How to Use Instagram Stories to Promote New Episodes
Launching your podcast is the first big step of many. The second step, which is just as important, is reaching potential audiences on various platforms as often as you can. For instance, Instagram stories can be an amazing place to promote because it's easy to build excitement around your episode and get people over to it.
In this post, I will walk you through how I teach my clients to promote their podcast episodes on their stories. Going from the absolute bare minimum strategy to the best, most engaging one, these steps will ensure your episodes reach a wide range of listeners!
The Bare Minimum Strategy: Simple Sharing
The absolute bare minimum way of promoting may seem obvious but is noteworthy nevertheless. This strategy is taking a screenshot of your episode or using Spotify's "share to Instagram" button and putting it on your stories.
This is a quick little notification to your audience that you have a podcast and that an episode is live. You can add a link to the bottom to take them to a specific platform. All there is to do is set a reminder on your calendar to hit “share to stories”, which is why this is the bare minimum way of promotion; it is truly that easy.
This quick share is also a tactic that can keep your audience engaged, even if you do not have other content to post on stories. Share a new or old episode on your stories, and keep it moving.
So many podcasters don't even take the time to do this, so if you are just getting started, make sure this is the first promotion habit you tackle every single week.
Level Up: Text Slides with a Hook, Tease, and Link
If you want to go one step further but stay faceless, text slides are your next step. The formula is just hook, tease, and link the episode.
Let's say you talk about the importance of rest in one of your episodes. Take the following example of slides as a template for your own!
Slide 1: "Did you know there are seven types of rest? And sleep is just one of them!"
Slide 2: Tease four out of the seven types of rest.
Slide 3: "You can learn more about all 7 types and how you can incorporate them into your week in this episode," (link episode)
This formula opens up curiosity in your listener's mind. First, you primed them by starting with a question or other attention grabber. Next, you provided them with additional information to pique their interest, but there's still a gap in their knowledge that your episode can fill. This strategy may require you to experiment and try different hooks for the same episode throughout the week to see what gets people clicking the most.
Doing these simple three slides goes one step further than solely sharing the episode. It gives them a clear reason to want to listen.
Most Engaging: Face-to-Camera Stories
Finally, we're going to add some more to your promotion for the days you have more time and energy.
The most engaging way to promote your episodes on stories is face-to-face-to-camera stories with a hook and story.
Start by talking directly to your camera about something your ideal client is interested in. Dive into one of the analogies or stories you told in the episode, then let them know that you go in-depth about it in your episode that week.
The first few slides can begin with a genuine story, sharing what does not have to be related to your podcast. You can genuinely tell a story and share what you do as you normally would, but the key is to let them know there's a place where they can find even more.
For the episode this blog post is based on, I will most likely film a face-to-camera series following the structure below.
Slide 1: "Even on the days when you are the absolute busiest, there's still a way you can promote your podcast."
Slide 2: "You can simply go into Spotify and hit "share episode to stories."
Slide 3: "Now of course there are more engaging ways to promote your episodes, and I cover those in this week's episode of Visible with Isa Media Inc."
Slide 4: Link to Apple or Spotify with text saying "listen here."
Extra Engagement: Polls and Stickers
If you have more time and want to take it a step further, swap out your links for a poll or a sticker on your stories. You can say, "Tap this sticker if you want me to send you the episode to your DMs." Check the stories throughout the day and send the link to anyone who responds. This boosts your engagement and starts new conversations with your followers and listeners.
Final Thoughts
Promoting your podcast on stories is essential. Whether you’re pressed for time and can only share one slide or you can do a full face-to-camera sequence, make people aware that you have a show. Promote your episode on stories and tag me at @IsaMediaInc!
