Instagram Stories are a constantly and rapidly changing part of the app. From time to time, Instagram users can take advantage of new features that are released and introduced. With each update, Instagram uploads its own story showcasing new features and possible ways to use them - all the features, such as filters and stickers, are exactly what you need to create an interesting and engaging Instagram story!
Instagram wants to help addicts
In this article, you will learn not only how to create an Instagram story, but also how to make it interesting for your followers.
What are Instagram stories?
Stories allow you to download videos, photos, and even photos and videos stored on your smartphone that play a representation of you to everyone you follow at the top of Instagram. Stories last only 24 hours and after this time they disappear. There is no limit to the number of stories you can share, but I suggest you don't bombard people too much (ie: 50 is overkill), lest you tell yourself it's useless.
Why use Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories are simple. They're easy to download, view and interact with those you follow. Get a realistic, often unfiltered, view of your friends and accounts you like. If you post to Stories, you get a direct link to those who follow you. It gives you a way to explain your content, share behind the scenes, tell a story and build your brand.
I think video is one of the most important ways to connect with your audience and Instagram provides a connection point for that. It's also a lot of fun.
The benefits of Instagram stories.
As the name implies, the story tells a story. With a few photos and short videos, the story allows you to tell a story (that of a brand, your company, etc.), like when you organize your vacation photos into an album.
To keep the audience's attention from start to finish on your Instagram Stories, your story must make sense. We must have the impression of being with you, of living in the moment. And for your Stories, try to add something to your Instagram feed or MyStory Snapchat, don't post (exactly) the same thing.
If we were to summarize the top 3 assets of Instagram Stories:
- Receive new subscribers: fun, original and engaging stories can inspire users to sign up for your account.
- Generate traffic to your Instagram account: if your story sparks a user's interest, they will go to your newsfeed where posts remain (whereas Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours). In the long run, your story will allow you to get more Likes on your Instagram posts. They allow you to discover the brand or company from another angle: the backstage of a collection, the little hands who design the products, etc. In this way, Stories add value to your Instagram account and can inspire renewed interest from your followers. They will be tempted to know more, go check out your account, like and comment on your posts.
- Appear at the top of your subscribers' newsfeed results - Instagram Stories increase engagement and improve your chances of appearing at the top of newsfeed results.
What are the content differences between Stories and Instagram account posts?
The message: many businesses are taking advantage of the ephemerality of the story to announce a near-immediate event with a limited duration:
- announce the start of a course (e.g., gym).
- offer private sales, exceptional discounts in a short period of time. In these cases, the publication will focus more on the message to be communicated than on the quality of the visual.
Text should not be used in the same way in Instagram posts and stories. The experience offered by the brand through the story, thanks to the succession of images and videos, should not be confused too much with the text. Longer text will have more space in the account post description.
Limit the use of text to brief information:
- product reference
- exceptional hours
- coupon code, etc.
The choice of text (color, size, line spacing) should be consistent with the visual identity of the brand. Music is also an important part of stories if it plays a vital role in your brand strategy.
How to simply create an Instagram story
To share a photo or video with your story from your mobile device in the Instagram app:
- Tap at the top left of the screen (the camera icon).
- Choose to take a photo or upload a photo or video from your gallery.
- After taking or selecting a photo or video from your library, you can tap on the top right to add text.
- Also at this stage you can customize your story to make it unique and interesting (follow the next step).
- When you are done, tap Add to your news feed to share the story.
- More details are available on the Instagram website.
How to make your story interesting -Best tips.
Always choose the same text colors (maximum 3) to write or draw. You can select colors from the 27 available. If you press and hold a color, you will access the color palette.
For the content of each story, make sure you have a beginning, a middle and an end. If you can't imagine a story, feel free to make a storyboard on paper. Don't forget that your story is meant to entertain, discover and inspire users.
Even if you're not comfortable with videos, it's easy to create great videos.
Quality over quantity! Your stories should reflect your strategy and be thoughtful. In general, they pick up/respond to what you just published in your newsfeed (provide more information). This brings details, additional information to your message.
A story should be no longer than 1 minute, but should be as brief as possible. Don't try at all costs to make 10 second videos, very short content doesn't work very well.
Use a different font
Gone are the days when you could only choose one font. Instagram offers several new fonts: neon, typewriter, modern and strong, which give life and personality to your story!
US. US GIFS
Give your story some movement! GIFs are a fun way to add life and charm to any story or event. Scroll up and click on GIF and search for Giphy to create a perfect story.
Use stickers and filters to add interest
Once you've chosen your video or photo, add it using the icons on the top right. The first is stickers: here you can include hashtags and your location to increase the likelihood that others will find your story or choose from other stickers, such as emojis, selfies or days of the week.
When you have chosen your sticker, drag it to adjust its position and use two fingers to rotate and resize it. Touch and hold the sticker, then tap Pin to stick it in a fixed position on your video.
Create polls
To create a poll, tap the sticker icon (the square with the face) at the top of the story screen and select the poll sticker option. It's an interesting way to interact with your followers and generate interest in an event or topic.
Change the font or pen size.
When adding text or wanting to use pen features in Instagram Stories, these tools are displayed based on the size or magnitude of the video. It's easy to track what you're looking for on Instagram, but sometimes it can be helpful to shrink the text to better fit the screen or change the pen size to achieve the artistic style you want.
Turn photos into videos
Pictures play for about 7 seconds on Instagram Stories. However, videos can play for up to 15 seconds. If you want to keep the text or image on the screen longer, create your own image and turn it into a video. You can add music or animation to make your video stand out even more.
There are many tips that make your Instagram experience more enjoyable. Knowing how to post cool stories is part of that, I hope I helped you enjoy Instagram Stories like a pro!
You must share the story on Instagram.
For about a year now, you've been able to share stories with your friends on Direct. Now you have new ways to share the stories you enjoy, whether it's about a trip or Stella, your best friend's cat.
It's as easy to share a story on Direct as it is to share a post from your newsfeed. When you find a story you want to share, tap the Live icon in the lower right corner, select a friend or group to share and tap send.
When someone shares a story with you, it appears in your Direct inbox. When the original story disappears from the app, it means it is no longer available.
If you prefer that others can't share your story in Direct, you can always disable this option in your story settings. If your account is private, only your subscribers can see your stories on Direct.
Since its launch in 2016, Instagram Stories have quickly become a way to build stronger relationships with the people, interests and brands you care about. Now it's even easier to share your favorite moments from everyday life.
6 simple apps to create the best original Instagram stories.
1) Adobe Spark Publishing.
The Adobe Spark Post online tool also has a free mobile app (only available on iOS) for creating animated effects on photos and videos. Simply select the "Instagram Story" template to start creating high-quality graphics.
Very complete, the tool gives you the ability to customize the font, color, shape and style of the text. You can start with your photo or select one from its image bank. Finally, know that Adobe Spark Post features a wide variety of animations to bring your story to life.
2) PocketVideo
The free video editing app PocketVideo is available on iOS and Android. The tool doesn't have an Instagram-specific template, you just choose "Snapchat Story." The format is similar to Instagram Stories.
Very intuitive, the app offers the possibility to create content with text or interactive images. You can then save your project to integrate it into your future story.
3) InShot
The free InShot app (available on iOS and Android) can convert a horizontal video to vertical format (9:16 aspect ratio).The advantage? You can offer high-quality videos in your Stories. With this app you will save the processing time of your videos, without losing image quality.
4) Filmmaker
Only available on iOS, Filmmaker Pro is a very powerful app. You can add text, in different formats, resize your videos, apply filters or add sounds to all your movies. The tool incorporates many fonts and writing styles so you can get your message across.
5) GIFX
GIFs add a touch of dynamism to your stories. Remember to incorporate one from time to time if your editorial line lends itself to them. With the GIF X app, available on iOS, you'll have several possibilities. First, you'll be able to select an animation from the library of tools, to reuse it as is or to customize it.
It is also possible to create your own GIF. From an image of your choice, GIF X lets you add animated images, text, shapes and more.
6) PicPlayPost
PicPlayPost, available on iOS and Android, can sublimate your stories. You'll have a choice of different formats (gif, collage or animation) to develop a captivating story for your subscribers. You can create dynamic transitions and even transform your panoramas into different vertical views. Finally, this app allows you to add music to your stories - to stand out from your competitors and offer a new experience to your subscribers!
How to share an Instagram post in your story?Not long ago, Instagram allowed all users of their app to share posts from their own account or from other people/brands in their Stories. Since then, this feature has become popular, with over 300 million users using it every day.
In this article, I will first explain how to share an Instagram post in your story and tell you about the different marketing uses with this novelty.
How to share the publication in your story?
The method to follow is very simple:
- click on the small paper airplane at the bottom of each publication / publication.
- then click on "Add a post to your story."
And that's it!
Of course, you can change the background color, resize, reposition and rotate the photo / video post. You can also use the drawing tools, add text and stickers.
Any content shared in a story will include a link to the original post and mention the author.
Only posts from public Instagram accounts will have their posts shared in Stories. If your account is public but you don't want your posts to be published in Stories, you can change this in your app settings.
Many influencers and brands already use Stories to give more visibility to specific posts. Therefore, this update is very welcome for all these users, especially thanks to the link that redirects to the post in question.
A concrete example of the advantage of this new option materializes when it comes to organizing polls. These are organized almost exclusively through the permanent publication, but should be continually promoted to encourage Stories viewers to participate.
Read more:
- How to put multiple photos in an Instagram Story
- How to put a GIF in your Instagram Story.
- How to insert GIFs in Google Slideshows
- Why can't I share Instagram posts in my Stories?
- How to see who saved your Instagram posts
