In the summer of 2018 Instagram introduced a new feature called “Question” stickers that can be added to your Instagram Stories; Instagram Stories are similar to SnapChat in that the pictures and videos you share can only be viewed once and will be available on 24 disappeared after hours. 1
Instagram Stories are an engaging and fun way to start a conversation with your followers and when used right can help you stand out in a crowded marketing landscape build strong relationships with your prospects and help people learn about your brand . 2
Of course many people also use this feature but with a little creativity it also has many different uses that can help you market your business.
How to use Instagram question stickers
You can use question stickers to ask questions or have your followers ask you questions.
Here’s how to use Instagram question stickers:
1-Go to your Instagram account
- -Take a photo or video or choose from your camera roll
- -Select the question sticker from the sticker tray
- Type your question and place stickers on your photo or video
- Share your question to your story
Your followers will then be able to see your question and click to reply. You can also reply to your followers’ responses – creating positive interactions with your brand. 3
It’s a good idea to make sure the photos or videos you use are relevant to the question you’re answering.
If you already use Instagram to promote your business you will find it easy to use question stickers. If you don’t already use Instagram you may need to set up your account and become familiar with the platform before using the question feature.
Now that you understand the basics of using questions how can you use it to maximize your market competitiveness?
7 Ideas for Marketing Your Business with Instagram Question Stickers
There are many ways to use Instagram question stickers to grow your brand and business. Here are seven different ideas you can implement right away.
1. Answer questions about a specific product or product line
Entrepreneurs and business owners tend to be an innovative bunch – always launching new features and services. Sometimes followers don’t know why they need a new feature or service or they may not understand what it does.
When this happens you need to educate your customers and followers so they know what problem the new product/feature/or service solves.
Instagram questions are a great way to answer customer questions in real-time about any product or service and are especially good for answering questions about new and innovative product lines you’re bringing to market.
Thinkific for example uses this process to get feedback on a new logo. When they launched the new logo the company used Instagram question stickers to ask their Instagram followers what they thought of the change.
This feedback is invaluable to business owners. It can help you address any shortcomings in your product or feature give you innovative new ideas and help you develop sales copy around features that your customers really love.
Another great benefit of using Instagram question stickers for feedback is that it makes it easier for you to sound like your potential customers. This helps build rapport. Getting feedback directly from your followers is one of the best ways to make sure you sound like your target market.
2. Create Custom Audiences
People who interact with your brand are more likely to buy from you. You can use questions to increase engagement. Once someone interacts with you on Instagram you can create so-called “custom” audiences which means you can create ads that are only shown to the following people Audiences who have interacted with you – often referred to as “passionate”.
You can then display appropriate ads promoting your products and services to these enthusiastic audiences. Often engaging audiences are some of the most profitable ads you can run.
While you’ll always need to find ways to attract new attention to your brand it’s important to advertise to people who already like and engage with you.
3. Use Instagram Polls to Create Short Surveys
People love to do polls. Just by looking at any social media feed you can see how many people are commenting on “Best Hits of the ’80s” or anything else at any given time. Using polls can help you gauge interest in specific product lines so you can understand Where to put your ad spend and better understand what your customers are more likely to buy.
Starbucks often uses polls to ask their followers which two beverages they like the most. Not only can this help them decide which coffee to specialize in but it can also build engagement and desire around the new product.
If you have a small amount of inventory and are considering spending more money on this type of poll it can also really help gauge what might be better for you in order to maximize your sales by choosing the most popular items in stock .
4. A Traditional Question and Answer
If your business is interested in your work or behind-the-scenes identity this approach can help you reach cult fans.
- For example if you’re a chef you can ask people questions like “What would you like to know about making risotto?”
- If you make original art to sell on Etsy then you can ask people “What kind of art inspires you?”
- Or if you’re a life coach you might ask “What questions do you have about anxiety?”
These types of questions can help your followers get to know you and can help you find new interests and ways to communicate with your followers.
For example in the life coaching example you might get answers that allow you to develop a new mini-course or email marketing series around a specific type of anxiety that the community has repeatedly raised. If you do your research this way the solution you provide will work for your community and potentially get higher conversion rates.
There is another great benefit to asking such questions. When people like you they are more likely to buy from you and this type of Q&A helps build more personal connections and a stronger bond with your prospects.
5. To Get Ideas for a Robust FAQ page
It’s an unusual way to use Instagram Questions but it works well. By simply asking your followers to “ask you any question” you can learn what they think and what their most frequently asked questions actually are. This method beats guessing your followers There is a mile problem.
What worked was creating a spreadsheet with all the questions. You can then sort the spreadsheet to see the most common questions. You can use them to create high-quality FAQs that your customers will love both on your website and in the Stories Highlights section of Instagram.
6. Real-Time Engagement
This is a great strategy if you are a brand associated with any type of event or activity happening at a specific time and place.
For example if you’re an authorized dealer of athletic gear or other products for a college sports team and your team is playing you can ask “How much do you think XYZ players will score?” You can even promote giveaways beforehand to incentivize participation. and Don’t forget to build those engaging audiences mentioned in #2 to advertise later.
7. “How Can I help?”
If you’re an influencer or expert this can be a powerful strategy for building trust with your audience. Your best bet is to set a time limit for the time you spend online. Say something like “I will answer the question in the next 20 minutes. Ask me anything. “Then answer the questions. As an expert in your field this can be a very effective tactic to build credibility.
Other Examples of Instagram Questions
There’s really no end to the types of questions you can ask on Instagram. Here are some examples:
- Who is your inspiration?
- Which team will win the game today?
- What is the one thing you would like someone to do for you?
- What is one thing you’re thankful for today?
- What’s your favorite YouTube channel?
- What’s your favorite movie?
- Which app on your phone is the most addictive?
- What are the weird questions you can ask someone to better understand them?
- What’s your favorite joke?
- What’s your personal superpower?
- Do you have any questions for me?
- Who’s your hero?
- What’s the craziest thing you believed in as a kid?
- What do you love about where you work?
- Who is your favorite celebrity?
The Bottom Line
There are more than 1 billion Instagram accounts worldwide and 80% of them follow business on Instagram. 4 So the potential impact of your business on Instagram is huge. To take advantage of this potential you need great product photos and visual elements and you need to be proficient in how to You use the platform.
Interacting with your audience is a great way to build trust and get them to like you. It’s also one way you can create an enthusiastic audience to advertise for as described above. Instagram questions are one of the most effective.