How do you improve Instagram stories as a PM?

Clarifying the scenario

1. Do we have any review/ feedback, research, or sector, that we are focusing on? No in general
2. Do we have any data like usage drop, a particular feature not being used, or not working? No.

Company Goal

Connecting people using media like pictures, audio, and videos.

Setting up the product Goal

Instagram is one of the leading social media platforms with billions of users. Content is being created and viewed every second on Instagram. The content on Instagram gets so many views that it has become the favorite billboard for advertisers. Brands are collaborating with Celebrities and Social media influencers and promoting their products. The story is one of the features of Instagram, which also gets huge views. With all the filters, symbols, music, mentions, Instagram gives so much variety on content that viewers simply do not get bored. So acquisition is not a problem. Neither is adaption. We can only improve retention, something that can glue viewers for a longer time.

Target audience

There are two types of users. There are content creators and viewers. The more stories people create, the more people will spend time on stories. So our target audience will be content creators. They can vary from Celebrities to Instagram Influencers or people who post stories once in a while.

Pain points and their Solutions

1. Options to easily edit videos, reel, and live on the app itself. Instagram is constantly working on updating the features and video editing tools. And it needs constant improvement. This feature is for the users who post regular stories. I don’t use stories or reels much. Therefore, for this blog, I am not going deep on the exact features.
2. One of the lesser-used features of Instagram stories is the polling option. Currently, individuals can use polls, ratings, and ask questions on stories. And these have a very high engagement rate. I can add more poll options and move them up. Traditional market research methods are costly, and the response rates are low. Brands can do their market research on Instagram itself. This can be a game-changer.
3. Instagram can encourage celebrities and influencers to use the poll options more often to get better engagement.
4. Stories last for only 24 hours. But we can create memories from past stories. For example, you visited Red Fort and Chandni Chawk during Diwali last year and shared some stories. This year, at the same time, Instagram can suggest the previous stories to post again. That way people, who do not post stories regularly, can easily post stories.

Execution

1. I’ll shortlist a group of tech-savvy influencers and give them new edit options.
2. Shortlisted celebrities will get the polling options.

Metrics

1. How many people are engaging with the polls?
2. Which type of polls are used the most?
3. How many people are resharing the old stories?
4. How much engagement the reshared stories are getting?