How to create more engaging Instagram stories!

It’s no secret that building an audience is important, and that getting that audience to interact with your content is even more important. But what happens when you feel like you’re doing all of the things, and people are still not taking the bait?

* You’re putting the question box up but no Q’s roll in.

* You’re using call to actions, but it’s crickets. Or worse, only bots respond.

* You tell people to DM you, but you only get reactions.

We need to go deeper. That’s what this episode is about.

If it wasn't made clear yet, this episode is about Instagram stories specifically. I have gone over captions and call to actions in past episodes. Let me just reiterate some key points there:

Look at your HOOK - it’s possible people aren’t even getting to your call to action because your hook didn’t get them to actually read the caption

Give specific options vs open ended, at least until your audience gets used to consistently interacting with your content. Make it easy for them.

Now, today is all about stories.

Where new humans may see your posts (through reach and exposure), your Instagram stories are for your ride or dies. For your humans who follow you, and see you daily. That context is important. Story content can be more intimate, a bit more raw than posts. They serve a different purpose.

To an extent, you need to train your audience.  Not as though they are animals. But the more your audience sees others interacting with your content, the more “normal” or “expected” it feels. The ask via a question box is one thing. But the content of the question box is another.

Just like broad call to actions in captions, it’s not going to work in stories either. Thus, lower the barrier to entry for your humans.

MAKE IT FUN. MAKE IT EASY. Or mix fun and easy with intermediate level content. Leverage people wanting to talk about themselves.

Instead of a question box about health and nutrition, try a fun poll series - mountains or beaches, waffles or pancakes, tea or coffee, breakfast or dinner, hotel or airbnb - literally nothing to do with fitness or health. Sure you can mix in some health and fitness ones if you like, but I hope you can see how this is easier and likely more enjoyable for your audience than trying to come up with a question in the midst of scrolling through IG stories, yeah? This particular example is a playful poll.

You can then graduate from a non-health related playful poll to a health and fitness related playful poll - Still play this or that, but use exercises and food or drink options - squats or deadlift, bench or overhead press, conventional deadlift or sumo deadlift, back or front squat, pull ups or rows etc, stairclimber or treadmill, morning or evening exercise etc.

Honestly I encourage you to just think about how you can bring polls or quizzes into your daily Instagram stories content organically. For instance, I was in a coffee shop a while back that didn’t have a bathroom. It was funny to me for obvious reasons - you’re going to serve people coffee and have work space but no bathroom…come on. So I shared that in my stories and put up a poll “shit yourself” “walk elsewhere” - the poll does nothing, and was not even realistic. It was just funny and people like to respond to entertaining content. Not everything has to be for market research or rooted in you ACTUALLY needing feedback.

This gives your audience ways to interact without weight or expectations.