Once you post a story on Instagram, it only lasts 24 hours…but that’s enough in internet time. Ask any social media manager who accidentally posted something: every minute counts.
Every day, 500 million users access Instagram Stories. This means that Instagram stories are a great business opportunity (58% of users say they are more interested in a brand after they see them post a story, and stories make up a quarter of the total ad revenue on the platform) to earn some serious money.
Whether you use Instagram for your company or just for fun, stories are a key part of growing your audience. Posting a story is easy. But you don’t want viewers to just scroll through your stories — you want them to click a link button, answer your survey, maybe go to your Instagram store and indulge, or listen to your new song on Spotify.
Here are 32 Instagram story ideas you can copy and paste to create high-quality, effective content that will get you more views and engagement.
32 Instagram Stories Ideas That Will Get More Views and Engagement
Cute Ideas for Instagram Stories
1. Share a post in the feed with a New Post sticker.
You may notice that your stories get more views, likes, and overall engagement than your Instagram feed posts. Some users only view Instagram stories and don’t view their feeds at all.
To make sure your content still reaches these people, you can share new posts (or Instagram reels) to your story – ideally adding something like text or a sticker to make it more engaging. There are many New Mail stickers that sum up this action perfectly.
Source: @happybudsbrooklyn on Instagram
2. Hide new post with sticker
As in the previous case, you can use a sticker to hide a photo that you posted or shared in your feed. This creates an intriguing image that you want to click on and learn more – just like in a flip book.
Source: @gggraphicdesign on Instagram
3. Share user-generated content with a sticker
Life hack: You don’t even need to create your own content to post a cute Instagram story.
User-generated content, or user-generated content, is a rich source of engaging content for brands and creators alike. For example, a fashion blogger who takes a photo of a cool pair of shoes and then tags a shoe company has provided user-generated content for a shoe company. It only takes a second for a business to share a post, which is a welcome change from the polished, brand-generated content typically posted on a company’s Instagram.
This kind of content also shouldn’t be too pretty. After a user shared a photo taken in the IKEA Canada cafeteria and tagged it, the brand posted a post with a funny sticker. This is not the Scandinavian atmosphere that IKEA is famous for, but cheerful and sincere. It also acts as social proof, subtly letting followers know that other users love Ikea meatballs.
Source: @ikeacanada on Instagram
4. Take a survey
Asking your followers to vote or express their preference with a poll is a great way to engage them, and it’s easy to do with Instagram’s built-in poll sticker. If your survey mentions a product, you can link to that product in the same story.
Source: @cocokind on Instagram
5. Make a quiz about your content
Test your stalwart followers (and get valuable engagement) by using a quiz sticker and asking them questions about your brand. It’s a fun way for your audience to interact with you as a creator, and getting the question right gives us all a little serotonin boost, right?
For example, New York Magazine ran a quiz on one of its essays: to get the answers, you had to read the story. This is a great way to encourage subscribers to read this feature (and hopefully other posts on the website).
Source: @nymag on Instagram
6. Say thank you to your followers
Without your followers, you’re just screaming into the void (which is certainly the case, but it’s not really what we’re aiming for in terms of social media marketing). Show them some love by saying thank you through your story.
Source: @muchable.nl on Instagram
7. Share coupon code and link
Saving money is nice, right? Sharing a coupon code in your Instagram story as well as a direct link to this product gives followers an incredibly easy way to get a discount (and an incredibly easy way for you to get some cash).
Source: @florianlondonuk on Instagram
8. Share content that inspires you
Whether you’re a businessman or a creative, chances are you get inspiration from somewhere – a walk in the park, an indie song, a cool vase you’ve seen in the past, etc.
Sharing photos or videos about the things that make you (and make your brand, your brand) is an effective way to communicate authentic humanity to your followers. You are not a bot, prove it.
This fashion brand shared photos from the founder’s trip to the fabric store – it’s interesting to see behind the scenes, and not just the final product.
Source: @by.ihuoma on Instagram
Cool Ideas for Instagram Stories
9. Share a great product photo with a link to the product
Text, stickers, and emoji have their place, but there’s something to be said for a simple, clean, and high-quality photo. If you have a great photo of one of your products, just share it with a link to the product. Lightness screams cool.
Hint: Fill in the “text”field when adding a link to an Instagram story to replace the hyperlink. Instead of your website, the sticker might say something like “READ THIS”, “LEARN MORE”, or “BUY NOW”.
10. Share a beautiful photo with a tiny tag
As in the previous case, sharing a single not-so-high-quality photo can also be very attractive. Instagram has a lot of visual pollution – buttons, notifications, text, etc – and creating a moment of peace when users click on them.
Adding a tiny link or tag is cool too. Like a virtual Where’s Waldo.
Source: @savantvision on Instagram
11. Post an out of office message
When you’re going on vacation (you deserve it), you can let your followers know through your Instagram story. This is an opportunity to share a more personal side of your brand and show off a cool vacation photo.
Source: @mongeyceramics on Instagram
12. Share a photo from another Instagram account
It doesn’t always have to be about you. Sharing content from other accounts (with proper attribution, of course) will help you provide your followers with a more holistic experience and may even build good relationships with other creators.
Source: @ocin on Instagram
13. Use a simple interactive sticker
Different interactive stickers require different amounts of brain power (and overall effort) to interact with them. For example, a sticker with a question requires a lot of effort – the user thinks about the answer and types it. The poll is a bit lower since the user just needs to read the answers and click on one of them.
With a simple emoji sticker like the one below, it’s even easier to interact. It doesn’t provide much information to you as a creator, but it’s a fun and almost easy way for your audience to interact with you.
14. Countdown to an event
Instagram countdown stickers are interesting because they are dynamic – the clock changes every second. The countdown also creates a sense of urgency by encouraging your followers to get excited about the event.
15. Call specific clients
It’s good to ask permission before doing stuff like this (some people might not want to be publicly tagged), but calling on specific clients will help you connect with your audience.
This ceramist tagged the person who ordered a particular item in a progress photo, sharing an interesting behind-the-scenes look at her practice.
Source: @katpinoceramics on Instagram
Creative Ideas for Instagram Stories
16. Talk about a sale or special event
Everyone likes to feel like an insider, and giving your followers a little pre-event content helps get them going. A story like this doesn’t need to be polished: give your audience an authentic look at what kind of preparation your work requires.
For example, the owner of a vintage store filmed how he makes posters for an upcoming sale.
Source: @almahomevintage on Instagram
17. Announce the winner of the competition
Running an Instagram contest or giveaway is a great way to get followers, but you can also create an effective interaction when you announce the winners.
Posting the contest winner in your stories is good for two reasons. Firstly, it can help notify the winner of the contest that they have won, and secondly, it helps to prove the legitimacy of your contest to your subscribers. After all, how many contests have you entered and never received a response?
Non-winners (or people who did not compete in first place) are more likely to enter a future contest when they are reminded that there is, in fact, a winner.
18. Share positive feedback
You can advertise as much as you like, but nothing gets your business going like a positive review. Share one of them on your Instagram story to modestly show your followers how amazing you are.
Source: @michellechartrandphotography on Instagram
19. Show off your skills
If you’re in the creative industry, you can use a story sticker to showcase your skills. This works best if you have free time. (Participating in a pointless reality show? Perhaps now is the time to get down to business.)
For example, this artist has devoted some time to drawing his followers’ sentences, creating a truly captivating line of Instagram stories.
Source: @vaish.illustrates on Instagram
20. Share progress photos
Rome wasn’t built in a day, they say, and if the Romans had Instagram, you can bet they’d show pictures of progress. Posting multiple photos of the same item at different stages can be very convincing (as in this Porche illustrator story).
Question Ideas for Instagram Story
21. Ask followers for suggestions
Take advantage of your subscriber’s wealth of knowledge and connections by asking them for suggestions. It could be something related to your business or brand (“Which scented candle should I make next?”) or something personal (“Recommended by a hairdresser in Chicago?”).
In addition to gathering valuable information, this has the added bonus of making your followers feel that you appreciate their contributions – which of course you do.
Source: @yelpmsp on Instagram
22. Encourage followers to ask questions about your event
If you have an event coming up, in person or online, you can create buzz by asking your followers if they have any questions about it. It’s also an effective way to gauge how well you’re providing information (for example, if you get a lot of questions about what time it starts, you might want to check if you’ve made that information public first).
Source: @greyscollective on Instagram
23. Create a specific “ask me anything”
“Ask me anything”or “AMA”is often used when creators ask questions in their Instagram stories.
But such a broad inquiry may yield fewer answers. It’s better to be specific in your request. For example, this artist invited subscribers to ask his “Top Four Questions”, which encourages them to seriously think about the issue. (The 4 Best Dog Breeds? The 4 Best Pizza Toppings? The 4 Best Seasons?)
24. Ask anonymous questions or feedback
Full disclosure: The internet can be a very mean, very evil place, so make sure you’re in good mental health when you go on an Instagram question adventure like this.
With the new NGL app, you can add a question sticker that will allow anyone to post anonymously. This can be fun for your followers and can lead to some unexpected (and outright) feedback. It is also an opportunity for your audience to ask questions without judgment.
Source: @eunicechanphoto on Instagram
Instagram Story Layout Ideas
25. Share an aesthetic collage
Not every story you post needs to have an actionable component—in fact, posting too many stories with polls, question stickers, and links can tire your followers a little.
Break it up by posting a beautiful collage (photos of your brand, if you like, or even some pretty photos from your camera roll).
Source: @tofinosoapco on Instagram
26. Use a photo editing app to create a cool layout
There are thousands of photo editing apps designed specifically for Instagram. The options can be overwhelming (and expensive), but we’ve rounded up the best Instagram tools in a handy blog post.
27. Collect old posts under a new topic
Think of it like a short and dirty Instagram guide – you can share a bunch of your past content in a new theme for a fun, visually appealing story.
For example, Canada’s Drag Race shared past photos of drag queens on the theme of the elements (Au for the gold look, etc.).
Source: @canadasdragrace on Instagram
Instagram Story Design Ideas
28. Overlay one photo on top of another
By using a beautiful background photo and then selecting another image from your phone’s album to overlay it on top of it (do this by finding the Camera Roll sticker), you can have a two-in-one effect.
This is a great way to share tweets via Instagram – it’s much more interesting than just a screenshot.
Source: @thefilmscritic on Instagram.
29. Share Informative Graphics
Using Hootsuite’s free Instagram story templates, you can combine photos and text into beautiful graphics that convey valuable information to your followers (like what’s for breakfast).
Source: @thebeaulab on Instagram
30. Share multiple stories within the same topic
If you have a lot of photos you want to share, consider sharing them as separate stories rather than making a collage. The user experience is like flipping through a book – your subscribers have to turn the page (tap on the screen) to find out what’s next.
This vintage clothing brand showcased clothes that can be worn in four different ways, posting a separate story for each style. They’ve presented a quartet of cover stories, which is an easy way to make it easier for your followers to tell the story you’re building.
Source: @shop.lovefool on Instagram
31. Use emoji to suggest going to the next slide
An emoticon or sticker pointing to the right is a useful hint to users that there is something else in the store. This is a good strategy to use if you have a lot of information to convey in your stories. It’s best to share information in small chunks so your stories don’t get overwhelmed.
Source: @poshmarkcanada on Instagram
32. Share one photo with educational text
This is a great way to share digestible information with your followers. It’s simple and straightforward, so it’s pleasing to the eye. Choose one photo and accompany it with a few sentences.
If the message you want to convey is too long, use multiple photos as separate stories so the viewer has to scroll to read – that’s exactly what Patagonia does with this story.
Source: @patagonia on instagram