I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Instagram stories are where it's at. They are constantly adding new features, and while they may seem fairly simple to use, it's still important to understand their full potential.
Using the Instagram Stories Chat Sticker
Actually using the sticker is just as easy as using any other feature. Using the "feature" button in the top right corner, click on the button that says "chat." From there, the button will pop up, you can change the title of the chat and even the color of the button by clicking the color wheel at the top of the screen. You can see the step-by-step visual process in the photo gallery.
After the story is published, people can request to join the chat. You have to accept at least one request to begin the chat, but note that only 32 people can join a single chat.
Why to use the Instagram Stories Chat Sticker
At the center of it all, the most basic reason to utilize this feature is to engage with your audience. The more they feel heard and understood, they more trust they will place in your brand/business. Similarly, conversation humanizes a brand, and consumers generally appreciate that kind of authenticity a lot. Additionally, if you're talking about things you know they care about, chances are, they will want to chime in, which is what you want for them to remember you. Ultimately, this type of activity sets you apart from the brands that are too scared to try or don't know how to effectively engage, so it's definitely worth a shot.
How to use the Instagram Stories Chat Sticker
There are a number of ways to use this feature, but here are some of my ideas to get you started:
1. Industry News. This probably works best for B2B companies, but I can imagines there are ways to integrate it in a B2C setting as well. If your business has any expertise in a specific industry that you know your audience follows you to learn more about as well, capitalize on it. The first brand I noticed to use this feature was Later, the chat sticker was an invite to converse about the social media marketing industry, and even though the chat is less than a week old, 32 people have joined together to share and comment about such trends.
2. Product Experience/Improvement. This could be an extremely fun way to bring your audience together to talk about the one thing you know they have in common: an interest in your product. Invite them to share their experiences about the purchasing process or ideas for product improvement; call it a virtual focus group, if you will, but the biggest benefit to this could be finding out negative features of your product/brand in a controlled and more private setting. The contrary to this would be people blasting all over their public social platforms all their negative opinions.
3. Discounts/Sales with Urgency. Make your customers feel more valued and exclusive by offering select discount codes and sale prices for a limited time for limited people. If they become some of the "chosen few," they will be much more likely to purchase with a code that they feel they are only one of few people that have.
4. Inviting smaller groups of people. By publishing the story to your "close friends," you can control who sees (and is able to request access) a lot more easily. If there is a certain group of people you want to make sure see that invite, add them temporarily to your "close friends" list and even send a personal direct message to further invite them.
5. Event Marketing. If your business has a special event coming up, invite followers to join a chat to learn more specific information about the event, RSVP to the event and, perhaps, even give them special access to things at the event. People value honesty and "special treatment," so if they feel they're getting exactly that, generally it will benefit your brand in the end.
6. Idea Creation. The best example I can come up for this is a small-scale coffee company that wants to release a new drink but really values the opinions of their consumers. By inviting their most active customers to chat about a new drink flavor, they can come up with the best option that will satisfy the most people. The customers could even interact with one another and play off of each other's ideas.
Like I said previously, there are so many ways to use this feature, these were just a few ideas.