How to Tell Powerful Stories On Instagram to Get More Sales

August 02, 2019

One of the most important tactics you can use to get more sales is to tell stories. The reason stories are so powerful is because they connect us. Besides being filled with lovable characters and lessons, stories pull us right in. Storytellers, can make us feel exactly what they want us to feel.

Your biggest advantage is not only words but visuals too. Pictures, paintings, and other visual creations can be used for storytelling too. However, if you pair storytelling through the pictures you upload on Instagram with a stellar caption, then you can start getting more sales.

 

 

Before you get started

1. Remember that your customer is the main character

Keep in mind that your followers are the main characters. They’re not only the reader, but the protagonist. More importantly, you’re the narrator. You don’t want to write a story in which you make yourself the main character because you’ll only write appealing to your own senses and motivation. This isn’t about you, it’s about the person you’re trying to target.

To make this easier, it’s best if you identify your ideal customer. Pinpoint exactly who they are, what they like, what they react best to, and so on. Once you’ve got this person detailed to a T, then create a customer profile in which you organize all the most important information on a piece of paper. You may print out a picture of someone to paste on it. This is the person you’re going to imagine writing to.

 

2. Know what they want

Since you know who your ideal customer is, then you should know exactly what type of content they’re looking for. If you don’t, go through what your competitors and people in your space—the ones you have the followers you’re looking for—are posting.

What type of pictures are they posting? What do their captions say? What hashtags are they using? Go through the content in those hashtags. Pay attention to what receives the most engagement, and what flops. Why did one post succeed and why did the other fail? What are the differences?

At first, you’re going to emulate some of the content others are creating. Eventually, you’re going to put your own spin on things so that they look completely new and unique to you. After all, that’s all originality is.

 

 

How to tell powerful stories on Instagram to get more sales

lighted we are all made of stories red neon wall signage inside room

1. Take pictures of someone interacting with the product

Your potential customers want to see themselves using your product. They want to know how it would feel to have your pillows on their couches and your mug filled with their favorite coffee. Don’t just upload a picture of your product, take a picture of someone using or interacting with it so your followers can see themselves (or their kids, pets, etc.) in that person’s place.

 

2. Have an overall feel for your Instagram profile

white samsung android smartphone on white tableAn overall aesthetic feel for your Instagram profile is just as important as the individual pictures themselves. For example, say that you sell couches for living rooms. If your entire profile looks comfortable and warm then, you follower will feel that warmth. They’ll think, “If the couch can make that living room feel like that, then it can make my living room feel like that too.”

 

3. Use user-generated content

This is basically the same as having someone interact with your product, but this time you’re re-posting the pictures of real customers using your product. When your followers see real people with your product, and they’re happy about using it, then they’re more likely to get that product for themselves. It’s like they’re reading a five-star review.

 

4. Make what you’re selling the main point

You want your product to be the main point. It’s all about how you arrange the product. For example, if you’re selling a pillow, and you’ve taken a picture of your entire living room to promote that pillow, you want the pillow to stand out. That way, your followers will understand that that’s what you’re trying to sell. No matter who or what it’s interacting with, it has to be the main point.

 

 

How to write the perfect storytelling caption

1. Tell someone else’s story

Reach out to the people who are posting pictures of themselves (or someone) using your product, and ask them to give you their story. When you share their story, write about when they purchased your product, how they’re using it, and more importantly, how it has made them feel.

 

2. Write in the second person

When you write in the second person, you use the word “You.” You don’t use “I,” or “me,” or “she,” or “him.” For example, if you’re selling blankets you can say, “It’s another lazy Sunday, and you want to relax in bed as you read a book. What better way to feel comfortable than with our new 100% cotton blanket?” Speak directly to your followers so they can really imagine themselves in their comfortable bed, a paperback in their hands, and your blanket draped over their laps.

 

3. Tell them how they’ll feel

People don’t buy products, they buy feelings. The most important thing you can write in a caption is telling your potential customer exactly how they’ll feel using your product. Your followers don’t necessarily want, for example, the blanket you’re selling. They want the feeling it will bring them. The possibilities.

Your blanket could bring them comfort on their day off, it could bring their kid safety at night if they’re scared of the dark, or it could bring entertainment for a family who likes to build forts. As you can see, they’re not buying the blanket for the blanket itself, but rather for the experiences they’ll be able to have with it.

 

 

In summary

  • Figure out your ideal client
  • Tell stories
  • Sell the feeling, not the product
  • Write in the second person
  • Allow your customer to imagine themselves interacting with your product
  • Sell the feeling, not the product 

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