This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The question sticker by Instagram is the new opportunity
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
On July 10, 2018, Instagram announced the introduction of Question Sticker to its stories saying “Today we’re introducing an interactive questions sticker in Instagram Stories that lets your friends submit questions for you to answer. It’s a fun new way to start conversations with your friends so you can get to know each other better.”
Instagram’s all efforts are towards increasing the interaction among people. We are all aware and have been using Poll Stickers and Emoji Sliders where we give the followers a chance to vote or rate something. And now with this new sticker, Instagram has moved a step forward. After voting and rating now the users can give an elaborated response to the stories with this new Question Sticker.
How can you use this new question sticker?
Just like any other sticker that you place on your Instagram story, the option to choose the Question Sticker also shows up there. This sticker can be selected from the sticker tray while posting a story. You can write your own message that you wish the people to respond to and place the sticker anywhere in the story. When your followers see this sticker, they can tap and reply directly from the story itself.
This sticker gives you a chance for real-time comment or feedback. Brands and businesses know an opportunity when they see it. This sticker gave them an opportunity to get a detailed feedback from their customers and in a fun way. They saw a chance to get recommendations on anything they want.
People start answering questions in the stories thinking that they are some random questions whereas in reality, they can be some targeted survey or review questions. Not just brands but customers also love to interact and give their point of views on the products and services they are using. So this has emerged as a win-win situation for both the sides.
Ways a brand can use this question sticker:
• Product review
A brand can put up a story, asking its customers to respond to any newly launched product. This can work like a one-to-one interaction between the company and the customers. The customers with a chance to write the review about the product can explain their delight or the difficulty they are facing in using it.
• New features
Not just the products that have been launched but also the products that are yet to be launched can be reviewed. Brands can ask the customers about what kind of features they expect in the new product? This can prove to be a big advantage in the sector of customer satisfaction.
• Suggestions
If any company is planning to launch a new product, it could ask the customers to suggest the features they would like to have. This is very much what social sites like the parent company of Instagram i.e. Facebook can also use. It could ask for public opinion on new features to be introduced.
• Market surveys
Knowing the market is what both product and service-based companies need to do. And the best way to know the market is to have a question and answer session with the customers and this is precisely what the new question sticker does. The survey questions can be asked in the Instagram story and people would be even more delighted to use their phones to answer these story questions rather than use pen and paper to fill a review or feedback form.
• Asking questions
It’s not always about the answers, sometimes the brands also need to know what the customer is asking. These questions can be asked of the customers and then addressed in future Instagram stories or even a video interaction with the customers can be arranged to respond to the questions asked.
Brands have been using a number of ways to interact with the customers but there are a few things extra that this sticker provides. Some of these have been mentioned below:
• Reach the audience worldwide
The traditional interaction sessions between the company and the customers are limited to some specified geographical area. But an Instagram story has no such limitation. Companies can reach their customers worldwide with a single story.
• Save on budget
The cost of an interactive session is not cheap if you wish to have a decent gathering. On the other hand, how much does an Instagram story cost? Almost everyone today has an internet connection so in essence, it costs absolutely nothing.
• Convenience for customers
Not just the brands but even customers feel convenient scrolling through Instagram stories rather than standing for long durations in a crowded gathering.
Is it just the brands that can use it?
The answer is certainly a big no. Not just the companies but the influencers on Instagram see their opportunity with this new feature. Influencers can interact with their followers through the stories. This can be used to ask the opinions about the content being posted.
Even some movie stars and directors are using this interesting new sticker to interact with their audience. This has actually been used by the cast and crew of the movie “Deadpool 2” to answer some interesting fan questions. They first asked the questions and then replied to each one of them with an Instagram video story. After that, they even added it to the highlights on their page for people to see.
This new feature introduced in the Instagram stories has got a vast scope and a lot of potentials for the businesses and brands to use. It has come up as a promising new feature for the brands constantly looking for new interaction opportunities with the customers. Now it is on them to find new and innovative ways to exploit this promising new question sticker.
Not just the Question Sticker but there have also been other updates by Instagram which are presenting great business and interaction opportunities.