First, what is Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories is the latest iteration of Instagram’s offering. Set up much like Snapchat, with videos and pictures that disappear after twenty-four hours, Instagram Stories is designed to offer temporary, ephemeral content to your followers.
Unlike Snapchat, it already has a huge built-in audience with around 500 million monthly active users, so Instagram has the potential to take your content to a wider audience than ever before. In some cases, however, you might struggle to create entirely new content from scratch that can reach as many users as possible. Repurpose blog content with Instagram Stories to target and reach a larger audience without putting in quite so much extra work.
How to Repurpose Blog Content with Instagram Stories
There are plenty of posts out there about turning blog posts into videos in order to reuse content on a completely new platform. Depending on the medium you choose to use, you can spread your content over a number of areas.
Repurpose a blog post as a video.
If you can find a way to shift your written content to video, you’re already ahead of the game. Creating small videos spread over the course of several days would be appropriate for Instagram Stories’ platform. You can also use that content to direct people back to your original blog post for the additional information they’re craving.
TechCrunch shares highlights of their content on Instagram Stories to give customers digestible tidbits of tech news. For example, their article on Instagram’s latest feature is presented in a quick-hit headline.
Tell stories in pictures.
Instagram Stories also offers a great feature that allows you to easily add text to pictures before you post them. That means that you can use a series of photos to quickly and easily tell the same story you were telling in your blog in for highly visual audiences.
Schutz Shoes, in an effort to promote new products, uses text and emojis to show off their merchandise.
You also have the ability to draw with three different “markers” to increase the fun appeal of your pictures. If you already have pictures or infographics in your blog, it will be even easier to put this story chain together.
Provide Condensed Versions of Your Blog Posts
Let’s face it: many times, readers don’t actually take the time to look over all of the content in your blog posts. They’re looking for the highlights, whether they’re skimming over headers or checking out images. Your customers’ online lives are busy and filled with other opportunities, and you’re always competing with those opportunities. Instagram Stories, however, offers the perfect opportunity to reach out to readers and convince them to keep reading.
Combine the best ways to reach readers.
Two of the best ways to reach readers are telling a story and drawing them in with an image. Instagram Stories provides both in fell swoop. When you use this platform, you’ll reach more customers, help build brand recognition, and even promote interest in coming to your blog to read the rest of the content.
Give readers the highlights.
Condense your content into a few simple sentences. Pull out important statistics, especially odd or interesting ones, that will draw visitors’ attention from your Instagram Stories account to your blog.
Show off your headlines, especially if they’re designed to grab readers’ attention and catch their interest. The more you intrigue your readers, the more likely they’ll be to come to visit your blog and see what else you’re offering.
E! News has a daily rundown that gives bit-sized recaps of news stories. You can do the same with your blog. Break down a long post into shorter, digestible pieces.
Provide Additional Information.
In many cases, your blog posts require a great deal of detailed research. In others, you’ll discover plenty of fascinating information that doesn’t fit with your post. Perhaps including that information detracts from the initial point of your piece or, in other cases, makes it too long for your purposes. Using that content on Instagram Stories, however, is the perfect way to use the research you’ve already done but may not have made the cut for the blog post. You can take that tangent, share that information, and use the information to direct readers back to the content you’ve already produced.
Give readers a behind-the-scenes look into your business, like the folks at Topo Designs when they were assembling a photo shoot.
Stitch together a highlight reel.
Consider, for example, sharing the highlights of the information that didn’t make it into your post. What fascinated you when you were doing your research? What will your readers find interesting about that content? Since Instagram Stories doesn’t store the information long-term, this doesn’t have to be information that’s directly relevant or that will be needed for research purposes later. Instead, try offering a deeper look at your content that is relevant primarily to viewers who already have an interest in the topic.
Break It Down Into a Story
What’s the story behind your blog post? Even a purely factual piece has a human element behind it. Who are the people who have worked to make this content happen? What happens behind the scenes? Instagram Stories is great for showing glimpses into the people who make their content happen.
Follow the story long-term.
This is particularly useful if your content includes current events or people who are making big changes in your industry. Use Instagram Stories to allow your readers to follow along with the current events in their lives, then direct them back to your existing blog post.
For example, if you’ve written about a new innovation in the field, use Instagram Stories to share information about its implementation. Opening a new store that you’ve covered extensively in your blog? Show snapshots of what the current store setup looks like and how it changes each day. If you’re conducting a long-term experiment, you might show quick pictures of how that’s going every day.
One of the best things about Instagram Stories content is that it’s transient. After 24 hours, the content will no longer appear on your profile or feed. That means that interested readers have to keep coming back to see what new content’s there. If they don’t, they’re going to miss out.
Keep your content fresh and interesting, and you’ll quickly discover an increase in your number of followers. As you use your Instagram account more frequently, you’ll discover that its marketing potential is incredible. Repurposing your existing content will make it easier than ever to keep your Instagram Stories feed full and flowing.
