How To Run A Successful Instagram Story Takeover

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Instagram stories are a super fun and engaging feature. They pop up at the top of your Instagram home page, making them the first things many users click on after opening the app. Instagram story takeovers allow both brands and influencers to benefit. Brands get their products endorsed by influencers in an exciting promo, while influencers get exposure and often gain many followers. Here’s a guide on how to run a successful Instagram story takeover.

What are Instagram Story takeovers?

An Instagram Story Takeover is when a brand or business’ Instagram allows someone to post on their story. There they can showcase a brand’s products and services. Audiences often like these takeovers, as they feel personable. The influencer often speaks right to the audience, and it can feel like a friend giving you a recommendation.

Brands will often have influencers or creators take over their profile for the day, to make it more engaging. This also makes it likely that users will check in on your account often throughout the day.

Instagram stories takeovers are beneficial as they allow for product plugs, therefore, spreading awareness of your items. It also seems more authentic than a simple ad campaign.

After learning why they are valuable, here are some tips to follow to run a successful Instagram story takeover.

1. Set a mission

In order to have a successful Instagram takeover, you need to make sure you first have a goal. By first determining what you want to accomplish, you will be able to determine how and if you reach your goal.

You may want to spread awareness of a new product you offer. Maybe you’re trying to spread the word on an awesome upcoming sale or promo code.

Make sure you are clear on what you are trying to tell your audience, as this makes it easier to plan out your strategy. Also, you can later see if the proper awareness was reached as reflected in future sales.

2. Brainstorm partners

When creating an Instagram story takeover, the right influencer is extremely important. This person is acting as an ambassador for your brand so make sure it’s the right fit.

Make a list of potential partners. Be sure to note their:

Follower count
Main demographic
Past collaborations
Areas of knowledge or industry
Story content

It can be helpful to look at influencers who have previously used or talked about your brand online. These people already like your products, so partnering with them is that much easier.

When reviewing partners you can ask for their Media kits if you’re interested in a potential collab. This shows you their engagement rates and partnership fees.

3. Reach out

After reviewing your list, you can reach out to collaborators. Introduce your brand and your concept for the takeover. Don’t forget to remind them why this collaboration would be a great fit for you both.

Some ideas you can include:

Product reviews
Try on hauls
How tos
Day in the life

Remember to try keeping content authentic, so it feels organic to users.

You may also want to pick out a certain date or time frame you have in mind to make sure content is done on time. It’s better to have the influencer send you the content to post ahead of time than give them your login information.

4. Outline parameters

It’s important to give your partner a guideline of expectations for the collaboration. This will help to avoid later confusions and miscommunications, therefore ensuring a smooth takeover.

Here’s a list of things you might want to outline:

Shoioting conditions such as lighting and background
File type for download
Content deadline
Editing requests
Required ad disclosure
Specific hashtags
Clickable links

5. Review content

When you have received your content, it’s important to review it. Make sure the content matched your vision, guidelines, and aesthetic.

If the content isn’t up to your brand’s standards, feel free to edit it to fit your vision. You can add text, gifs, music, filters, and more! Make it exciting for the viewers to watch.

6. Promote and schedule

Before posting your Instagram takeover, promote it to users. This intrigues viewers and gets them to tune into your stories the day of the takeover.

Be sure to let views know the date of the takeover so they can be sure to catch it.

7. Get posting

After all this planning comes the exciting part- posting the takeover to your Instagram stories. Your hard work has finally paid off and created a fun way to promote your business.

After posting be sure to add the takeover to your Instagram Stories highlights. This will allow users to view this content even after the 24-hour window stories are usually available is up.

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Alaine Meier is a blogging intern at LadyBossBlogger. She currently attends the College of the Holy Cross and is studying economics and environmental studies.

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