How to use Instagram stickers to boost engagement

Regular users of Instagram will be familiar with the lure of Instagram stories. So, it may come as no surprise that Instagram stories have increased the amount of time spent on Instagram to more than 28 minutes. With 500 million users each day, this is an audience not to be missed. Instagram stickers can be added to your stories and will enhance engagement with your non-profit; here we will explore the best Instagram stickers to utilise in your non-profit marketing.

What is an Instagram sticker?

An Instagram sticker does what it says on the tin! It’s a graphic design element that can be applied to Instagram stories. Stickers inject personality into your stories and make your business more discoverable. One out of three of the most viewed Instagram stories come from business accounts – so your non-profit must optimise its stories to stand out from the crowd. Applying stickers to your stories should become routine, as they boost engagement, brand awareness and can increase traffic to your website.

There is a large catalogue of stickers on Instagram however, those with interactive elements are the most useful when driving engagement. We will highlight the top Instagram stickers to use in your non-profit marketing.

Donate sticker

The donate sticker is the number one sticker for non-profits. It’s now easier than ever to grow your contributions. By handing a donate button directly to your audience, they can give to your organisation with a few quick clicks – making donating as accessible as possible. There’s no need to worry about transaction fees since 100% of the proceeds will go straight to your non-profit.

Once a follower donates, they receive an ‘I donated’ sticker that they can use on their own stories. This will further your reach and begin a chain of brand awareness, and more donations! Remember to use the donate sticker carefully; you don’t want to appear pushy

so it’s best to disperse it within your content strategy. Monitor your donations through Instagram and post the donate sticker when you need another boost in engagement.

It’s important to note that Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours. With this in mind, it’s recommended that you create an Instagram story highlight for donations on your page. This feature will allow interested visitors to your account to easily view your fundraising story, with no time constraints. By providing numerous donation methods, you are giving your non-profit the best chance of increasing contributions.

Countdown sticker

The countdown sticker is the perfect choice if you are looking to build traction with fundraising events or launches. Simply set a date and time, and the sticker will show a live countdown to the occasion. Followers can subscribe to the countdown to be reminded when the time is up. Not only will this sticker remind your audience of upcoming events, but it will also lead to a surge in engagement.

You could create a buzz around your brand by creating a countdown to a surprise such as a special promotion or new store reveal. The swipe up feature on Instagram stories goes hand in hand with the countdown sticker. For example, you may have a countdown to a virtual event; once this goes live, a swipe up link will direct your audience straight to the action.

Location sticker

If your non-profit has a physical location, this is a handy Instagram sticker to use. When you tag a location, your story will appear in the public stories feed for that location. This makes your non-profit discoverable to people who do not follow you and has the potential to

widen your audience. As a result, engagement should increase because interactions with your story are not limited to your followers.

In addition to boosting brand awareness and discoverability, traffic to both your offline store and online website should rise. The location sticker also works well with the countdown sticker. Don’t be afraid to use multiple stickers in a post! You may wish to combine these stickers when counting down to a location-based event such as a fundraising fun run.

Make sure that you are strategic with the locations that you tag. If you tag a large area, your post may get lost in the feed. Try to be as specific as possible; this will attract an audience who are more likely to convert since the location is highly relevant to them.

Question sticker

The question sticker is very versatile. If you want to acquire real-time feedback from your followers and humanise your brand, this sticker is the best option for you. Simply insert this sticker and caption it to your liking.

To gain tailored feedback, an example of a caption could be ‘what is the next event that you would like to see from us?’. Alternatively, use a broad caption like ‘ask away’ to open the floor to your followers to steer the conversation. You may wish to schedule a Q & A session on your stories around a specific theme (the countdown feature would work well with this). For non-profits, this theme could be around recent work the organisation has done to help their cause.

The question sticker can give you an insight into your audience’s preferences and behaviours. Asking questions such as ‘what content do you want to see more of?’ will heighten engagement and help your organisation adapt its marketing strategy to maximise success.

Poll sticker

Although the question sticker is useful for securing detailed insights, you may be looking for a quick metric to understand the views of your followers. This is where the poll sticker comes to mind.

Customise your poll question and the two response options. Your non-profit could ask for feedback on a variety of opinions such as: ‘would you prefer for us to communicate with you over email or text?’, ‘would you prefer our Instagram live to be scheduled in the morning or evening?’. Getting your audience involved in this decision making creates a sense of community and will definitely drive engagement.

There are many functions to the poll sticker. As well as gaining feedback, you could educate your audience about your non-profit in a fun way by creating a quiz over a series of stories. On the final quiz story, include a swipe up link to your website where followers can find out more. In turn, traffic will increase alongside the opportunity to raise donations!

HubSpot for Instagram

Although Instagram stories cannot yet be scheduled through HubSpot, the HubSpot Instagram integration allows you to post to Instagram via desktop. This collaboration makes your marketing activities a whole lot easier. Schedule your Instagram posts in advance via HubSpot and let the software do the work. After monitoring your marketing metrics, you can easily adapt your posting schedule to improve your engagement further.

HubSpot’s social reporting tool enables you to compare your Instagram success with your other social media platforms. This overview will allow you to manage your strategy to deliver the best results. The best part is that HubSpot will log the performance of your posts no matter where you posted them – giving you the freedom to post on the go and still benefit from HubSpot’s help.