Instagram Stories have been rapidly growing over the last couple of years. Instagram recently introduced Stories Ads to allow businesses to advertise using this feature. Now, new interactive features have been added to make Stories Ads more compelling. Let's take a look at some of these new possibilities and how they can help you create more effective ads.

Instagram Story Ads

Instagram, with over a billion monthly users, is one of the leading social media platforms. Instagram has introduced a variety of innovative advertising options such as branded content ads, which are especially effective for influencer marketing. Stories, ephemeral content that's only visible for 24 hours, were originally introduced by Snapchat. Instagram Stories, however, are now far more popular with 500 million users per day.

While Instagram Stories started off as strictly organic content, Stories Ads were released last year (2018). The big advantage of Stories, of course, is that they are featured at the top of the page, giving them far more visibility than regular posts.

Polling Stickers

Instagram story ads offer some powerful features, such as providing full-screen, vertical content that fills up the user's entire screen. They also provide a call to action (CTA) function so that users can reach your product page or website by swiping. Now Instagram has added an element that makes Stories Ads more interactive: polling stickers.

The polling sticker is a simple feature that can be added to any image or video ad. Polls have long been recognized as a way to increase engagement as people love to express their opinions. Companies have already seen impressive results with polling stickers during the beta launch. Dunkin' Donuts lowered their cost-per-video cost by 20% with the polling sticker. The clothing brand Asos also achieved good results by asking followers provocative questions such as "Do you think clothes should be gendered?"

Polling stickers are now available to all Instagram advertisers. To access this feature, go to the Ad Manager and choose Instagram Stories for the ad type. As you upload the ad, you'll see a box to Add an Interactive Poll.

Ways to Use Polling Stickers in Instagram Story Ads

Any brand can create polls that are interesting to their customers, whether it has to do with the type of toppings they like on pizza, their favourite breed of dog, their favourite TV show, or anything else. A poll can be directly related to a product or simply any question designed to provoke a reaction. Users can participate by simply tapping their answer. Other possibilities include:

• Get information about your followers. You may want to know certain facts about followers for market research.
• Create a mood. You can get people in a certain frame of mind simply by asking a question. When you ask what kind of holiday they prefer, for example, you can get your followers in a mood for fun and relaxation. Asking them to choose between favourite foods can make them hungry.
• Give followers a say. Make a decision about a new logo, product, or service based on poll results. People always like to have a voice in the brands they patronize.
• Pure entertainment. Some polls are just for fun. Asking what someone's favourite 90s band or Game of Thrones character is may not directly relate to your brand. However, when you get your followers thinking about something they enjoy, it can make them more receptive to your offers.

Polling stickers can help businesses engage better with followers. As with any type of advertising, it's essential to consider the interests of your target audience and to test your results. As Stories Ads continue to evolve, Instagram may include more interactive features.

Need help creating Instagram Story Ads that work? Or any aspect of digital marketing? Digital Stand is a data-driven social media agency that grows your business. To find out more about our services, contact us.