3 new Instagram features to try this summer

Using the stickers on Instagram Stories (e.g. Polls, questions and quiz stickers) is a great way to get more engagement from your followers.

And the more engagement you get – the more people are likely to see you content (because it will be pushed out to more people).

The most recent engagement feature is the “Add Yours” sticker. For example, you can share a photo e.g. of your pet or a book you’re reading and ask your followers to share theirs. This would be an example of a community style post.

Turn this into a news/trends style post by linking to an awareness day e.g. your favourite Lipstick for Lipstick day (July 29) or a make up free selfie for national nude day (July 14).

If you have my Courageous Content Planner, you’ll be familiar with the four styles of content I recommend: news/trends, inspire, educate and community.

News/trends content adds value to your audience by solving their problems/answering their questions (which is why it’s great for attracting new leads). But it is also timely i.e. it needs to run at a particular time to give your audience the most value.

Inspire content is often about reassurance – which is why I include sales copy in this category. You shouldn’t ever be ‘persuading’ people to buy from you – you should be inspiring them to make an investment.

Educate content is sharing tips/advice that answer peoples’ questions/solve their problems while community content is about building and nurturing your relationship with your audience.

For more ideas on posts for July listen to the episode 4 content ideas for July (that use awareness days) or read the blog on the same page.