unless you really feel it's the better way to spend your 1-2hrs then go ahead, otherwise go and enjoy a real life. People follow for what you do and who you are and maybe less on how you do it.
A valid thought no doubt! I would argue however that this was a similar argument people had in the early days of Instagram when people started posting "edited" photos or photos taken from a DSLR onto the platform as well. Sometimes it's smart to ignore the "point" of something and use it to your own advantage. Doing daily edited stories has made me a better storyteller, a better editor, certainly a faster editor. It has even helped me gain some clarity on the type of work that I want to do more of, and the type that I want to do less of. Not to mention has already opened doors towards those opportunities. So I'd say that so far, it has been a pretty excellent way to spend an hour or two :)
Not to mention I have just relocated time I would have spent consuming social media/netflix/youtube, and I spend that time creating something. It has been a win/win/win for me!
All the best Felix!