What Is a Story Gap and How Can You Boost Your Reach With It?

So stories have amazing reach, right?

Well, yes.  But like most other content on Instagram, if people aren’t actually engaging/ watching and just clicking “next” on your story or exiting it entirely, your entire story will get shown to less people and therefore reduce your overall reach.

But This Instagram Guru Said…

It seems that your story will get more reach if you have a gap for 24 hours before posting that story.  I know that all of the Instagram gurus out there are telling you to post stories daily because it will up your general visibility and reach (I used to say this too), but we must keep in mind that the algorithm changes quickly. Even two weeks after an Instagram Guru’s video gets uploaded, it may already contain outdated information.  This isn’t the guru’s fault, since the information was accurate at the time.

Blaming an Instagram guru for contradicting themselves over time would be like blaming a news anchor for saying that something was happening yesterday, but it’s not today. They aren’t lying, they’re just reporting the news.

So, with the ever-changing Instagram algorithm, we too must be flexible and constantly change our strategy when something more effective comes along or when something that used to work well becomes inefficient.

How to Use Story Gaps

First of all, when you post or share something to your story, make sure that it’s something that your followers will care about.  This’ll help to boost your overall story reach if people aren’t exiting your story quickly, or seeing like thirty little bars above your story and thinking to themselves “ain’t nobody got time for that.” Put yourself in your follower’s shoes. What would you care about and what would keep your attention without overwhelming you and making you feel like you’d have to devote an entire afternoon to watching someone’s story?

Now, what exactly does a story gap look like?  Well, before you post a big announcement or a story that you want to be seen by as many eyes as possible, you need to not post anything to your story for 24 hours before that.  Yep, that’s it.

So far, this method has been working for me to gain more reach for stories that are posted after a 24-hour period of virtual silence.

Have you used story gaps in your Instagram Strategy? Let me know in a comment!

Also, if you’d like help with building an Instagram strategy to boost your reach and get your brand out there, make sure to check out my strategy sessions.

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