There’s a reason people love Instagram Stories, they’re short, impromptu, fun and engaging. Not to mention, people are nosey so stories by nature give people an insight into what makes you or your brand tick. Creating engaging Instagram Stories can sometimes feel like a daunting task, but with a little inspiration & creativity, the possibilities are endless. In this article, we are sharing 30 easy story ideas you can adapt for your business AND an easy way to generate endless story ideas, tailored specifically to your unique business and brand voice.
What are Instagram Stories?
In Instagram’s own words, “Stories allow you to share everyday moments and grow closer to the people and interests you care about through photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours
Introduced to the platform in 2016, stories give a more casual & off-the-cuff way to share pictures & stories and engage with followers. Users can enhance their Stories with various creatve tools, including filters, stickers, text, and music, making them often more engaging and interactive than a traditional post. They appear at the top of your feed and are vertical in size (read our stories size guide here). They are primarily only shown to your current followers, making them a great way to build a deeper connections and nurture relationships.
Coming up with ideas for Instagram stories
Some people often find coming up with ideas for stories harder than coming up with regular post ideas and aren’t sure how to incorporate them into their overall social strategy. But coming up with ideas shouldn’t be as difficult as you think! You can approach them in two different ways:
1. Pre-planned Instagram stories
Stories you have planned in advance and that are in line with your content strategy.
2. Unplanned Instagram stories
Often the most engaging stories are the unplanned, impromptu stories you upload throughout the day, giving people a glimpse into your life.
By mixing up your content and experimenting with different types of stories & formats, you’ll keep your audience intrigued and coming back for more.
30 Ideas for Instagram stories you can try now
Now to the best part! Here are 30 Instagram story ideas that you can use now and can be adapted for any niche, brand and audience:
- Tutorials: Create step-by-step guides for something you're good at.
- Behind-the-Scenes: Share a sneak peek into your daily life or work process.
- Q&A Session: Use the question sticker to let your followers ask you anything.
- Polls: Engage your audience with fun or interesting polls.
- Countdowns: Build anticipation for an upcoming event or product launch.
- User-Generated Content: Share content created by your followers.
- Flash Sales/Promotions: Announce limited-time offers or discounts.
- Product Teasers: Give a preview of new products or services.
- Before and After: Show transformations or progress over time.
- Daily Routine: Take your followers through a day in your life.
- Memes and Jokes: Share something funny to brighten your followers' day.
- Quotes: Post inspirational or motivational quotes.
- Repost from Feed: Share recent posts from your Instagram feed to your stories.
- Throwback: Post nostalgic content or old photos.
- Contests and Giveaways: Announce and manage a contest or giveaway.
- Live Streaming: Go live to interact with your audience in real time.
- Sneak Peeks: Share hints or teasers about future projects.
- Music Recommendations: Share your favorite songs or playlists.
- Book/Movie Recommendations: Suggest books or movies you love.
- Cooking/Baking: Share recipes or cooking tips.
- Travel Diaries: Post about your travels and adventures.
- Industry quiz: share a short quiz with facts about your industry or business.
- Customer Testimonials: Share positive feedback from customers.
- Links: share links to your website, booking site, blog, etc.
- Surveys: Use the question sticker for in-depth surveys.
- Personal Milestones: Celebrate and share personal achievements or milestones.
- New Arrivals: Showcase new arrivals in your shop or business.
- Shoutouts: Give a shoutout to other accounts you love or appreciate.
- Events Coverage: Post live updates from events you're attending.
- Tips and Tricks: Share quick tips related to your niche or expertise.
There you have it! These ideas should help to give you some inspiration for what you can post on stories to keep your audience engaged whilst keeping them fresh and interactive, encouraging them to stay connected with your content.
How to generate endless custom Instagram story ideas with rapidely
Looking for more tailored ideas that reflect not only your unique brand voice but also your overall social media strategy? You’re going to want to hear about the story tools within rapidely! In the ideate section of the platform, you can create a story from scratch, asking the AI to develop an existing idea or come up with new ideas for you. The best thing about it is that our AI gets to know you & your business and tailors ideas, concepts, and wording to your unique brand voice. You can then save the ideas to your ideas tab or go ahead and add them to your content calendar and schedule it for posting – all in one place! Try it out for yourself here (there’s a free trial and prices start from just $9 per month).
Conclusion
Instagram stories may last just 24 hours but they can leave a big impact on your audience if done right. Our biggest takeaways are to ensure your stories tie into your overall strategy and use an online tool like rapidely to help you out with custom ideas and scheduling, saving you a ton of time & effort. For a complete guide to Instagram stories, check out this article here. Happy story posting everyone!
