The term "link in bio" has been used as a synonym for stories. Their popularity makes sense. This is a sign that you need to refresh your story ideas.
It's a great way to engage with your audience on social media. Stories can be posted throughout the day to stay on top of the news for your followers.
More opportunities to post gives you more chances to engage with your audience.
How often do you use Instagram Stories? 🤳
— Sprout Social (@SproutSocial) October 19, 2022
In this article, we will give you 39 engagingInstagram Story ideas to help spark more content ideas, without burning yourself out.
You can easily explore the entire section here.
39 Instagram story ideas to spark your creativity
There are so many opportunities when it comes to making stories. More than half of respondents in a recent poll said they used Stories to engage with their audience.
The key is to make people want to engage. Engagement is important when it comes to ranking stories.
The difference between being featured at the top of your followers feed or being pushed to the back of the line depends on how you get your audience to interact with your story.
You can use stickers and post up to five times a day in order to boost engagement. Content that your audience will want to engage with is the key to success. There are some story ideas that do this well.
Instagram story ideas for business
Create a “this or that”
These are a great way to engage with people. People are looking at what others voted for.
A Poll sticker is usually included in these stories so viewers can vote. They always feel fresh because of the infinite ways they can be used.
They can be used for research on products. This format was used by Rawson to better understand their customers.
Promote a discount with stickers
Stories are a great place to promote discounts. Keep your promotion top of mind by posting about it.
It's even better to have a link that will lead to your products.
You should include a discount code and call to action in your story, as well as a link sticker so that viewers can shop with your code right from your story. Including cute animals does help.
You can use the UTMs codes in your links to track sales through your story. This will help you prove your return on investment.
Countdown a product launch
There is a lot of hype surrounding a product drop or announcement. It's possible to enable a reminder when the timer is over so you know when to shop, check in and more.
The company with exclusive, limited vintage stock where you have to shop fast is attractive to Lost Girls Vintage.
Share your blog or article content
Driving people from a post to your profile is an extra step that can cost you readers.
You can use the link sticker to link to more information from your story. Sharing news about your company from other websites is also a good idea.
There is a highlight dedicated to stories with links to their website. It's useful for brands who use long-form content.
Tease your post to get the attention of your audience. A question is posed by a story. Link viewers to the post when they see more.
Use stickers to emphasize your content
A lot of things can be said about the term "sticker."
We are talking about cute graphic stickers like the one in the story. Adding emphasis and creating intrigue can be accomplished by using these.
Share a good review of your product
Customer reviews are important. 39% of consumers like to see testimonials from brands
Sharing reviews in your stories is a great way to build trust with potential buyers. That is a win-WIN.
Nuuly did a great job of saving these in a story highlight so that reviews of your products live on your profile.
Share your business plans for the day
Sharing your business plans or routine for the day is a great way to show off your work, but can also inspire others to change how they organize their day
If you or your company are a prominent name, stories like this give you a good look behind the curtain.
It's especially effective for companies that help professionals. This gives a behind the scenes moment.
Create shoppable stories
Making sales from your stories is a great way to make money on social media.
You can sell items directly from your story.
- Use a link sticker: As we mentioned, this will link viewers directly to your website.
- Use a shopping sticker: While a link sticker takes viewers off the platform, shopping stickers allow them to shop directly from Instagram, like Nisolo’s story below. To do this, you’ll need to set up Instagram Shopping.
Behind the scenes
Bringing your audience behind the scenes can make a difference.
This is a great way to bring your audience into your day-to-day life.
This is a behind the scenes photo shoot by Alice and Wonder. The Story highlights upcoming products in a non-promotional way.
Introduce your team
The faces behind a brand are important to people. It is important for companies to post about their employees on social media.
Share stories about your company culture with your employees. The options are endless.
Cute Instagram story ideas
Create a game
Stories that are popular are prioritized by the social network's algorithm.
Fun games encourage people to interact with your story. It is a win-WIN when they are entertained and you rack up engagement.
The game by Crumbl Cookies is a good example. The game requires viewers to stay on the screen or look at the screen in a different way. They follow this up with a sticker that viewers can use to guess.
Write a thank you for your followers
Fans take actions like engagement, followers and conversions. Without your audience, your account wouldn't be where it is.
Lost Girls Vintage did a great job of thanking them in their story when they achieved a new milestone.
Share uplifting or inspiring content
Sharing inspiring story content makes people happy. It's hyper-sharable.
Sharing inspiring quotes can be as easy as sharing inspiring content. Human stories of triumph can be shared. A former patient is raising money for the hospital in this story.
Include pets
Cute animals have a lot of power. When I was a social media manager at the Shedd Aquarium, there was nothing to say that a cute otter or penguin was going to be popular.
Pets add a cute factor to your stories. Is there a way to keep audiences coming back for the series? It's even better.
You can use user-generated content to feature your audience's pets in your story. Fans were encouraged to share their pets and information with Figo.
Throwback Thursday
Since the beginning of social media, Thursdays have been referred to as Throwback Thursdays. They're evergreen.
Every week, you will get a regular series to post. There are a few ways to make it even more clever.
- Show your storefront when you first got it
- Highlight your first office before your business took off
- Share the first version or blueprint of your product
- Showcase your art from a few years ago, vs today
- Share your pet when you first got them, vs now
- Highlight your space—whether that’s your home decor, desk setup or office—a few years ago vs now
- Show early brand content, like throwbacks to your original products or old campaigns and post styles
- If you’ve ever had a viral post, Throwback Thursdays are the perfect time to reshare it and give yourself a boost
Share your outfit of the day
Students showing their school pride and fans wearing the latest gear are some of the types of content that can be found in this type of content.
This is a great way to get into user-generated content. Share an outfit of the day from followers and fans who tag you in their stories. Remember to use a link or sticker if your product is featured in that content.
Share audience FAQs
Your audience will tell you what they want to hear.
You immediately have a foot in the door when you craft stories around audience questions.
Save them in a highlight. The same questions will be answered by your customer care and social media teams.
Instagram story question ideas
Ask followers’ their opinion on a topic
Putting their followers in the spotlight is a great way to show they value their followers.
You can use a question sticker to prompt follower responses. It is interactive user generated content.
Start an “ask me anything”
AAMA is a great way to engage with your audience.
The Shedd Aquarium audience always had questions about the animals, what it was like to work at the aquarium and more. Surprise and delight moments were created when photos or caretakers talked to them directly.
Audience questions can be asked using the question sticker. You can reply to their questions in another story.
Start a poll
Only after they vote can anyone see the results of the polls. This leads to more interest.
The goal of your polls is to gain audience insight. They can be used as a quiz to choose between true or false.
They can be enjoyable. Alice and Wonder created a poll to find out what people thought about Taylor Swift.
Start a prompt
There is a conga line of stories on the social media platform.
The new feature allows you to set a prompt on your story. Everyone who uses your prompt will share a photo, reshare the prompt and in turn inspire their followers to follow the trend.
Start your story with a photo or video related to the prompt you want to start. Write your prompt and share it with your friends after you add yours. When others add onto your prompt, you will be informed.
Start a quiz
There's a pop quiz. Did you know that there is a quiz sticker on the photo sharing website?
A quiz is a fun way to test your audience's knowledge. It's easy to make a quiz with the quiz sticker. Once someone guesses, it shows the correct answer.
They follow up their quiz with a call to action and also have a magazine style quiz results analysis at the end.
Instagram story layout ideas
Share an artistic collage
It's a good idea to think of your story as a visual catalog. It's a great trick for gift guides, lookbooks, mood boards and more to have multiple visuals at once.
The "Layout" option can be used to create these in the photo sharing app. You can include up to six images in a single story.
One way to get more creative is to use an app like Canva.
Use a photo editing tool to create a custom layout
Adding a little extra branding can be done by creating custom layout and templates.
Adler Planetarium's "Space News" series is a good example of a brand-specific story that should all visually tie together.
Story templates can be created with your design team. You can use an app like Canva.
Scheduling them is an added benefit of pre-made Story templates. Scheduling stories and posts ahead of time saves you time.
Add images from your Canva account.
Layer one photo on top of another
There is a sticker on your Story background that allows you to post a small photo.
You can choose from a variety of frame shapes.
Create a guide
The "story" element is in "Instagram Stories."
A step-by-step guide, explainer or list can be created. Tuft and Needle has a number of sleep and health tips in their stories.
It is possible to translate your longer-form content into a how-to or step-by-step guide. When you include a link to the full article or landing page, traffic to your site will be increased and there will be less work to be done.
Cool Instagram story ideas
Walk through how the product is made
Showing your audience how your product is made will give them a peek behind the curtain.
Showing how an art piece is painted, how clothing is made, how cakes are decorated and more brings viewers along for the ride and tells more of a story.
Use emoji sliders
It might be the most unique sticker on the market. They are simple and effective.
The interactive way for users to respond to questions is provided by these. You don't need to add a question or prompt to your sticker.
If you tap on the '+' sign at the end of the sticker, you will be able to choose from all the other options.
Share a fundraiser
If you want to express your brand's values by raising money for an organization or business you care about, starting a fundraiser on social media is a great way to do it. It is a great way to get involved onGivingTuesday.
You can tap the "Donation" sticker when creating your story. Pick the organization that you would like. You can see how much you have raised once you post.
Adding the "Support a Small Business" sticker is one step further.
Add your meta avatar
Adding some emotion to your stories can be done with the help of Metaavatars. You can use them onInstagram.
If you want to make a full page of reactions and expressions, you need to add the "add your Meta Avatar" sticker.
Share a trending meme
There would be no social media without meme. Where would we go?
Sharing a spin on a meme is a fun way to engage with the topic at hand.
Brand awareness can be boosted through audience shares if your Privacy settings allow it.
Show a before and after
This kind of content can be found on the social media platform. Your audience can transform your before into an after image with the tap of a finger.
Interior design, art pieces, home rehab, makeup, organization and hair styling are just a few topics that work well for before and after stories
Bring your audience along with you on your journey.
Instagram story birthday ideas
Do a birthday countdown
Your fans will want to celebrate with you even if you have a personal birthday coming up. It's a good idea to create some hype.
It's a good idea to use a sticker before your birthday to make you excited. It's possible for viewers to opt in for a reminder when the timer is complete, which can lead to a boost of engagement on the actual day.
It is always nice to have an extra incentive at the end of your count. Birthday products can be dropped or discounted to reward those following along.
Create a digital birthday card
Your birthday is celebrated with your friends. If you invite your followers to do the same, they will do it for you.
If the card includes a call to action or benefit, this tactic is even better. The first sip coffee created a birthday card story for their fans to read.
Add custom birthday hashtag
Fans are able to share their own user-generated content with the creation of a #. It's the same for a custom birthday #.
It's a good time to create a celebratory #. Encourage fans to use the # If you throw an event that you want people to attend and post about, this is helpful.
Add happy birthday music
Music has been added to content thanks to TikTok. This technique can be used to add a celebratory mood to your stories.
Birthday music can be added to your Story by selecting the Music sticker.
Instagram story selfie ideas
Use a filter promoting a new show or movie
The younger generation is very fond of augmented reality. The majority of Gen Z want to use augmented reality.
It's a good way to promote a new show or movie.
If you want to share an upcoming show or film with your audience, you can use this.
Selfie with a custom filter for your business
You don't need to rely on other things. It's possible to create your own.
You might want to create your own filters for events. Encourage people to use that filter in their stories.
No hands feature to do a dance
Outside of TikTok, there are dance trends. Unless someone else is filming, it can be hard to dance to a song.
It is possible to film yourself with the front-facing camera that has a timer before it begins filming.
Create and share your own engaging Instagram story ideas
There are a lot of story ideas on the social network. There are many ways to make engaging, tap-worthy stories.
It is possible to build engagement, increase audience interaction and even make sales. You don't need to do anything else.
This is your starting point. We have an article on how to weave your new stories into your marketing plan.
