Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service that has existed since October 2012.
Over the years, Instagram has evolved, and that means, additional features and updates. In August 2016, Instagram rolled out stories, a feature that lets you post updates which disappear after 24 hours. Stories are a great way to share what’s happening in your day on the go.
You can share, text, video, images, stickers, and many other types of content on Instagram stories. Stories are very important for driving engagement to your account and hence increasing reach.
Instagram Stories Viewers
According to proven statistics, 500 million people view stories every day and users spend an average of 30 minutes on Instagram mostly viewing stories, compared to scrolling through the feed.
Instagram Stories Size
As you plan your Insta-stories content, it’s also important to note that Stories are of different size as compared to feed posts. Feed posts recommended size is 1080 by 1080 pixels (or aspect ratios 1:1) whereas Instagram stories recommended size is 1080 by 1920 pixels (or aspect ratio of 9:16).
If there is one thing Instagram wants, it’s you to keep people on Instagram for as long as you can. If you can do that, the algorithm will love you and show your account to more people, and hence you’ll start growing on the platform. But, do you know how to use Instagram stories?
Worry not, today I’m sharing 10 best Instagram story ideas that will explode your engagement on Instagram.
10 Best Instagram Story Ideas To Grow Your Instagram Account
- Daily Routines
Show your audience how you start or end your day. The best examples are morning workout routines and night skin care routines. Some people also showcase their daily ‘getting ready for work’ or ‘walking my dog’ routines.
People love stories because they don’t require a lot of preparation like feed photos and videos. Stories are more real and people love to see reality.
It’s not too late for you too. Think about something you do every day and film that for your IG stories each day. It could feed the dog, cooking or that game you play with your friends.
You can even share ‘before bed family prayer time,’ mute the video and add good visual stickers related to prayer.
Don’t think too much, there’s something you do every day, that could be great content for your followers.
2. Weekly series
Consistency is key. I know you’ve heard that a million times but it’s not about to change. Adopt a weekly series you can share with your audience each week.
It can be about anything, trust me anything. You might ask, who will listen to me?
Believe me, there is always someone watching (I almost gave up my blog because I thought no one read it, until an amazing person told me how much they loved my work and how much inspired them.)
Your weekly series can be under these already famous hashtags;
#MondayMotivation,
#TwoThingsTuesday or #TipTuesday
#WomanCrushWednesday (Yes, WCW is still a thing)
#ThankfulThursday,
#FeelGoodFriday,
#SelfCareSaturday,
#SocialSunday and so on.
You can pick inspiration from these hashtags and find something to talk about at least on one day of the week.
When people notice you do it every Wednesday at 6pm, they will wait to listen from you each week.
3. Question sticker feature
This is one of my favorites. Instagram stories allow you to engage with your followers by using this sticker.
I like to use this sticker for Ask Me Anything(AMA).
People ask lots of funny, weird, and personal questions, which can be hard to answer sometimes, but that’s where the fun is.
This sticker can help you double your engagement. How? You’ll get over 20 questions and all those 20 people will be waiting for an answer.
If you make a thirty-second video reply for each question, you will have each person spending at least 10 minutes on your stories, which is a lot of time to be on one person’s account.
4. Challenges
Engage your followers with challenges and you could tag some of your friends to join in.
#30Days Of Gratitude is not a bad idea. Post a picture or video of someone or something you are thankful for. You can also do self-care and self-love challenges.
Share journal prompts with your audience and share a page of what you note down at the end of the day, if it is not so personal.
Inspiring and relatable content prompts people to send Direct Messages (DMs) and share their own experiences too.
Just share, you never know you could start a global challenge and inspire millions of people around the world.
Make it as inspiring, and at the same time entertaining.
5. Poll and Quiz Stickers
Once in a while test your followers’ knowledge about different facts, life questions and other things.
You can make a quiz about a popular show that you enjoyed, you can ask people to guess your favorite color or food and so many others.
It’s not like there’s a prize to whoever gets the right answer but it’s satisfying to know that someone is paying attention to little details about you.
Besides, people love feeling smart when they get things right. Try Yes or No poll stickers and share the results after 24 hours elapse. You don’t have to worry, all stories that disappear are kept in your archive.
6. Tutorials
Anyone can teach and anyone is teachable.
Don’t take this for granted, because 2 out of 50 followers might need that lesson. Can you make chocolate-chip cookies? Can you paint a flower? Can you tie shoe laces in a cool way? Can you do a trendy braid style?
Most of these small things we ignore have the power to change someone’s life out there. With a world dominated by Do It Yourself (DIY) creators, there is nothing to be ignored.
Get recording and teach people how you do it. Add some background music to make the tutorial even better.
7. This or That Template
Are you a dog or cat person? Do you prefer coffee or tea? Are you a night owl or early bird?
These templates help you share facts about you in a fun way and also give your followers a little light into the kind of person you are.
There are people who will love you more just because you both have a cat, or love coffee or share any common interest.
This template is not on Instagram but you can download it from Canva here. Once you sign in to Canva, search for ‘This or that Instagram story.’ You will see several templates with different colors and themes.
Customize it to fit your personality and share on your stories, you can tag some friends and challenge them to do the same.
8. Music feature
Spice up your stories with a lovely soundtrack in the background.
Is it your friend’s birthday, add a lovely birthday song with her picture. This feature is so cool that it displays the lyrics and helps your message to be felt to the heart.
We all know music is therapeutic and most of us have playlists full of songs we first heard from social media.
Adding music to your stories also prompts people to message you with texts like, “Omg I love this song, “This is a beautiful song,” “Powerful message.”
So, try music on your stories today.
How to add music to add music to Instagram stories
To add music to your Instagram story, click the + button in the right corner of your Instagram profile page, then select story. Click the sticker icon at the top of the screen to reveal a list of stickers, select music and choose from the songs displayed on your screen, or enter a song title into the ‘search music’ bar to find the song you want.
It should be noted though that not every song is on Instagram music. Why? Because some musicians haven’t licensed their music with the social networking platform yet.
9. Go Live
Get out of your comfort zone and engage with your followers on a livestream. It doesn’t have to be about global warming, you could simply decide to talk about yourself.
Talk about a journey you have taken or your experience on a certain road trip.
You can make it more entertaining by adding a friend or even a stranger to share too.
Livestreams don’t need a lot of preparation. It’s okay to be as raw and real as you like. Do it your way and just have fun.
10. Use the countdown feature
Celebrate your upcoming events with your audience by sharing a countdown to not only excite or gear up your mood, but also make your followers feel like they are part of it.
You can invite them to be part of the event by streaming it live on your stories. This helps your audience feel valued and appreciated. I know I’d feel happy if I was invited to a party and could be part of it online.
Conclusion
And that’s it. There are so many ways to connect with people using Instagram stories and encourage engagement.
But, remember to be yourself, and treat your followers like actual people, because they are real people.
Answer their questions, reply to the comments, help with their problems if you can. It’s important to build genuine relationships and trust. That’s the foundation to long-term growth.
If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to share it with a friend who needs to see it too.
