Journalist and professor Luis Assardo spent a week monitoring how various newsrooms in Latin America use Instagram Stories and has put together a list of tips in this article on IJNet.
"The most popular features in Instagram Stories’ are surveys and live broadcasts. Hashtags and locations tend to be less successful," he wrote, adding that the format is still worth experimenting with even if it doesn't always generate traffic back to the website.
If you are promoting a feature story on Instagram Stories, Assardo recommends adding your main asset (photo or video) in the middle of the story, as people are likely to drop off if the package contains a lot of images and videos.
For special events, use the platform's livestreaming function, but keep it short and consider launching separate streams if there are several moments you want to focus on, as this will send users notifications and likely draw more people in.
For more on how to make the most of Instagram and develop an effective strategy, check out our one-day training course led by former BBC journalist Sue Llewellyn.
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