Instagram Story stickers give influencers an easy way to create eye-catching graphics. There’s a handful of different stickers, each with its own specific purpose. The most recent sticker, added at the end of the 2021, gives influencers a chance to design their own sticker. We’ll explore the sticker options, including the most recent addition, the Add Yours sticker, show you how influencers use them, and give you some tips for success.
5 types of Instagram Story stickers and how they’re used
There’s a handful of different stickers, but here’s a look at the ones that are most useful to influencers.
Add Yours sticker
The Add Yours sticker is one of the newest stickers to join the virtual sticker book. The Add Yours sticker gives influencers a chance to create appealing posts that encourage viral content. The idea behind them is to get followers to post an image to your thread, sparking a viral reaction.
The sticker might ask followers to share a snap of their skin-care routine, pet, or favorite meal. Every response has the original creator’s name on it, so influencers can get a lot of exposure with these stickers.
Here are a few in action:
How are influencers using the Add Yours sticker
Influencers are using this sticker to encourage followers to respond to their posts. They need something that’s easy for fans to participate in and something that’s easy to snap a photo of.
Fashion influencers ask fans to share their outfit of the day (#OOTD), beauty influencers ask fans to share their favorite lip balm, and entertainment influencers ask people to snap a pic of the show they’re currently binging.
Link sticker
Another addition introduced to the masses in late 2021, Link stickers give influencers that ability to — you guessed it — add a link to a stories post. The sticker looks like a white label that contains the URL you provide, like this:
Countdown sticker
Are you hosting an event, going to a party, or launching a new product? Influencers use a countdown clock sticker to create a buzz around these events. The countdown sticker has a simple clock that counts down to a specified time. Creators select the date, time, and color of the clock. Here’s how it looks:
How are influencers using the Countdown sticker
Influencers love the countdown clock. Many of them use the clock to countdown to a live show, release of a new podcast, or special event. If there’s something you’re trying to create buzz around, be it a sale or partnership announcement, you can use the countdown sticker.
Question sticker
Every marketer knows that asking questions on social media is a great way to engage followers, but Instagram thrives on images — not text. Solution? The question sticker. It’s a simple graphic that influencers can use to ask their followers a question. Here are a few examples:
How are influencers using the Question sticker
Question stickers are used not just to drive engagement, but to get to know customers. Many influencers try to avoid asking salesy or self-serving questions. For example, if a beauty influencer asked customers to share their favorite product from the influencer’s own line of makeup, the focus is on the company, not the customers. Instead, ask followers, “What’s your biggest skincare dilemma?” The focus here is the customer.
Poll sticker
Influencers can take a quick poll using the poll sticker. As the name suggests, influencers ask a simple question and provide two possible answers. Fans simply click the answer they believe is true. Here’s a look at a poll sticker in use:
How are influencers using the Poll sticker
Influencers ask followers to weigh in on a topic that pertains to their niche. There’s limited space for the question (80 characters) and answers (24 characters each), so the question must be succinct and have two short responses. Influencers might ask fans whether they prefer regular or decaf coffee, which pair of sunglasses they like, or if they’d recommend a new movie. Like the question sticker, these should be customer focused.
Tips to use Instagram stickers wisely
Whether you’re new to the Instagram Story sticker game or not, here are a few tips to make sure they’re effective:
Use them sparingly
Stickers are a great tool, but you shouldn’t use them in every post. Use them when it makes sense to engage with your audience.
Keep it focused
You can add text to many of the stickers, but the space is limited. Keep your writing tightly focused. Try to avoid broad questions like, “How do you feel about the return of bell bottoms?” Instead, turn that question into a poll and ask fans, “Will you wear bell bottoms this fall?” Yes or No.
Respond to participants
Engagement is the name of the game, so don’t post a question or a poll and ghost your followers. Be sure to respond to participants in a timely manner.
Review all of the stickers
There are several other stickers that you might find useful, like the Hashtag sticker and Location sticker. Instagram has a quick tutorial on all of the stickers that’s a great reference.
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