Creative Instagram Story Promotion Ideas: Maximize Those Ads

Instagram Stories is an awesome way for creators to express themselves candidly without any pressure to fit a certain aesthetic. And loads of people gobble this content up! So many users scroll through these vertical snaps and clips to catch up on people’s life updates and mundane anecdotes. 

Because of their raging popularity, they’re an awesome channel for running Instagram ads. But what kind of Instagram Story promotion ideas work well for the platform?

Creators and brands can leverage a dynamic format like Stories for their ads in many ways. If you captivate your audience and catch their attention in mere seconds, your promoted Stories will be a success. Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry—we’ve got your back. In this blog post, we’ll share creative, engaging ideas for Story promotions to help you get the ball rolling.

The Benefits of Promoting Your Best IG Stories

There are tons of benefits for creators to reap when boosting content on Instagram Stories.

First, you increase your Story’s reach. By promoting your Stories and turning them into ads, you essentially pay to get more eyes on them. That means more people might hear about your page for the first time. This boost in discoverability increases your chances of winning the hearts of more followers and prospective customers.

The best part is that your ad audience is completely targeted. You tell Instagram exactly who you want to see your content, and they’ll deliver it accurately. So, you don’t waste dollars serving your creative content to people it’s not meant for.

Another pro of promoting existing IG Stories is that you won’t have to spend money on new creative material. There’s no need to mount an expensive shoot and hire high-brow photographers and models just to launch a new campaign. Instead, you can repurpose content you know resonates with your audience and turn it into an ad set as is! You’ll be saving a lot more of your marketing money that way, making it super cost-efficient.

Story ads are also pretty much the only ad format on Instagram that is interactive. With the help of stickers, polls, and quizzes, your target audience can effortlessly engage with your ads. It makes the ad a lot more dynamic, interesting and memorable, creating more of a pull for potential followers.

With all these incredible benefits, it makes total sense to incorporate promoting cool Stories into your social media marketing strategy.

How To Promote an Instagram Story

To promote Stories on Instagram, you need to have a professional account. This is the bare minimum requirement if you want to run Instagram ads on the platform. Note that personal accounts on Instagram don’t have the luxury of boosting content.

You can boost pretty much any of your Stories, given that they are either active, in your IG Highlights, or archived. Sadly, deleted Story content is out of the question for promotions. Everything else is fair game and can easily be promoted in a few easy steps.

Ready to promote an existing Story and get more people to see it? Allow us to break down the process of promoting an active Story for you step by step:

1. On your Instagram home page, click your profile picture in the top-left to open your Story.

2. Click More (three dots) at the bottom of the Story you want to boost.

3. Tap Boost Story.

4. Choose whether to set up an ad with your Facebook account or without it. If you choose the latter, fill in the necessary details, such as your target audience, duration, and ad budget.

5. Finally, tap Boost post.

After that, your Story ad will head straight into Instagram’s stringent ad review process. Wait for a notification from Instagram to confirm that your ad has been approved.

And that’s it! Now, you have a promoted Story that will run as an ad campaign for the entire duration you set. You can follow the same steps for Stories that are in your Highlights or archive as well.

Note that Instagram discourages the use of emojis, music, GIFs, link stickers, and other complex Story editing features for Instagram ads. These can potentially mess up how your ad looks, so keep it simple to be safe!

Instagram Story Promotion Ideas: 9 Strategies for Effective Story Ads

According to Elfsight, 36% of businesses use Instagram Stories to promote their products. Are you up to the challenge of joining these brands and competing in the world of IG Story ads? If so, let’s make sure you’re well-equipped with creative Story ideas for the task.

Here are nine effective strategies to make your Story ads extra entertaining, captivating, and interesting. Promote Instagram Story ideas like these, and you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll see hordes of new followers soon.

1. Promote High-Performing Static Posts on Stories

Perhaps the easiest way to promote your page through paid ads on Stories is by boosting a high-performing static post. Dig through your existing feed posts to find one that drove exceptional performance and led to high engagement. Then, boost the post and choose Stories as the primary placement. This allows you to run that feed post as an ad on Stories.

If you’re still getting the hang of creating beautiful Story content, this strategy is for you. It allows you to showcase stunning photos and captivating videos you already have without having to make anything from scratch. It’s a terrific, clever way to repurpose organic content sitting in your feed so you can maximize their reach potential.

2. Include Interactive Stickers to Your Story

When you see ads on most social media platforms, all you can do is exactly that—look at them. But on IG Stories, ads can be super interactive and engaging with the help of stickers. These ads then become somewhat of a two-way street—a creator promotes their content, and their audience interacts with it!

There are loads of fun stickers you can include in the Stories you promote. If you want to ask people about their wants and needs, use a question sticker or quiz sticker. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, ask your target audience what style of clothes they want to see next. If your ad is an announcement to build anticipation for a hot new product launch, add a countdown sticker. This will surely drum up excitement about your launch and potentially boost sales after the drop!

Promoting Stories with interactive stickers allows your audience to have fun and engage with your brand. It makes people pay more attention to your ad because they aren’t just passively looking at it. Instead, you open an avenue for them to actively connect with you. This creates instant rapport, boosting positive sentiment for your brand and making it more likely for them to follow you.

Note, however, that you sadly can’t use link stickers in your promoted Stories. The only links that are allowed on Story ads are your contact buttons, like the Shop now button.

3. Introduce Yourself and Showcase What You Do in a Personal Way

Stories are known as a more casual and chill type of content on Instagram. Creators usually use Stories to candidly talk to their fans vlog-style. So, if you’re thinking of promoting your Stories, leverage this habit to introduce yourself and showcase your personality.

People on Instagram gravitate toward authenticity. Be as candid and authentic as you can in your Story and introduce yourself. Edit a video telling them your name, what you do, what your story is, and more. Then, add fun clips and edit your content in a way that reflects your personal brand. Finally, end with a motivational call-to-action or a funny question to entice them to check out your page.

Promote content like this on Stories to reach more people and introduce your personal brand in just a few seconds! It’s a terrific way to make a connection with prospective fans and customers. It tells them you’re not just a brand after their money—you’re a person with fun traits and hobbies, too!

4. Make Product-Centric Content To Boost Your Businesses Sales

Trying to boost sales for a hot new product line you’ve just launched? Showcase your collection on promoted Stories to get more people to see them.

Post high-quality product-centric photos and videos on Stories, showing off the goods in your latest line of products. You can even add text or stickers to highlight their key features. Then, promote the Story to turn it into an ad and reach a wider audience.

Got more than one product you want to drive conversions for? Set up a carousel-style Story promotion. With this type of Story ad, viewers can tap through multiple Stories featuring your entire range of products.

5. Give Viewers a Behind-the-Scenes Sneak Peek Into Your Life

Promote behind-the-scenes or day-in-the-life videos on Stories to show potential fans exactly what they can expect from your content. Allow them to catch a glimpse of what you do through a series of sharp cuts. Then, add some text or a voiceover to tell viewers what kind of content you create related to those clips.

Let’s say you’re a personal trainer with a passion for meal prep. You can stitch together clips of you working out in the morning and training clients throughout the day. At the end, add some footage of you whipping up delicious, healthy meals in your kitchen. In your voiceover, tell people to check out your page for awesome fitness and nutrition content.

6. Get People Excited With Seasonal, Holiday-Themed Content

Capitalize on upcoming holidays and seasons by promoting Stories surrounding a specific celebration. Create special, holiday-themed content for classics like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. If you’re feeling extra playful, leverage modern holidays like National Dog Day.

The key here is to produce timely content that will make people feel festive and excited about the upcoming season. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, promote Stories of couples wearing matching outfits from your collection. If you’re a makeup artist, show off your costume and bold, spooky looks for Halloween. Then, boost those Stories to reach a wider audience.

7. Show Off Your Expertise With Niche Guides and Advice

Establish your authority when new audiences discover your brand by running Story ads showcasing your expertise in your niche. These include talking videos sharing stuff like travel tips, business ideas, styling do’s and don’ts, and more. 

You can also get extra creative and produce entertaining skits with valuable takeaways about your topic of expertise.

8. Boost Fun, Engaging User-Generated Content Made by Fans

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any content about your brand, your fans, and customers spontaneously create without you sponsoring them. They include anything from “get ready with me” videos, product demos, customer testimonials, unboxing Reels, and more.

Because UGC is made by everyday people and not paid celebs or money-hungry companies, other users trust it more. This type of content is authentic, genuine social proof that your brand is worth following or buying from. That’s why it’s such an amazing tool for native advertising and word-of-mouth marketing.

So, how do you harness the power of UGC and use it for promotional Story content? By reposting them, of course! When someone posts content featuring your brand, ask them politely if you can repost it on Stories and boost it. When people see your “ad,” it will feel more trustworthy because it’s a real, relatable person talking, not a business.

Let’s say you run a snack brand. One of your customers posts a Reel unboxing and tasting your snacks and has amazing things to say about them. Message them and thank them for the content they made. Then, ask permission to repost it on your own Story so you can boost it as an ad. Maybe you can offer an incentive, such as discounts or gift cards, since you’ll be using their content for ads.

If they give you the go signal, repost away and boost that Story for more people to see! Just remember to credit the original owner when you publish it.

9. Promote a Post You Produced With Another Popular Influencer

Have you ever collaborated with another IG influencer on a project? If yes, consider promoting those Stories and targeting an audience you think might be familiar with them. If people who love them see your promoted Story, they may be inclined to check out your page, too.

Think of it like borrowing from another influencer’s credibility and trustworthiness. If their fans see them in your content, they might be interested in checking out what you have to offer. This helps create more trust in your brand right off the bat.

For example, let’s say that you previously tapped a popular creator to be your brand ambassador for a campaign. Check out which of your campaign’s old materials performed the best in terms of reach and engagement. Then, boost that post and run the ad campaign in your Stories. It’s a terrific way to reach an already established influencer’s audience to pique their interest in your page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Promote Your Top Stories and Attract More Fans to Your Page!

Take your Stories to the next level and promote them so more people see them as they scroll online! Not only is it a fantastic avenue to leverage on Instagram, but it also allows for more engaging ads. From user-generated content to day-in-the-life videos to influencer collabs, there are tons of interesting Story posts you can boost. Don’t forget to add those interactive stickers to spark extra engagement, too!

Ready to skyrocket your follower count and launch yourself into the glitz and glam of Insta-fame? Take our Instagram Story promotion ideas above and run with them. Before you know it, you’ll have new followers and potential customers flocking to your page.

Story ads not working in your favor yet? Don’t worry; Path Social can help give you an even bigger boost. We use advanced targeting algorithms to hunt down your target audience and push your content to their screens. As a result, you get tons of new fans! 

Double your followers and engagement rates just like Modern Fit and thousands of other pages that have worked with us. Grow effortlessly on Instagram with Path Social today!