Instagram tests new sticker for Stories: Event Invites

Event marketers, a new feature that Instagram is testing could take your event promotion to the next level.

Jane Manchun Wong, a reverse-engineer that tests features from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat, tweeted last week about the latest updates from Instagram. 

Instagram is working on Invites Sticker for events pic.twitter.com/CQ50u24oKk

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 12, 2019

The Invites sticker includes the event's title, date, and location, and would allow your followers to RSVP right from your Instagram story. 

Wong also linked to a video from Facebook executives Adam Mosseri and Andrew Bosworth that explains where this idea originated. High schoolers use “finstas,” also known as fake Instagram accounts, to promote parties to their close friends lists.

Check out the video:

This new feature, if released to the public, could benefit event marketers in several ways.

Potential benefits of the Invites sticker

As an inbound marketer, the most exciting part of this test for me is the potential to boost event registrations and conversion rates.

If you’re currently promoting an event on Instagram, you either need to include a link in the story that encourages followers to “swipe up” or you’ll need to include the link in your bio. Maybe it’s just me, but the “swipe up” method reminds me of an Instagram influencer selling their latest product, and the “link in bio” method limits your chances of someone actually clicking onto your profile. 

Let’s be honest, most of us don’t always follow through with those methods. 

The new RSVP button, which looks more like the call-to-action buttons we are used to seeing on websites, could simplify the event registration process and hopefully, increase overall registration metrics.  

Potential benefits of using close friends lists for events

Does your business have a list of customers that are true fans who could be seen as influencers for your brand?

If you do, you could create a close friend list of these top fans and send them exclusive event invites using the Invites sticker. Whether it’s a free webinar, Q and A session, or any other type of event that would benefit this group, you could send the Invite sticker to these top fans to give them an exclusive scoop. 

Kristen Harold, IMPACT’s director of demand generation, weighed in,

“While the addition of an invite sticker to Instagram Stories might seem like a small thing, it’s actually a huge benefit to event marketers. Can you currently promote an event on your brand’s Instagram Story? Yes. But what Instagram is offering with this sticker is a way to promote an event in a way that fits more seamlessly into a user’s existing Instagram behavior. On top of that, a brand can create more appeal to follow its profile by offering exclusive or early invitations to its followers.”

Since this Invite sticker feature hasn’t been released to the public yet, be on the lookout for it to be rolled out in the next few months!