Instagram and Facebook Stories have become an integral part of both platforms, and if you’re not using them regularly, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to engage your audience.

Since when Instagram started stories (in August 2016) the feature took on a life of its own, and was so wildly successful that Facebook added their own duplicate feature soon after.

Now, Stories have expanded with capabilities ranging from adding background music to your for free to having shoppable stickers that can encourage on-platform sales with just a few clicks.

This article will show  what you need to start using Facebook and Instagram Stories from a sales perspective , and what various best practices look like in 17 amazing examples of Facebook and Instagram Stories that convert.

Stories are good for more than just brand awareness.

When you’re using the right strategies, features, and content in your Stories, there’s enormous potential for them to be high-converting, too; you just need to take a slightly different approach.

Before having a look at all the examples, here are the best practices to create high-converting social stories.

Best Practices to Create High-Converting Social Stories

• Increase the longevity of your Stories with Highlights.

When you add Stories to a dedicated Highlight on Instagram, you’re extending their lifespan significantly, taking them well beyond the 24-hour constraints. When people see your Story later on, they may very well be encouraged to convert then, increasing the life of your post and its effectiveness.

• Always use that Swipe Up feature.

The Swipe Up feature is available to accounts with 10,000 followers or more, so make great use of it if you have it. This allows you to add a link directly to the Story itself, which is a powerful advantage. The easier it is for users to get where you want them to go, the more likely it is that they’ll actually get there and then convert.

• Include stoppable posts whenever possible.

Instagram now allows brands who are using the native Shopping features to tag products in Stories themselves. When users click a product tag on a Story, they can see additional details about it, including the item’s name, description, and price. If they choose to, they can click again to be taken to the page where they can purchase the item directly. It goes without saying that this can be an enormous sales driver from the convenience factor alone; people no longer have to go hunting on your site to find what they want.

• Use CTAs to your advantage.

A call-to-action tells users what action you want them to take. “Sign up for our webinar today” or “Get notifications for our upcoming product launch,” for example, both work well. If you want users to Swipe Up, let them know why they’re doing so.

• Use conversion-oriented stickers.

Set up Shoppable campaigns, tagging products and hopefully driving immediate sales. You should also consider checking out the new product launch reminder stickers, which allow you to give product debuts a whole lot of extra attention in a way that can actually drive sales.

• Incorporate UGC into your campaigns.

User-generated content is shared frequently in Stories, so get the customer’s permission and then share it again in yours. Tag the user and at the very least mention the product, and incorporate a Swipe Up link that takes viewers directly to the product being featured. Even if the picture you’re sharing isn’t as high resolution or artfully-staged as one your brand would take, remember that this isn’t the point; people love seeing that other people love your brand, making it an exceptionally powerful driving force.

• Showcase the benefit of what you’re selling.

If you really want to drive conversions, you want to make a case for why people should purchase / sign up/ register for whatever it is that you want to hold their attention. Don’t just say you’re holding a webinar; highlight what you’ll go over and why it’s valuable to your audience, and list specific features and benefits of the products at hand.

• Leverage urgency.

Offer seasonal discounts, talk about flash sales, and mention whenever you have a limited supply of something in stock. Urgency can drive conversions like no other, especially since plenty of people who may otherwise be interested just think “oh, cool, I’ll check it out later” and forget within ten minutes.

• Consider using ad campaigns.

This obviously isn’t an organic tip and it will require you to cough up some of your ad spend, but when you want to expand your reach and connect your target audience on a much larger scale, these are a good way to go. If you’re worried about spending money on these campaigns, considering testing Stories organically, and then running ads featuring the highest-performing ones.

17 Amazing Examples of Facebook and Instagram Stories That Convert

Wondering what actual, real-life examples of Facebook and Instagram Stories that convert look like?

Here are 17 outstanding examples from large and small brands alike to show you how many different creative options you have when it comes to creating high-converting Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories.

These were all sourced from Instagram, which does have a few more selling features than Facebook does currently, but the basic strategies apply to both.

1. Athleta

Athleta is a major brand, so it’s no surprise that their Instagram Stories are typically on point.

They regularly make use of the “Shoppable Posts” feature in their Stories, which allow users to see a product tag, click it, and be taken right to the product’s page online for purchase.

 

One thing to highlight here, though, is that they’re not just letting the image speak for itself. They’re also showing how you can style the shorts, showcasing their value and versatility and increasing the likelihood that people could picture themselves wearing them.

2. The Bouqs Co

Sometimes the best way to drive conversions is to let someone else carry that burden for you.

The Bouqs Co’s Instagram just shared a Story that was created by someone else, running their hands over the gorgeous wreath, talking about how seasonal it felt, and mentioning that it smelled incredible. This is enough to make someone else want to purchase, especially because it’s a third-party vouching for the product.

3. Holy Clothing

Another look at how to use UGC (and, in some cases, a little influencer marketing) to attract your target audience and drive conversions.

Here, we’ve got a share of an influencer post that’s also tagged with a Shoppable sticker, giving it incredible power to motivate users to purchase quickly.

4. Athleta (Again)

Same brand again, but they’re still doing something rarely seen anywhere else.

They’re using their Story Highlights to capture users interested in purchasing with their “Shop” Highlight, which archives all their Shoppable Stories that are still active.

This allows them to capture a high-intent audience quickly.

5. Pampered Chef

Pampered Chef takes a little more of an indirect approach to driving conversions, focusing on educating users on how to use their cooking tools to showcase value and encourage purchasing.

They regularly host Instagram and Facebook Lives that show how to execute tantalizingly-delicious recipes from beginning to end, and they always use at least one of their products with shoutouts about where to purchase them.

6. The Freelance CFO

The Freelance CFO is selling slots to their high-value Mastermind Course.

Her Story does an incredible job taking users through exactly what’s included, why it’s valuable, and why you need it.

She immediately follows it up with a note capitalizing on scarcity, reminding people that there are only 4 spots left.

There’s more

The full article (link at the bottom) has 17 examples, with screenshots. I’ve shared only a few interesting ones.

Conclusion

Even though most Stories content focusing on promoting events, driving brand awareness, and hopefully directing users towards interesting content, plenty of brands forget about trying to optimize for conversions.

This is a shame, because both Facebook and Instagram Stories can be high-converting when you’re using the right strategies, Stories features, and content.

As you’re mapping out your Stories content with the intention of driving conversions, remember to keep your particular target audience members in mind.

Think about what types of content they’ll be most receptive to, and how you can convey value for specific products in those 15-second-or-less intervals.

Social marketing is always much more effective when it’s created with your target buyer personas in mind, so keep their needs, pain points, and use cases at the center of your focus.

17 Amazing Examples of Instagram and Facebook Stories That Convert

PS. In addition to the tips above: post regularly. When you post often and regularly you’re increasing your engagement rate and ensuring that your stories don’t fall to the end of the queue for your followers, where they are unlikely to ever see it.