These 3 Brands are Flourishing on Instagram. Here’s How to Swipe Their Strategy

Introduced relatively recently, Instagram Stories are a creative new medium for visual brand storytelling.

Taking a page out of Snapchat's book, they're designed to disappear after 24 hours.

It's a way of sharing an ongoing sequence of events, constructing a narrative using visual content.

Brands in all different industries are finding creative, interesting ways to add Stories to their own Instagram marketing mix.

There aren't any publicly visible likes or comments on Instagram Stories, so it can be a little hard to gauge their success with certainty (from the outside, anyway).

But there are a handful of major national brands that are killing it with Instagram Stories.

Their use of creative visual storytelling has been a hit with their fans, especially in younger Millennial and Gen Z demographics.

Three of the most successful are Converse, Crossfit, and Taco Bell. These three brands use Instagram Stories masterfully

Converse

Have you noticed how hard Converse works to be “alternative,” especially lately?

Unabashed effort goes into missing the mark on “cool” and falling into whiskey tango foxtrot—thus, they are earning the respect of many youths, as is customary for Converse.

Creative aside, marketers should take notice of their Instagram Story strategy. In announcing the roll out of a new shoe collaboration, Converse seamlessly connects their Instagram post content with their Instagram Story content.

[image source: Convince & Convert]

Their Instagram feed and Instagram Story work in perfect harmony.

[image source: Convince & Convert]

I’m all for obvious, somewhat repetitive social—wash, rinse, and repeat. If brands want their audience to know something, they should wrap exciting, memorable content around that something and repeat, repeat, repeat, just as Converse has done—so nicely “it will make you puke.”

Crossfit

Crossfit is attempting to serve an international audience from one account, and that’s no easy feat.

Yes, a lot of brands do it, but Crossfit isn’t promoting a product; they are promoting a lifestyle.

Going international, covering all those lifestyles (which include a variety of cultures and traditions) is tough.

I won’t congratulate Crossfit on the quality of their photography/videography because, frankly, I think they can do better. However, I do commend the brand on staying so true to brand and utilizing their resources.

[image source: Convince & Convert]

The brand made use of Instagram Live (later shared to their Instagram Story), user-generated content, and influencer marketing, all in one story, which is pretty incredible. Their Instagram content also covers their brand pillars of food, fitness, community, and jockish humor.

Taco Bell

Say you are dating a nice boy and want him to remember you even when he is chillin’ on the porcelain throne.

What do you do?

Take a super cute selfie, and make it his phone’s background photo without his permission.

Duh. Unforgettable.

That’s all Taco Bell is asking: to be unforgettable, by way of phone backgrounds everywhere.

[image source: Convince & Convert]

This sort of engagement is pretty common.

Many brands prompt users to capture the perfectly proportioned Instagram Story images to later use as extraordinary phone display images (and Snapchat Stories).

With a phone background like this, friends of the Taco Bell fan will likely see a tenfold increase in instances of, “Want to go to Taco Bell?”