You’re on Instagram — but are you as intentional with your posts as you are about making sure your yoga pants are on point?
Whether you’re wondering how to grow your Instagram audience or engage the audience you’ve built, I’m excited to share a few ways you can use Instagram Stories to do both!
Why yoga teachers use Instagram Stories
While tons of people are using Instagram, not everyone is using Instagram Stories yet. That means if you’re one of the people using Instagram Stories right now, you could get some extra attention on your account.
Instagram Stories is also a great way to show photos or videos that wouldn’t fit with the yoga poses, how-to-videos or other content you’re consistently posting in your feed. Whenever you have something you want to share, that doesn’t “fit” into your consistent image feed, you can put it in your Stories. (All the praise hands going up here!!! #amiright?)
How you can use Instagram Stories to build your yoga brand
Showcase your personality. Instagram Stories is a great way to show a different side of you than what people see in your feed. You can post behind-the-scenes videos and fun content like Boomerangs to connect with your audience. Who doesn’t love a good boomerang of a dance move?!
Post polls and questions. If you want to get more engagement from your followers, using polls and questions in your Stories is an awesome way to do that. You can test out ideas, get feedback from your audience or just have fun asking random questions — again, showcasing your personality!
Advertise your brand. You can also run ads on Instagram Stories to highlight classes or new student specials. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this, but I wouldn’t be a good coach if I didn’t mention this possibility.)
What to do after you post on Instagram Stories
Check your engagement. Content on Instagram Stories only stays up for 24 hours, so after you post, be sure to look back at your engagement at least a few times during that period. If you have a business account, which I highly recommend, you can see engagement in your Instagram Insights for 14 days — but after that, it goes away.
Document poll results. If you took a poll, take a screenshot of the results before they disappear. If you’re like me and you’ve got a lot of other things going on, there’s no way you’ll be able to remember those results later on.
Share and tag responses. If you asked a question in your Stories, look at your results multiple times in the first 24 hours to share responses, show that people are engaging with you and keep that ball rolling. And unless it’s confidential, tag people when you share their responses. Who knows — they might even share your Stories and give you more exposure!
Respond to direct messages. If you asked your audience to direct-message you — which is a great way to connect with them — it’s really important to respond to those messages throughout the 24 hours. When you respond to your audience, you’ll gain their trust and build rapport with them.
If you want to learn more about how to use Instagram Stories, I recently came across this amazing Instagram Stories tutorial that’s a wealth of knowledge. I encourage you to check it out!
Until next time,
