Hugh Stephens September 20, 2020 Instagram can be so much fun, right?
Even just scrolling your feed, playing with filters, or creating animated images can keep you entertained for a long time.
But what if you’d want to take things to a whole new level? What if you’d like to have fun and engage your audience at the same time?
Well, then, you need to either join or, even better, create Instagram Games.
So, let’s look at everything you need to know about Instagram games and how to use them for your brand.
What are Instagram Games?
Instagram Games have become very popular lately as a fun way to beat social isolation and lockdowns. They are a cool way to virtually come together with your friends and have a good time.
But no, Instagram games aren’t actual games the company has created for your pleasure.
Think of them more like challenges that you can ask your friends or followers to complete.
For example, if you’ve used Instagram recently, then you must have come across at least one challenge that involves tagging five of your friends or sharing similar photos with your network.
@Run.For.Heroes were encouraging their supporters to run 5km, nominate five people, and donate £5. This is a fantastic idea to boost your engagement for a good cause.
That’s an Instagram game. It requires no additional software or any skills to run but an idea you can execute on the social platform.
As a matter of fact, Instagram even released a Challenges sticker on Stories to make it easier to create your challenge.
How to Create an Instagram Challenge
If you’re ready to create your first Challenge, here are the steps you need to follow.
- Open Instagram Stories
- Pick a photo that you want to share
- Choose the sticker icon from the top right of your screen
- Select the Challenges sticker
- Pick the hashtag and a challenge that you want to use
- Nominate your friends
Just like that, you’ve just created a new challenge.
But Instagram Games can help with more than just keeping you and your friends entertained. You can also use them to engage your brand’s audience.
Here’s how.
How to Use Instagram Games for Your Brand
First, let’s talk about how Games could help boost your Instagram marketing strategy.
And, as a matter of fact, there are three main benefits you can gain from creating them:
Boost Brand Awareness
Instagram Games can help get more people to notice your content.
For example, if you start by tagging your partners, they will continue the game and promote it to their followers. These people, in turn, will soon discover your content and your brand.
As with friends, tagging is a quick way to spread the word and make sharing effortless.
When it comes to your brand, it’s also smart to boost your brand affinity in a very playful manner.
Increase Engagement
The most obvious reason to create Instagram Games for your brand is to increase the audience’s engagement. Instagram Games make it even easier to engage with your followers and get them to interact with your brand.
Promote Your Product
Finally, with Games, you can boost engagement and brand affinity while also promoting the product at the same time.
For example, you can create Instagram Games that involve your brand and your products. Or you can ask for your followers to share fun photos with a specific product.
What Instagram Games or Challenges Could You Launch for the Brand?
Below, you’ll find several different ideas to help you explore new creative tactics for your Instagram strategy.
#1. Challenges
Challenges are very popular on Instagram and can be used both for the Feed and the Stories.
One example of a Challenge is asking the audience to share a different song every day. It’s a fun way to share your music tastes with your friends while sharing new Instagram posts every day.
Another example is a running challenge that takes place when you do a 5k run. In the challenge, you tag three of your friends to take upon the challenge, and you are waiting for them to complete it and nominate three more friends.
You can combine both the posts on your Feed and your Stories to boost your reach and engagement.
Mention Others
All Instagram Games are only successful because you involve others in them. The easiest way to keep them going across your friends is to start a challenge or a game by mentioning a few of your friends.
Many Instagram Games ask you to nominate one, three, or five of your friends who have to follow the instructions and then nominate more of their friends.
It may seem easy, but you also want to make sure that the challenge is exciting and relevant for as many people as possible.
TIP: Don’t add too many tasks and instructions, as this would make the concept harder to understand.
Pick a Song
Song challenges have been trending for a while on Instagram. Ever since the music sticker’s launch, it’s easier than ever to share your favorite songs in some sort of sequence.
For example, there are many templates for 30-day song challenges that ask you to share a different song every day.
If you join the challenge, you are expected to post a different song every day based on your mood, memories, etc.
Fill in the Gap
Many successful Instagram Games involve incomplete phrases and sentences. You can post a Story template for an Instagram Game and ask for your friends and followers to re-share it by completing the phrase.
For example, you can ask your audience to share their mood, thoughts, favorite vacation spots, or even help you with your latest brand campaign.
Asking your followers to share their answers as emojis is also a smart way to make your Story effortlessly engaging. Ensure that any sort of answer in your Instagram Game does not require too much thought or effort.
Play a Quiz
Quizzes can be straightforward yet engaging on Instagram. We’ve seen lots of Stories featuring games over the last few months that involve quizzes.
You must have seen a template about some sort of quarantine bingo.
There is a template with different activities or emotions, and you are asked to re-share it, marking the ones you relate with.
These ideas can make a good addition to your brand’s strategy to boost your engagement while your followers just love them.
Takeaway
All Instagram Games are both interactive and straightforward. There is an excellent opportunity for your brand to stand out while boosting the interaction with your followers.
If you’re ready to design your own Instagram Games, here are three tips to keep in mind.
Be engaging
Instagram Games should be engaging. It’s not enough to focus on the visuals if your content is not encouraging your followers to join the challenge.
Keep it simple
It’s very important to ask for simple actions in your Instagram Games. Asking for too many things can confuse your followers.
Aim for a straightforward design that will not paralyze your followers with too many options.
Be fun
Last but not least, always keep it fun. They are called Instagram Games for a reason. You want to create content that your followers will want to use on their own.
Good luck!
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