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If you’re not making Stories on Instagram, you’re missing out. Let’s find out why? Over 500 million people use Instagram stories to post their content every single day. When it comes to business accounts, it becomes even more interesting.
“58% of people say they’ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in stories”. There’s more: “50% of people have visited a website to make a purchase after viewing the story”. And remember even when you see a significant decline in engagement rate for regular posts, story engagement stays high.
Now, it’s clear that Instagram stories are a must-have for social media marketing. But the question is: What should you put on your stories to engage your followers? What Instagram story ideas could make you stand out?
In this blog, we’ll list 30 top ideas for stories, from Instagram story ideas selfie to layout designs. Let’s jump in!
30 Top Instagram Story Ideas
Here, discover 30 top Instagram story ideas that get the most bang for your buck from the platform.
Cute Instagram story ideas
1# Share User-Generated Content (UGC)
Sharing user-generated content can be one of the cute Instagram Story ideas you need. Instagram makes this easy for you so you can add as many UGC stories as you want to your story.
If your customer, for example, a blogger, has a public profile and tags you in a story, you can share their story with yours with a single click. This usually works best as social proof, too.
To make this more fruitful, you can start a hashtag and ask your followers to use the hashtag when using your products.
2# Run a countdown
If you have an event coming up, like a product launch, Christmas, a sale, or more, nothing better than countdown stickers can engage your followers. When you set up a countdown over your story, you make sense of both excitement and urgency in your audiences.
Moreover, your followers can set up a reminder to get notified when the event starts. It’s important to note that after 24 hours (when your story expires), the countdown won’t stop. It will stop only the date you set for the event.
3# Instagram story ideas with showing your favorites
One of the other cute Instagram story ideas is to share part of your personal life with your followers. This way you’ll build a strong sense of rapport. So, keep a little distance from your working life.
For instance, you can share your moments when enjoying a vacation. This is also one of the best story ideas when bored.
4# Share follower DMs
To share responses from followers, you don’t necessarily need to utilize the question sticker. Simply take a screenshot of their direct messages to you and post it on your Instagram Story. This is one of the cute Instagram Story ideas to connect with your audience.
cool Instagram story ideas
5# The most engaging Instagram story ideas: post a tutorial
Sharing a short but clear and attractive tutorial is one of the cool Instagram story ideas. It might be anything like how to cook a tasty dish or how to do light makeup. To make the most of it, you need to be creative.
For example, use photos, videos, animations, and texts, and add stickers to make the slides. Remember to make your tutorial visually engaging.
Using photo editing or video editing software can help you build more eye-catching and professional videos so that your followers can reshare them.
#6 Uncover behind the scenes
Put the social in social media. Everyone enjoys seeing what’s going on behind the scenes. It is one of the cool Instagram Story ideas that give you the chance to connect with your community on a personal level.
Depending on your business, you can post different behind-the-scenes photos/videos on your stories. For example, if you run a restaurant or bar, is it smart to show your audience how you make things, What your restaurant space is like, and what your special dish, recipe, etc?
Read more: 12 Top Instagram content creation services to Use in 2021
#7 Promote a product
One of the best Instagram story ideas for businesses that are highly recommended is a product demo. If you own a business, you can showcase your new product and highlight its benefits.
If not, you can show off a product that you use on a daily basis. Let your audience see what it is and how to use it. This is a specific form of behind-the-scenes content that your audience will find interesting and useful.
#8 Do a poll or a quiz
Running Instagram polls turn out to be a great idea to engage your followers. You can ask them to send their feedback about a product or service. Plus, it’s quite simple and straightforward as it can be about anything.
Most people prefer to answer your questions fast rather than typing a response. Meanwhile, you can link to a specific product in that story.
Besides that, Instagram quiz stickers are another cute IG Story ideas to create engagement in a fun way. You can ask some questions about your brand or a specific feature of your products. This way people will have to read your post or story to answer the questions.
#9 Promote your latest blog post or podcast episode
If looking for new post story ideas, you can make a custom “New Post” or “New Episode” for all of your posts. This could help you increase your content engagement. Simply write the appropriate title on top of the graphic to keep it updated.
#10 Swipe up the link
If you already have 10K followers on Instagram, grab this to direct users to a website. However, AiGrow embeds a link in the bio tool that lets you add links to your stories without being verified.
#11 Promote your latest Instagram post
Are you looking for new post Instagram story ideas? Then, sharing your fresh post with a New Post Sticker might be one of the most effective IG Story ideas. Since people may not even come across your post, it serves best to drive traffic to your post.
One other Instagram story post ideas is to share your feed in a story. Then, cover it with a sticker to tempt people to view the post. It will help you boost your posts’ views, likes, and comments.
#12 Spotlight clients or team members
One of the best things to post on Instagram Story to connect with your audience (especially if you have a business) is showing them the people involved with your brand.
If you are a solopreneur, showcase your clients and customers. Share your customers’ reviews, comments, and likes, or add some of your clients’ testimonials to your stories.
In case you work with a team, spotlight your employees. There are countless topics you can discuss in employee spotlights such as company/team culture, employee engagement, accomplishment and success stories, employer testimonials, etc.
Plus, there are different ways companies can highlight their top employees including asking the right question, conducting mini/in-depth interviews, sharing your employee’s career path, giving insight into their day-to-day, and more.
#13 Feature other Instagram accounts
By shouting out other Instagram accounts, you and your audience are both set to win big. Your audience learns about another great product and a new brand, and they’ll promote your business on their social media accounts.
Bear in mind that you don’t need to limit shares to individuals, brands, and businesses you personally know. You can cross-promote accounts you love, influencers, or other leaders in your industry. It helps you build a relationship with that influencer.
Tip: Make sure you post content that is in line with your own values.
#14 Instagram story quotes
One of the simplest Instagram story text ideas is sharing a quote to your Instagram Story. It can be inspirational, thought-provoking, humorous, or a combination of all three!
You don’t need to worry about what quote to post on your IG story. As long as it fits your account’s niche and you think your followers will appreciate it, any quote can be used in your story.
Tip: One of the cool Instagram story ideas you can use to your advantage is posting a motivational quote in the morning with an incredibly popular hashtag like #morningmotivation.
Such popular hashtags help you increase your discoverability and your reach. Additionally, some of the quotes can complete Instagram story ideas selfies and make an astonishing story.
15# Promote a Live event
A great Instagram Story inspiration that can be considered free publicity for driving views to your Instagram Live is to upload a promo to your Instagram Story. It’s an excellent way to keep your followers up to date for upcoming lives.
Read more: Instagram Live Ideas
16# Host a contest
If you are looking for things to post on Instagram Story that literally drive engagement to your Instagram profile, contests are a great way. Request your followers leave a comment on your story, post their own story using your account’s hashtag, or like your most recent post. They all translate into more engagement.
Instagram giveaways are mostly about reaching out to more users and adding hashtags is one way to go about it. Instagram lets you add 10 hashtags but I suggest you add at least a hashtag or two. AiGrow allows its users to add hashtags to their Stories before scheduling them. Sign up for AiGrow.
#17 Story takeover
If you are wondering what new things to post on Instagram Story to boost your engagement, give Story Takeover a try. It means letting someone who doesn’t typically have access to your IG account post on it for a special period of time.
This can be a member of your staff, a coworker, or even an influencer you’ve hired to promote your IG account and ultimately your brand.
#18 Offer deals & discounts
People love discounts and offering one in your story is tempting enough. So, take advantage of Instagram stories and promote a big sale, holiday, or more. Add a direct link to your sales page to drive more views and boost your follower count.
#19 Instagram Story Ideas using IGTV
Needless to say, Instagram TV (IGTV) is Instagram’s standalone video app that allows users to create long-form videos. By connecting IGTV profiles to normal Instagram profiles, creators can give their audience a one-minute preview of their channel on Instagram story.
This way, they can share longer-form video content with their audience and promote their IGTV channels as well. However, it’s important to make high-quality videos to catch your followers’ attention. To make visually attractive IGTVs, you can use editing apps, such as:
- InShot
- CapCut
- Filmorago
- Adobe Premiere Rush
- Splice
#20 Before & After
One of the best things to post on Instagram Story to encourage users to use your product or service (if you are a brand) is to share before and after IG posts. A before-and-after Instagram post displays what something appears like before and after a change.
It doesn’t necessarily need to reveal how your product/service changed your client over time. It can cover a wide range of other reveals.
#21 Unboxing
Unboxing new things shipped to you is exciting, isn’t it? If you’re enthusiastic, your audience will be as well. So, make a video of you unboxing something you ordered.
#22 Start a series
Due to the fact that people like predictability, consistency is crucial on Instagram. Scheduling your content can be so beneficial since it helps you stick to your schedule and post your story on a daily or weekly basis. You may give your followers something specific to connect with your Instagram account by sharing a story series on a regular basis.
Tip: Remember to keep the content relevant.
# 23 Show your mood
This is one of the easiest Instagram Story ideas to share. This type of Story can be raw and human and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Not all days are alike. If you don’t feel like sharing your cool routine content on your Story, it’s perfectly ok.
On the other hand, it depends on your niche. For instance, in case you are a fitness coach, you are not supposed to come off lazy and moody.
#24 Promote your hashtag
One of the most beneficial Instagram Story ideas for brands is using Instagram Stories to develop their own hashtag.
Take, for example, @chriskubby, who has acquired a sizable Instagram following. Chris is pushing #kubbyklub an exclusive club open to all of his fans. Using this hashtag will undoubtedly catch his eye, and you’ll also be eligible to win a Kubby Cup.
These hashtags are typically used in post comments, but Stories are a great method to promote the hashtag and the campaign linked with it.
#25 Promote your other channels
Although Instagram is a popular social media platform, it is not the only one out there. So, if you haven’t started building a presence on other channels, then you’re missing out.
It would be a great idea to diversify even if you are not super active, mention your other accounts on different platforms from time to time.
#26 Share your location
adding a location sticker on Instagram, you can engage people with your environment. These stories will be shared in the feeds of those in the area, bringing in fresh viewers you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. This not only informs your followers about your location but also increases engagement. Posts with a location tag have a 79 percent higher engagement rate than posts without one.
#27 Show your workspace
Your followers definitely would like to see where you work. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. If your desk is messy and sloppy or rather on the clean side, let it be the way it is.
Instagram story question ideas
# 28 Ask and answer questions
You can score engagement by asking your audience questions that relate to you or literally anything. The question is just asked to strike up a conversation.
For example, you can make use of a question sticker to ask your questions or ask your followers to leave their questions as a comment on one of your photos so that you can answer them in your Stories.
It would be a good idea to take it one step further by creating a master video of answers and saving it to your Story highlights.
#29 Icebreaker games & questions
Another Instagram story inspiration you might be familiar with is icebreakers, such as Two Truths and a Lie and Would You Rather. Asking your audience, the same icebreaker questions and even doing the same icebreakers yourself gives you the opportunity to know your audience.
You can either do it on your own or ask your audience to share their answers in their Stories. Don’t forget to ask them to tag you in their Story.
#30 Ask for suggestions
If you have a problem you’re struggling with and you need an opinion, you can utilize Instagram Stories to get feedback and suggestions from your followers.
There are a variety of possible ways to easily collect their responses. You can ask them to respond to your Story and share their suggestions via direct messages, in a comment on a recent photo, or even using an Instagram story’s poll.
Discover some Instagram story ideas selfie
Although selfies are more usual for personal Instagram accounts, they look compelling to everyone. One important point is to share selfie stories relevant to your brand. For example, if you’re in the fitness field, putting your workout selfies could be motivating.
Here, we share some creative Instagram story ideas to add fun to your page.
- Selfie with your team member or coworker
- Selfie in front of your workplace
- Selfie in your showroom
- The view from your desk at work
Instagram Story Ideas FAQ
By now, you’ve learned a lot of Instagram stories ideas to make your followers stunned. Keep reading to find additional tips and frequently asked questions regarding the topic.
Q1: Can I set up multiple countdown stickers?
You can only use one countdown sticker for a story. It means that if you are going to run several events at the same time, you should put each event in separate stories and use the sticker for each of the events.
Q2: What are some ideas for sharing behind-the-scenes content on Instagram?
There are various opportunities you can share as BTSs in your stories. let’s take a look at some:
- It’s a fantastic idea to take your followers on a virtual tour of your workplace. Show them where the magic happens and highlight your tools.
- Product development from brainstorming sessions to designing could be interesting to your followers.
- Provide sneak peeks of your projects or products. Sharing images and short videos can trigger their curiosity.
- Also, show a typical working day in your workplace. Introduce team members and have fun conversations with them.
- Company events and celebrations are probably fascinating and catch your followers’ attention.
Q3: Can Instagram story layout ideas engage followers?
Sure. You’re not supposed to share only promotional stories every minute. This could be even boring for your followers. It’s recommended to get help from Instagram story collage ideas to make the environment appealing.
You can use Instagram’s built-in feature and share a few interesting pictures from your camera. They don’t have to be related to your niche.
You can also use handy editing apps for Instagram like Afterlight, Canva, Snapseed, Adobe Photoshop Express, and more. These apps provide you with a range of different Instagram story ideas for multiple photos. Learn how to edit Instagram posts after sharing.
Q4: What are Instagram story prompts?
Instagram story prompts are interactive and engaging ideas that encourage your followers to participate and interact with your Stories. They prompt your audience to respond, share their thoughts, and engage with your content. Some popular Instagram story prompts include:
- Polls
- Quiz
- Fill in the blank
- This or that
- Emoji Slider
- Flashback
- Tag a Friend
- Caption This
Q5: how do you get ideas for Instagram stories?
You can inspire from different sources to make your stories. One is sharing moments from your daily life such as routines or hobbies. You can also stay updated with the latest Instagram trends and adapt them to your content.
Another resource is your followers’ interests. Check their likes, comments, direct messages, and more to notice their favorites. Don’t underestimate the power of visual storytelling as it can improve your brand image.
Q6: Can I use aesthetic Instagram story ideas for business purposes?
Yes, it’s very engaging to perform Instagram story ideas aesthetically in your business. Aside from Instagram filters, you can try below ones:
- Color palette
- Typography focus
- Pattern play
- Texture backgrounds
- Soft pastels
- Light and shadows
Read more: How to Change Background Color on Instagram Story?
Conclusion
There’s no better time than now to start using Instagram story ideas to promote your business. Stories allow you to be extremely creative while also engaging your audience. They allow you to show a more human and authentic aspect of your brand, which is exactly what people want. Use Instagram ideas and sign up on AiGrow to your advantage and make your Instagram Story a great success.
