Instagram recently rolled out a new questions sticker to Instagram Stories. This feature lets you add an "ask me anything" button when you post to your Story.
You can add a question sticker to your story by selecting it from the sticker tray after taking a photo or video. This sticker can be found in the same place as other Instagram stickers. Just click on the sticker button at the upper right-hand corner of the Story composer. You can customize the text, colour and positioning on the screen by tapping on it.
When followers see this sticker box, they can tap it to write a question/comment, which you will receive in your Instagram message inbox. You can then reply to these questions and post your responses to your story. When posted, the question will also appear as it was sent, however the person is not tagged in the post when you publish your response.
Here’s a couple of ideas on how to take advantage of this new feature:
Host an influencer
Try inviting an influencer to do a Q&A session on your brand’s Instagram page. Think about who your audience is and determine an influential person that might have interesting content to share with them (and/or an influencer who has followers that you would like to follow you as well). This could be an industry influencer (think experts, manufacturers, media people) or even someone relevant in your community. Think of your connections!
Ask the influencer to announce the Q&A session on their social profile to their followers, but host it on yours in order to maximize exposure. You should announce the Q&A session in advance so that people ‘tune in’ on the day and time that you will be posting the question sticker on your Story. Then you can have the influencer respond to questions during the session. Be prepared and have a few friends ready to plant some questions to get the conversation started in order to build engagement.
Host a Q&A with your employees
Your followers would love to get to know you and your team more and this is a great way to show your personal touch and stay connected with your followers (many of whom are likely clients). Like with influencers, announce the Q&A a few days ahead of time. Have the employee announce it on their personal page but host the Q&A on the company page. Have the employee pick and answer questions during a certain time period. Open the floor to product, industry, or other questions. This is a great way to see what really interests your followers and can allow you to improve your communications strategy in the future as well!
Pro Tip: try a Facebook Live broadcast simultaneously
Try doing your Instagram Q&A session and also hosting a Facebook Live broadcast with your influencer or employee. This requires you to have many questions prepared in advance and will be most effective when you already have a strong following (lots of potential viewers). Read the question off and have the influencer or employee respond on camera (Facebook Live). Then, write the answer and publish it to your Instagram Story for those who aren’t watching the Live session.
This can make your Q&A even more personal and we know that video content (especially Live) gets higher viewership and engagement, both on Instagram and Facebook.
Conclusion
Instagram Stories have become more and more popular, so this new Questions Sticker not only gives you another tool to connect with your audience, but can be a valuable marketing strategy to increase the engagement with your Instagram content.
Give it a try!
Looking for more Instagram and social media tips for salons and spas? Check out the rest of our Resource Library for valuable content to help grow your salon or spa business!