There are over 300 million Instagram Stories created daily – but how do you make your story stand out? To freshen up your content, try an Instagram Takeover. Basically, you invite another person (or brand) to temporarily trade places with you and “Takeover” each other’s IG account – think of it as having a guest host. Try adding video, Instagram Live updates, facial filters, polls, and emojis to make the story even more fun and gets viewers involved.
In one of his blog posts, Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia and VaynerX, said, “[Instagram Takeovers] are an easy and fun backdoor approach to accessing new demographics…[by] siphoning off of an audience that another account has already built.” According to Instagram, about half of all IGers follow at least one business, however, people follow personal accounts more than they follow brands. So how can you increase your account’s engagement through an Instagram Takeover?
Before asking someone to take over your IG, ask yourself the following questions:
Does this person or brand align with my brand, message, mission, and values?
Do I like how they represent themselves, their style and tone?
Will they bring added value to my viewers?
Are they as good on Instagram as other platforms?
Accounts with 10,000 – 50,000 followers have the highest-quality engagement. Some brands work better on different platforms than others, and you want to be sure you have a good fit for your Instagram Takeover.
Ok, so now you found the perfect guest host for your IG Takeover. To make your takeover a success, don’t forget the following:
Your brand must have a clear idea of what your target audience is so that you can set clear goals. Takeovers won’t always result in sales of your widgets, but getting your brand known by a new or larger audience.
Put reliable, realistic metrics in place to track your account activity before, during, and after a takeover.
Decide how long the Takeover will be.
Create clear ground rules for Takeover interactions so everyone is on the same page.
Cross-promote your Takeover on your other social media accounts. (at least two weeks ahead of time.)
Cross-promote with your blog or email newsletter by sharing the details – such as telling the story of why you decided to do the takeover, how you chose your partner, etc.
Direct message your followers using a with a link to the brand’s page.
Continuously check their posts to be sure they are appropriate and in keeping with your best practices.
So there you have it – the reasons why you should not only get your feet wet with doing an Instagram Story but start an Instagram Takeover! Let us know if you’ve tried an IG Takeover, and don’t forget to tag us to your story.
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Salty Red Dog Marketing, LLC is a marketing agency in Westport, Connecticut, and Red Bank, New Jersey. We service businesses with marketing strategies, digital marketing, social media, and consultations.
Contact: info@saltyreddogmarketing.com Phone: (203) 429-9671