by Want to add an email signup link to your Instagram stories? Wondering how to access the swipe-up feature, even without having 10K followers?
In this article, you’ll discover how to reach, warm up, and convert new leads into becoming email subscribers via Instagram Stories.
#1: Leverage Your Followers and Tag Other Accounts to Reach a Wider Audience on Instagram
The best way to find new leads on Instagram is through your existing audience. When a customer buys from you, Make sure that there’s a clear call to action (CTA) encouraging them to take a picture to celebrate their purchase, post it to their Instagram story, and tag your account. You’d be shocked at how many business owners don’t capitalize on this.
Not only does this tactic get your business in front of that person’s friends but it also acts as social proof to your existing followers, showing them that other people love your products and services and are buying from you.
You can also encourage people to tag you in other ways. To illustrate, remind podcast listeners to take a picture showing where they are while they’re enjoying your show. You could also send a note when people purchase a physical or digital product to remind them to tag you in their story and celebrate the purchase.
When your followers do post and tag you, make sure you repost it to your own story.
Another technique to reach a wider audience is to tag larger accounts in your story when it makes sense. If a larger Instagram account finds a piece of your content valuable, they’ll repost it to their story, which will get you in front of thousands and potentially millions of new people and improve your discoverability.
To get the best results from this tactic and avoid annoying the tagged account, don’t be spammy and make sure you’re adding value.
#2: Use the Instagram Stories Questions Sticker to Warm Up Your Leads
You can use the Questions sticker in your Instagram story to warm up your leads. There are a couple of ways to do this.
The first approach is to use the Questions sticker to start a conversation with your audience. Ask them to tell you more about a problem they’re having that might be related to your industry or niche.
Getting your Instagram followers to respond to your question can benefit you in multiple ways:
- You get a micro-commitment from viewers, which is what marketers are always shooting for.
- You learn what your audience is struggling with and can use this input to develop more effective marketing messages.
- You identify who your warmest leads are. The people talking to you—those stepping forward to have that conversation—are likely some of your warmest leads.
Another way to use the Questions sticker is to collect contact information from your Instagram story viewers. But as a disclaimer, make sure you’re abiding by the rules and regulations of your country and service provider.
#3: Use the Instagram Stories Swipe Up Feature to Collect Email Subscriptions From Warm Leads (Without Having 10K Followers)
As social media marketers, we all know that email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to generate sales and build your brand. You can use your story to get the people who are already engaging with you on Instagram onto your email list.
One way to do this is to keep it short and sweet. If you have a story-sized graphic that you can quickly and easily upload, use the Swipe Up feature—if you have 10,000 followers—and just act as a constant tap on their shoulder: “Hey, are you on our email list yet? Because you should be.”
If you don’t have 10,000 followers on Instagram, there’s a workaround for getting access to the Swipe Up feature. To do this, you swipe up to an IGTV video in your story, and when viewers get to the IGTV video, Instagram allows your audience to click through to your outside link.
To learn how to use this tactic, keep reading for an easy-to-follow walkthrough or watch this video:
Upload an IGTV Video With a CTA to Tap on the Link
First, you need to record and upload your IGTV video and include the link you want viewers to click.
To record your video for IGTV, use the native camera app on your phone; you can’t record from the IGTV app itself. The video itself needs to be longer than 1 minute.
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To get viewers to tap on the link in the description, your video needs to follow a specific script:
- Introduce the offer right away.
- Give viewers clear instructions for accessing the link.
- Restate the instructions.
- Give a CTA to spur engagement.
Make sure you give viewers enough time to tap on the link in the video description. Tell them where to click at the beginning of the video and then give them enough time at the end of the video to actually follow through.
When you’re happy with the video, open the IGTV app and tap the plus icon at the top-right side of the screen.
Then select the video you want to use and tap Next.
On the next screen, you have the option to choose a thumbnail. Even though Instagram story viewers who swipe up to watch this IGTV video will never see the cover photo, it’s a best practice to always add a thumbnail cover because this video will live on your IGTV channel. It would be cool if the cover had some text on it or some additional color to grab people’s attention.
To add a thumbnail, tap the App From Camera Roll button at the bottom of the screen and select the image you want to use. Note that IGTV tends to be slow so if you’re trying to upload a video or cover image and see a black screen, just be patient.
After you select your cover image, tap Next.
Now add the title and description of your IGTV video. You want to be clear and purposeful. For this example, I entered “Click Here to Sign Up Now” and pasted the URL I want to link to. I also added pointing emojis to the link so people know where I want them to tap.
You’ll also see an option to post an IGTV video preview to your Instagram feed. Because this video is just a CTA to get people to tap the title at the top, you don’t want to post the video to your feed so deselect this option.
When you’re finished, tap Post to publish it to your IGTV channel.
Once your video has been successfully posted, you’ll see a prompt to share the video to your Instagram story. For now, tap Close and I’ll show you how to do it without this prompt.
Share Your IGTV Video to Your Instagram Story
To share the IGTV video to your Instagram story, first create the story image you want to use.
Pro Tip: Adding a GIF to your image is an easy way to encourage people to swipe up. To do this, tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen and select GIF. Then search for “swipe up.” You’ll see a ton of different options for swipe up GIFs. I like the GIFs that are two arrows moving upward.
Next, you want to link to your IGTV video so tap the chain link icon at the top of the screen.
On the next screen, select IGTV Video.
Now choose the IGTV video you just posted and tap Done.
The CTA has now been added so you can post the story.
Whenever anyone swipes up on this story, it will take them directly to your IGTV video, which will have the clickable link.
Conclusion
Instagram Stories offers you a variety of opportunities to generate leads on the platform. You can leverage your existing audience to reach new leads, use the Instagram Stories Questions sticker to warm up and identify qualified leads, and employ the Swipe Up feature to get them onto your email list.
If you don’t have 10K followers, you can still access the Swipe Up feature by using IGTV video in your Instagram stories. Make sure your IGTV video, title, and description reinforce your CTA.
What do you think? Which of these tactics will you try? Do you have any tips of your own for generating leads with Instagram Stories? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
More articles on Instagram Stories:
- Discover a step-by-step plan to drive traffic to your opt-in form using Instagram Stories.
- Learn how to use Instagram Insights for Stories.
- Find six ways to enhance your Instagram stories for better audience engagement.
