Instagram Stories: 20 Ideas to Unlock Your Editorial Line

Over 500 million people post Instagram Stories every day! According to Instagram, 62% of users surveyed said they became more interested in a brand or product after watching an Instagram story.

And 1 in 3 of the most viewed stories are from business accounts. Instagram stories represent a huge opportunity for all brands. They’re fun, engaging and you don’t have to worry too much about a perfect picture because they disappear after 24 hours! But what should you post on Instagram stories? Here are 20 Instagram story ideas to use when you feel stuck!

We like to schedule Instagram Stories in advance to stay consistent and continue to engage our clients’ audiences and we highly recommend that you do the same. You’re busy, you probably don’t have time to go out of your way to post an Instagram story every day.

You might be thinking, “Great, here’s even more content for me to imagine, produce, and program. 😕 What the hell am I supposed to post? No need to exhaust yourself on the brainstorming part. Your Boots & Cats friends are taking care of you. Next time you’re feeling stuck, try one of these 20 Instagram story ideas!

Promote your latest blog post or podcast episode

If you post content regularly, stories are a great place to promote it! You can create a custom “New Article” or “New Episode” visual and use it for each story. Just type the right title into your visual to keep it up to date.

Promote your latest Instagram post

So many people are checking out stories these days, so why not try bringing them back to your Instagram page to increase your reach a bit? You can share your latest Instagram post to your stories. If you want people who view your story to see and like it in your feed, you can use a sticker to hide part of it to increase your followers’ curiosity and encourage them to click through to see the full post on your feed. account.

Answer frequently asked questions

Are you constantly being asked the same questions about your product or service? Be proactive/proactive and respond to them in your stories. You can do this in a video or by creating visuals with these FAQs and their answers.

give advice

You have the expertise, don’t be shy, show it! Share expert advice or tips and tricks regularly with your audience. #AstuceDuTuesday, it’s not bad, huh?

ask questions

Instagram launched the “question” sticker in 2018 which makes it easy and fun to interact with your audience. You can ask your audience a question and then share the answers in your stories. It is the ideal solution if you want to know more about your audience and carry out market research.

Organize an AMA (Ask Me Anything)

You can also use the questions sticker to encourage users to ask you… questions! You can then use your stories to share responses with everyone.

Do a tutorial

Rather than posting a static story or two with a tip, you can make a longer video showing your audience how you do something. Whether you’re explaining on camera how you get invited on podcasts or explaining to your audience how you cook dinner, a tutorial is a fantastic way to showcase your expertise.

Submit a demo of your product

You can also demonstrate how to use your product in your stories. And you don’t even have to sell a physical product for that! If there’s a product you use every day that helps your business run smoothly, show your audience what it is and how you use it.

Organize a quiz

Instagram quiz stickers are an awesome feature for marketers, it has so many different uses! You can take a quiz about your industry like Digital Marketer. You can also use the Instagram quiz sticker to highlight popular services, upcoming sales, or your brand story.

Share a quiz (and encourage your followers to do the same!)

If you want to engage your audience, get feedback from your customers, and expand your reach, share quizzes with your audience. You can create quiz graphics in Canva or your favorite design tool . Then encourage your audience to screenshot the post, share it in their stories with their replies, and tag you.

Highlight a client or someone on your team

People connect with other people. If you want people to connect with your brand, you need to show them the people involved ! Put your employees in the spotlight and share a bit of who they are and what they like.

Promote another Insta account

And you don’t even have to limit yourself to people you know personally, either. You can highlight people you like, influencers or key people in your industry. Letting people know you admire them not only introduces your audience to new thought leaders, but can help build a relationship with that person.

Share opinions or testimonials

People are singing your praises and telling you they love you from all over the internet? Do not be shy ! Share all that love with your audience.

Share inspirational quotes

Who doesn’t love a little inspiration? Give your followers a little motivation with your favorite quotes. If you want a quick-and-dirty solution, change your story’s background color to match your brand and type or copy-paste your quote over it!

Recycle excerpts from your newsletter

If you are trying to increase the number of subscribers to your newsletter, then this idea is for you! Share an excerpt with your audience. It can be a crisp phrase, a fun GIF, or an exciting headline.

Take a poll

Instagram’s poll feature is one of its most useful story features! You can poll your audience on a lot of things. You can use it to get to know your users better, like deciding what your next podcast episode will be about, or you can use it just for fun, like asking your audience if a member of your team should keep their beard. , as did Leadpages.

Share UGC (User Generated Content)

Why create content yourself when someone else can do it for you? We’re obviously joking, but we’re still serious about using UGC, in other words, user-generated, branded content for your Instagram stories. In fact, you should use User Generated Content as much as possible!

Share what you love

All in chorus: “These are a few of my favorite things!” No need to serenade your audience, but showing off your current favorite things is a fantastic story topic. We know you have favorite apps and tools, but you don’t have to limit them to work-related favorites.

Make ice-breakers or organize games

If you’ve ever participated in a networking event, you may be familiar with icebreaker activities, such as “Two truths and a lie” or “I prefer”. You can do those same ice-breakers or host the same games to get to know your audience on Instagram as you would in person! You can answer them yourself and you can encourage your audience to share their answers in their stories.

Give yourself something to think about

Just as icebreakers give you a starting point, a thought-provoking question can do the same! Think about the questions you would ask during a first meeting or a job interview. The question should serve as inspiration for a story answer.

Originally published at Entrepreneur News and Startup Guide.