Have you been asked by a brand to do an Instagram story takeover? Here are 8 tips to help you prep for your takeover!
One of my favorite brand collaborations I’ve ever done was takeover a brand’s account. It was also one of the most stressful brand collaborations because it was the first time, I had ever done it. I wasn’t sure how much content I needed to capture so I spent an entire day filming content for this takeover.
Even though I was so excited when the takeover went live on the brand’s account, I realized I could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I had known what to prepare ahead of time. If a brand has reached out to you for an Instagram story takeover and you aren’t sure what to do, this blog post is for you.
Tip 1: Before you start filming, get the brand’s requirements for the Instagram story takeover.
You can ask for the brand’s creative brief or you can ask your point of contact on brand’s team what type of information they want included in the takeover. If the brand doesn’t provide you with a list of requirements, we recommend asking the asking the brand.
Here are a few questions you can ask your brand partners – you can tailor these questions to make sense for the brand and the industry:
- What products and services does the brand want highlighted in the takeover?
- What processes does the brand want documented for the takeover?
- If you’re featuring a location, what exactly about the location does the brand want highlighted? Are there indoor or outdoor spaces the brand wants to showcase?
- What are the brand’s goals for the takeover?
- What is the timeline for the takeover? The timeline should factor in time it takes to get concepts approved, film the content, the brand to review it for approval, as well as time to promote the takeover.
Tip 2: Before you start filming, create a high-level script or story board for the Instagram takeover
After you have the brand’s requirements, you can start to plan your takeover. You can follow this super simple format if you’re planning a high-level script or story board for the first time:
- Slide or Frame 1: Introduce who you are and why you’re taking over the brand’s page today
- Frame 2: Share what you’re going to be sharing on the brand’s page
- Frame 3: Share point #1
- Frame 4: Share point #2
- Frame 5: Share point #3
- Frame 6: Recap the last 3 points
- Frame 7: Conclusion: Tell the brand’s audience thanks for following along and where to find you
I highly recommend getting this story board approved by the brand ahead of time.
Here is why:
- It will prevent re-work and re-filming.
- The brand and you will be on the same page on what type of content to capture for the takeover.
- You’ll go into filming more organized, and you know what content you need to capture.
Tip 3: If you have to get a script approved ahead of time, I recommend actually talking through your points and then writing out the script or your talking points out.
You’ll find that what words flow well when you say them aloud. And that way the brand also understands what points you’re going to cover during the takeover. If you’re writing a script or talking points for the first time, we recommend writing them out in:
- Power Point or Google Slides – that way you can see the flow and it’s easy to click and drag slides in order
- Microsoft Word or a Google Document – again, this is to help you make sure you have your talking points laid out
Tip 4: Have the brand provide you a list of the links of products featured + required hashtags
If the brand has already provided this in the creative brief, awesome you’re good to go. But if the brand hasn’t, I recommend reaching out to the brand to see if they want any products linked and what required hashtags, they want you to use.
Tip 5: After you’ve filmed, submit the assets in a shared folder – Google Drive or Dropbox or WeTransfer
Your brand partners need to approve your content before it can be published on their channel. I recommend emailing assets over using shared folders and labeling the video or frames in order to make it easy for your brand partners to review the content.
Tip 6: Promote the Instagram takeover before you go live
It’s so important to let your audience know that you’ve got an upcoming takeover coming. Get your audience excited by sharing your takeover date on your IG, Twitter, Clubhouse, and other social media channels. I recommend giving at least a week in advance (earlier if the brand has worked out the timeline ahead of time).
The day your takeover is published, I recommend continuing to promote the takeover. You can re-share the IG story frames in your account.
Tip 7: After your Instagram takeover, make sure you thank the brand for inviting you to be a part of their channel
You can also ask the brand how the takeover went for their channel. Typically, brands will look at their analytics to see if new people or even your audience went over to watch the takeover. Some metrics brands look for include:
- Impressions
- Reach
- Reply counts
- Completion rates
Tip 8: Add captions to your stories
You’ll create more inclusive content and there’s reports of 80-85% of people consuming video content without sound on Facebook/Instagram. There are apps like Threads that autogenerate captions. You can check out Later’s article on adding captions to your stories.
There you have it friends – 8 tips to prepare you for your next Instagram story takeover.
What other tips do you have for Instagram story takeovers?
For more Instagram tips, I recommend checking out:
8 March Content Ideas for Influencers and Content Creators
Influencer Myth: “Being an influencer isn’t a real job”
Thank you for reading!
Love,
Emma