Instagram strategy for PTs (pt 2) - Stories
Want your IG stories to stand out, promote your business and get more clients? Here’s how.
We have taken a look at how to create effective Instagram posts in part 1 of our Instagram creation series. Read that first if you haven’t already, then let’s dive into creating Instagram stories.
What is an Instagram story?
An Instagram ‘story’ is a vertical photo or video that can be up to 15 seconds long. These only exist for 24 hours, then they disappear. People tend to use stories in a more creative, spontaneous way. You can add stickers, draw on them, and even create polls.
People who view your stories can use them to contact you directly and, interestingly, it has been found that people tend to view stories with the sound switched on, more than they do when scrolling through Instagram.
The goal of an Instagram story for PTs is to show your prospects who you are, break down the illusion that you could never relate to them, and show them you’re actually just a person invested in helping others to achieve their goals.
The core way to do this is with spoken stories. You may have already seen our team pumping them out on social media.
The Instagram algorithm likes there to be something on your story every day.
In terms of content, it’s about balancing the image of being an authority in your space, with showing your personality and allowing people to know, like and trust you.
Options for your stories include:
Your training (1 - 3 clips per session is enough)
Your hobbies
Pets (people love animals)
Sharing posts that match your message
Sharing older posts that relate to the week’s chosen pain points
Other content you’ve created; articles, YouTube videos, podcasts etc
What makes a good Instagram story?
Your spoken story structure can be very similar to your posts. You can even talk about the exact same thing in a story and a post, and share them on the same day.
Your Instagram story should:
Hit a pain point
Be aesthetically pleasing and look professional
Be you speaking, with captions
Be about your clients, not you
Here’s another tip for your Instagram stories: Aim to inspire, educate and or entertain - remember your Instagram story must still connect to your prospects’ pain points.
How to put together an Instagram story
Once you get into the habit of making Instagram stories, they will feel easy. Follow this format and making stories will become second nature:
Choose a pain point
Chose a structure for your story
Choose an intro
Record your story
Pain points:
You should have 100 pain points at your disposal ready to create a story from. We also love using the opportunity to expand on our posts, in stories.
Talking:
Have fun with this! No one goes on the ‘Gram for a science lecture, particularly from their PT.
Bring some personality to your recorded Instagram stories, make them fun, get your message across with either plenty of passion or some humour.
For some, this will come easily, for others it will need lots of takes and practice. Employ your growth mindset and don’t give up just because it doesn’t work out the first time.
For more on creating valuable content, listen to episodes 138 and 139 of the STCfit Learning Podcast - out on your favourite app.
