social media week austin

Our team attended Social Media Week in Austin this year and walked away with pages of notes and a renewed passion for what we do and why. As a full-service digital marketing agency, continued learning is a priority for our team. Trends, algorithms, and entire platforms shift and evolve at an incredible pace and this conference was an opportunity to reaffirm our approach and learn where we can grow.

What is Social Media Week?

Social Media Week (SMW) is “one of the world’s premier conferences and industry news platforms for professionals in media, marketing, and technology. The mission is to give professionals at the intersection of media, marketing and technology the insights, ideas and opportunities they need to advance themselves and their organizations in a globally connected world.”

Top Takeaway #3: We Should All Be Utilizing Insta Stories

Did you know that one-third of the most viewed Instagram stories nowadays are created by businesses? Insta stories are becoming increasingly more popular in consumption, quickly surpassing scrolling your feed for content.

But what should we be including in our Insta stories? What is the consumer trying to gain from this interaction with our business? Context. Details. Behind-the-scenes moments. SMW speaker Meredith Gonsalves said “Your feed is the OUTCOME and your story is the HOW COME” and we couldn’t agree more. With Insta stories, you’re building up the context behind the story in real-time (for example, a construction client sharing progress pictures of a house being built), and then sharing the beautiful final product, the stunning home – on your feed.

Stories are intoxicating because they cause a sense of urgency, of living in the moment. For 24 hours and 24 hours only, there is a specific set of content you can consume and if you miss it, well then you’re out of luck. The fear of missing out causes the consumer to urgently keep up with you, in hopes that they don’t miss a sweet opportunity or a cool post one of their friends saw. Stories create urgency, and urgency is power in the business world.

So, how do you take your Insta story from good to great? Storyboarding. Planning out your Insta stories is the key to creating great ones. The best real-time content is planned in advance and executed on the spot. While it’s important to plan out your content in advance, that doesn’t mean it should be overly produced. Your Insta story should still be in the moment and personal – just thought out beforehand. Your goal should be to strike a balance between put together and in the moment.

Alright, now that you understand the importance of Insta stories in the digital world, it’s time to start telling your story. Creating content is our specialty here at Alter Endeavors, so if you’re looking for someone to help tell your story, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!