How to use Instagram stories for your interior design business
Shhhhh … can you keep a secret? Wait, you can’t? Well, OK, I’m still going to share because I’m nice like that.
A couple weeks ago we talked about that ‘gram life and how to create a gorgeous interior design Instagram grid. Now it’s time to discuss the less-curated side of the social media platform — Instagram stories.
When it comes to Instagram Stories, consistency is once again key — you should always have something up on your stories — but the most important thing is being raw. You can do away with most of the polished professional shots and highly edited video. Instagram stories should feel much more real.
And don’t try to sound like anything other than your badass natural self. People want to work with people they like, and what they see on your stories should be a reflection of YOU — because that’s who they’re going to call and who they’re going to expect to show up for their project.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Get in some face time
People come to Instagram stories expecting a sort of mini one-on-one. That means, yes, you do have to show your face.
The more often you can put your face in the story, the more engaged your audience will be with you. People don’t care about perfect here so don’t waste time redoing shot after shot after shot. With that said, though, I almost always use a filter. It helps hide these tired eyes of mine.
Giving your followers a peek into the day in the life of an interior designer is a great idea, and if you work with a team you can introduce them too — just remember to be nice (we have a little inside joke about this here).
Tips are always welcome, but don’t forget you can also ask questions in your stories, whether it’s posting a short video of yourself asking what your followers want to see you talk about or inserting a fun little poll people can click on.
You can even do an ask me anything and people can type their responses right in the box that pops up on your story. Then you can share the best questions and your answers to them.
Whatever you do, you want to make sure you’re engaging and inspiring interaction with your stories. Instagram loves seeing that and it will help you get more followers — and more exposure.
Show off your designs, use your tools
Instagram stories aren’t just about putting your face in front of the camera all the time (thank God). You’re also going to want to show off your designs or even your design inspiration.
Giving people glimpses into some of your projects is a great way to do this. Show some befores and afters, of course, but also consider showing some in-betweens or share what new trends you might notice clients are interested in. Or just a stunning piece of furniture you can across while shopping for a client.
And don’t forget all the handy Instagram tools. You can share a post from your own Instagram feed and it will route the viewer back to the actual post so they can click, like and comment. This is a super easy way to increase engagement, especially since so many people are viewing stories these days vs. scrolling forever in the app.
Just make sure if you have a “tap here to view” over the image that it’s centered in the screen and not to the right or left so viewers don’t accidentally click backward or forward in your story.
There’s also a ton of fun gifs and other interactives you can add to your Instagram story including adding music, polls or questions (as mentioned above).
But don’t have too many things lined up in the story. You don’t want it to take the viewer long to get the point if you’re showing a before and after, for example, don’t go through something crazy like 20 frames just to show that. Keep it simple, short and sweet.
And while it’s nice to have 10,000 followers so you can earn that coveted swipe up option to link directly to your blog or website, don’t go buy those followers. Instagram knows all and sees all and you will be penalized for it.
It’s just not worth it. Remember, you want to be real, after all.
