By: Elizabeth Coffey, Marketing G2 Digital Marketing Specialist

More and more publishers are turning to Instagram to cultivate their audience now that Facebook has de-prioritized their content within the newsfeed. 'Instagram Stories' offers publishers a great place to push their content out to audience members, but your story can get buried in the pile of stories produced by brands and other publishers on Instagram.

Stand out from the crowd and the cacophony of voices out there on Instagram by using the tips and tricks below. Boost your Instagram Story in your brand followers’ Instagram feeds.

1. Focus on quality over quantity – This usually goes without saying as most publishers are dedicated to producing exceptional, quality work, but you want to keep in mind that there is an underlying ratio that has an effect on Instagram’s algorithm. Constantly posting stories will cause your views to plummet. If you want to be placed first or near first in the story queue on your followers’ Instagram feeds, post sparingly and with intent.


2. Don’t make your story too long – You want your story to be between 4 to 6 video clips in length to prevent story abandonment. Don’t add to it more than 6 times in a 24-hour period. If viewers abandon your story before it’s over, it affects your position within your followers’ Instagram feed, placing you at the back of the story queue.


3. Include hashtags and geo-locations – Instagram now allows its users to follow specific hashtags in addition to browsing hash-tagged photos and stories through its explore feature. Make sure you include one or two relevant hashtags so interested audience members can find your stories. Adding a geo-location also helps your audience find your story in addition to establishing story relevancy. The number of impressions (people that find and view your story) you receive affect your story placement within your followers’ story queues.


4. Live stream every now and then - Publishers that live-stream their Instagram Stories often have them pushed to the front of the story queue within their followers’ feeds. Live streaming can become annoying though, so use it wisely.

Is your publication using Instagram Stories?