Gearing up for a big launch? Whether it’s a service, a new product, or an entire collection, facilitating a successful launch can be a daunting task. Priming your audience through organic social efforts can create major buzz, support early success, and launch with a bang. Meet the unsung hero, your new marketing best friend: the Instagram Story. We’re breaking down how best to use Instagram Stories to take your launch to the next level.

Think Ahead.

There is no magic formula for when to start teasing a launch, but giving yourself enough time to create buzz and excitement is crucial. Followers are like sales leads, the warmer the better.

Start by priming your audience, and keep your launch in mind with each piece of content you add to your story. Point to relevant topics and existing products or services you offer that are in line with what you’re planning to launch.

Use the built-in Story features to your advantage.

Instagram supplies excellent features and stickers you can utilize in your stories to leverage the opinion of your followers, encourage engagement, and make them feel like they have a hand in the upcoming launch.

Use the Question Sticker to ask your followers what they would want to see in a product! For example, if you’re a skincare company launching a new cleanser, ask your followers what they want to see in their ideal cleanser, and layer in some hype around the star ingredients that separate yours from the rest. If you’re launching a new line of water bottles, take a poll on potential color choices. Ask your audience to vote on the name, or to guess what they think the launch will be.

Use the Countdown Sticker to create a virtual reminder for your followers, and automate a reminder to those that engage with the Sticker.

The options are endless - but easy to utilize in the months, weeks, and days leading up to your launch.

Host a giveaway before launch to drive excitement and push exclusivity.

A giveaway is an excellent opportunity to create buzz around a product before it even launches. Create demand by emphasizing the limited quantity of your release, if it is a special launch. If you anticipate selling out quickly, set aside one or a few to give away to some lucky followers. Giveaways stoke out your audience, drive engagement, and create excitement even for those who do not win.

Host a Q&A right before launch to answer any questions for followers before they buy.

Followers are much more likely to purchase on launch day if they feel they’re educated on the product. A Q&A does the research for them, and will make them feel confident to purchase right away. This is also a great tool for cultivating community connection and brand loyalty, as followers feel like they’re heard and are receiving personal responses to their questions.

Strategize!

Build out your Story calendar on a cadence that ramps up to launch day and utilizes the different Story features strategically. Here is a sample calendar:

1 month out:

Start sharing content that builds demand for your product or service
Ask the questions that your product or service answers
Consider teasing a new product coming soon, use the Question or Quiz stickers to ask more open-ended questions and get your followers involved

2 weeks out:

Start to tease the product more specifically. Example: if your launch is not meant to be a surprise, begin teasing the product and its features. Educate on product features that require information to stand out from the pack.
Offer a discount code or early access to followers that sign up for your mailing list, and send either 24hr early access or the discount code along with product announcement to those that sign up (even if they are already on your list)
Use the Poll sticker to ask more specific questions, like color preferences

1 week out:

Start your countdown 1 week or a few days out from your launch, and repost the same Countdown sticker daily. Users that engage with the Countdown sticker will receive a notification when the Countdown expires, which means they will receive a push notification reminding them about your launch!
Consider reserving some product launching a Giveaway either ahead of launch to contribute to buzz, or after launch upon selling out if you anticipate a quick turn.
Seed product to influencers and instruct them to begin posting about the product with launch info in the days leading up to launch. Repost their stories and continue the buzz! This is important -- supply influencers with their own UTM to track their success, and create a pre-launch landing page that is specific to your new launch. Post-launch, have this landing page redirect to your PDP for any links that are still active.

Launch Day!

Use your Stories to direct traffic to your PDP. If you don’t have swipe-up capabilities, direct to your link in bio.
Post a series of curated stories to hype up your launch, with product information, testimonials, professional photo/video, etc.
Reward followers that post about your product with a repost.
Your launch day is here! Celebrate!

This sample calendar is not one size fits all, but outlines a suggested cadence for ramping up your IG Story strategy in preparation for a successful launch. Instagram Stories are a powerful tool - perfect for creating more personalized, fun, and engaging content to make it your most successful launch yet!