Striving to become an Instagram influencer? Then you already know about Stories. Disappearing after 24 hours and appearing at the top of your followers’ feeds, they’re perfect for staying in touch with your core audience and fostering the type of engagement that helps attract brand deals.
But the well of Instagram Story ideas sometimes runs dry. Whether you’re newly growing a channel and unsure what to post or you’re a seasoned Instagrammer coming up empty after years producing user-generated content, when your creative juices feel stymied, it’s time for a shot of inspo.
1. Use the Countdown Timer.
This one plays right into the fleeting nature of Instagram Stories. Whenever you have new merchandise dropping, an event on the horizon, long-awaited content about to see the light of day, or anything else nearing the end of the pipeline, Insta’s countdown timer is a great visual asset to build anticipation and get followers ready for whatever you’re about to drop.
2. Create a tap-to-reveal Story.
Reveal stickers blur content until a user taps “reveal,” so they’re great for teasing the part of the brain that simply needs to see what’s hidden.
Consider this the ideal way to hint at upcoming content. Alternatively, you can keep things casual by revealing an outfit or before-and-after transformation. Either way, craft an irresistibly enticing caption to draw in followers.
3. Query your followers.
Allow followers to interact directly by adding emoji sliders, polls, quizzes, and stickers. The information gathered could help guide everything from new content ideas to merchandise decisions. Plus, this form of user interaction counts as engagement, which, in turn, makes the Instagram algorithm view your content favourably.
You could ask your followers to react to a selfie or trend, pick among potential content topics, answer thought-provoking questions you’ve had on your mind, or choose their favourite of two options.
4. Host a Q&A.
Here’s another way to encourage more engagement on Instagram that brings the added benefit of fresh Story ideas for the future: Get followers to ask questions via the Stories question sticker, and then answer them one by one in your subsequent Stories. These are well suited to save as highlights (which preserves Story content on your profile) since FAQs can be seen even after the 24-hour Story window has expired.
5. Do a flash giveaway.
Take advantage of the 24-hour window by offering a prize to selected followers, chosen from those who like, comment, or otherwise engage during that period. Prizes need not cost the Earth – they could be anything from a discount code to a personalised shoutout – but it’s a great incentive for followers to keep their eye on you.
6. Promote an exclusive discount.
Offering followers-only content will deepen feelings of community around your platform and foster an exciting sense of exclusivity. It’s an ideal way to reward followers who consistently engage while incentivising others to follow for future goodies.
“Post about the discount in your Instagram feed, but make people watch your Stories for the code,” recommends Michelle Martin, from social media marketing company Hootsuite.
7. Highlight a reply.
Instagram Stories are an engagement gold mine, and nothing makes audiences more eager to interact than having their own input highlighted for its value. Should a follower leave a particularly encouraging or insightful comment, tag you in a cool post, use one of your specific hashtags, or even drop you a mention in their Stories, repost that content.
8. Share behind-the-scenes footage.
You’d be surprised how interested followers are by everything that happens behind the posts. Satiate their curiosity and help them feel a closer connection with the community by using Stories to show alternative shots you didn’t post or a time-lapse of yourself creating new content.
9. Document your day.
Daily routine Stories are also popular. Take your audience on a journey through your day by snapping several shots or short videos throughout, adding captions, and combining them into a single Story. This is an especially good call when you’ve got an interesting day ahead – and even more so when it’s relevant to your audience.
10. Post a quick review.
Influencers often reserve product reviews for longer and more permanent posts, but that needn’t always be the case.
When you’ve picked up something relevant to your audience or simply a product with broad general appeal, a rapid video review or a few words can reward loyal followers with a quick impression. If a Story review performs well enough, you could use it as an idea for your next piece of long-form content.
Reward curiosity
Curiosity can kill your Story strategy if the followers who view your content aren’t adequately rewarded. Nobody likes being clickbaited. Whether it’s genuine behind-the-scenes footage (such as this setup vs. result post from Regina UGC) or a discount code that truly measures up to what was teased (such as this limited-time discount from influencer Sali Hughes), ensure that each Story follows through on what it promises.
Get creative
Instagram’s built-in tools make it easy to add some creative flair to your Stories in just seconds. Experiment a little to find your way around those editing features, or take cues from other creators.
Check out, for example, how Emma Cleary creates a cool Polaroid template or how Enrique Beli styles up a simple birthday message.
Allow sharing
You may doubt a Story’s ability to help you go viral on Instagram since they’re mostly geared toward existing followers, yet you can give followers the option to share your Story and potentially increase your number of Instagram followers in the process. Simply navigate to your privacy settings, select “Story,” and slide the option to allow sharing.
“The reason this update is such a big deal is that users now have the ability to share any publicly shared Story to their own Story, which will just naturally and immediately expand your reach,” says influencer Julia Broome.
Include music
“With the rise of platforms like TikTok, where music is central, Instagram has also seen an increase in the importance of music,” according to influencer storefront platform Creator Hero. Aside from mimicking TikTok, music helps evoke emotions in your audience, express your own feelings, and immediately hook followers. If you can’t find your chosen track in Instagram’s built-in music library, try an external editing tool such as InShot or Canva, through which you can add your own background music.