how to write stories in instagram

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How to Write on Instagram Stories

Last Updated: December 7, 2022

This article was co-authored by Jaclyn Selby . Jaclyn Selby is a Social Media Expert and Director of Social Media at Ovello. Ovello is a female-owned & operated team of remote Executive Assistants and Social Media Managers who are passionate about helping entrepreneurs grow their personal businesses to maximum potential. With 4 years of social media experience, she specializes in helping her clients create a brand, a holistic strategy, and growth through various social media platforms. This article has been viewed 39,337 times.

This wikiHow shows you how to add text to Instagram stories and how to send messages to friends through their stories. Once you take photo or video to upload to your story, you'll be able to write on it with text, draw on it with pen, or add customizable stickers like polls and questions to your story.

Writing on a Photo Posted to Your Story

• You can also swipe across the bottom of the screen to take a Boomerang video, a Superzoom video, or another type of video.
• Tap on the small square icon with a preview of your latest photo to select a photo or video from your camera roll.

• Select a font style from 5 different font styles: Modern, Neon, Typewriter, Strong, and Classic.
• Choose a text color by tapping one of the color bubbles at the bottom of the text editing menu. You can also tap and hold a color bubble to pull up custom colors.
• Tap a spot on the photo and type your text once you’ve selected a font and color. You can open your keyboard and add text to your photo before posting it to your story.
• Adjust the settings for your text by toggling font size, alignment, and the color of text boxes with different features in the text editing menu.
• Tap Done to save any edits you make to the text and will add the text to your photo.

• Select a stylist design to adjust how drawn lines appear on your story post.
• Pick a design to change how the Pen tool draws or writes on your story post. Styles include: Highlighter, Pen, Neon, Eraser, and Chalk.
• Choose a color for writing or drawing on your story by tapping one of the colored circles displayed along the bottom of the Pen tool menu.
• Tap Done to save any edits you make in the Pen tool and will add the designs you drew to your photo.

• You can select a variety of stickers to your story, including location tags and poll questions.
• You can also adjust the size and location of these stickers on your post the same way you can adjust text.
• To add a poll, select the Poll sticker, enter your question in the ask a question field, and edit the text in the YES|NO fields. Like text, you can also adjust the size and location of the Poll sticker.

Sending a Response to an Instagram Story

• If you want to send a picture or video instead, tap the camera button instead and take a photo or video.

Adding a Caption to a Post

• To upload a new photo, tap Photo then tap the shutter icon at the bottom of the menu.
• To upload a new video, tap Video then press and hold the shutter icon at the bottom of the menu..
• To upload a photo or video from your phone’s library, tap Library (iPhone) or Gallery (Android) and select the photo or video you want to post to your story.

Expert Q&A

Expert interview.

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about using Instagram, check out our in-depth interview with Jaclyn Selby .

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About This Article

1. Open the Instagram app. 2. Take a photo or video for your story. 3. Tap the text icon. 4. Select a font style and color. 5. Tap the photo/video and type your text. 6. Tap Send To . 7. Tap Share across from Your Story . Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Instagram Stories: What They Are and How to Make One Like a Pro

Updated: October 06, 2022

Published: July 12, 2021

These days, social media is all about documentation.

Where you go, what you eat and drink, who you see, and what's most memorable: These are the typical fodder of Instagram Stories — seconds-long glimpses of people's lives, shared on Instagram for only 24 hours.

Below, we've created a guide for you to learn what Instagram Stories are, how to share them with your followers, and how to make sure those Stories are exactly what your audience wants to see.

We'll cover the following:

What are Instagram Stories?

How do instagram stories work.

• Instagram Stories vs. Instagram Highlights

How long are Instagram Stories?

How to view instagram stories, how to make an instagram story, how to use instagram stories for business.

• Instagram Stories Tricks and Hacks

Let's get started.

An Instagram Story is an in-app features that allows users to share ephemeral content available for 24 hours. With Instagram's current UI, recently posted Stories are denoted by a gradient border around the user's profile picture.

Your Instagram Story is published separately from your in-feed content. Although you might know the basics of sharing them, there are hidden tools within the app that can make the photos and videos you add to your Story more creative and engaging.

Free Instagram for Business Kit

Tell us a little about yourself below to get free templates and tips..

When posting an Instagram Story, you can add stickers, time stamps, and doodles to each Story and apply certain filters and effects.

If your account is public, your Story is visible to anyone, but if your account is private, your Story is only visible to those who follow you.

Viewers have the option of directly responding to your Story via direct message (DM), liking it, or sharing it with their followers. You do have the option to disable replies in your app's settings .

You can also see who's viewed it by opening up your Story and swiping up on your screen.

Instagram Stories vs. Instagram Story Highlights

Instagram Stories is a feature that allows you to post ephemeral content available for up to 24 hours. Instagram Story Highlights are collections of saved Instagram Stories that live on a user's profile.

Brands and content creators often use Highlights to give their content a second life and add another element of curation to their profile.

It's a great place to share user-generated content, customer reviews, and FAQs - essentially anything that doesn't quite have a place in the feed but is valuable to your audience.

Learn how to create an Instagram Highlight here.

Why should you use Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories can drive a ton of engagement and value — whether you're sharing a Story from a brand account or your own personal profile.

Instagram Stories have fueled the growth of brands like Anima Iris and Glamnetic .

Whether publishers are trying to grow brand awareness, grow traffic to videos or newsletters outside of Instagram, or share sponsored posts, Instagram Stories allows them to publish fun disappearing content that infuses brand voice and personality without taking up too much of the average user's dwindling attention span .

That's why Instagram Stories are so short and why they only last a short while on the platform.

Instagram Stories last 24 hours on your profile before disappearing, but a video inside your Story can be up to 15 seconds long before cutting to the next piece of content. You can also use a third-party app to segment a longer video into 15-second increments to add to your Story.

Just as Instagram Stories only last 24 hours before disappearing, the photos and videos themselves have a time limit when users view and play them.

As a blanket rule, the individual videos you add to your Instagram Story each have a maximum roll time of 15 seconds. If you add a one-minute video to your Instagram Story, for example, it will be broken up into 15-second segments.

Instagram Stories appear at the top of your screen when you're on the Instagram mobile app.

Because they're often the first pieces of content users see when they open Instagram, these Stories can get a ton of engagement and help you advertise your regular Instagram photo gallery to more users.

Let's go over how you can view Instagram Stories.

1. Open Instagram and navigate to the home screen.

To start viewing Instagram Stories, open your Instagram mobile app and tap the home icon on the bottom-lefthand corner of your screen.

Once you've navigated to Instagram's home screen, you'll see a series of circular icons along the top, each of which represents the active Stories posted by the users you follow.

Your own Story is available for viewing on the far left of the Stories you follow.

2. Tap on a circular icon to view that user's Story.

Each circular icon you see at the top of your home screen will have a gradient circle around it, denoting that the user has recently posted a Story.

Tap on it to expand the user's Story — it will play automatically and go to the next user's Story.

3. Tap left and right to explore a user's story.

A single Instagram Story can contain numerous individual photos and videos strung together in the order it was shared.

To see earlier Stories, tap the screen on the left. To see recent Stories, tap on Ithe right. You'll see Stories organized from oldest to newest.

If you want to skip some Stories, you can easily do so by tapping to the right.

4. Use an Instagram Story viewer to view Stories privately.

Did you know that you can use a third-party tool to view Stories without the user knowing?

You might want to do this if you're scouting freelancers and don't want them to see you first. Some Story viewers allow you to autosave copies of the Stories, while others will offer a paid option so you can automatically save copies of new Stories.

Inflact is one of those apps - Stories are available on the web, you don't need to download an app. You can search for any username, and copies of the Stories posted from that username will pop up.

All you need to do is create an account. Here's what that looks like in Ingramer's Instagram Story viewer :

Additional tools you can use include:

• Instafollowers.co
• Insta-Stories.online
• StoriesDown

Ready to start posting? Let's go over how you can create Instagram Stories step-by-step.

• Open up the Instagram app on your phone and tap your profile picture near the upper left-hand corner. Alternatively, swipe right to open up the camera.
• Choose a filter by swiping right and left at the bottom. You'll be able to preview each filter live.
• Capture a photo or video using the camera.
• Alternatively, skip the two previous steps and swipe up on your screen to browse your gallery. Choose an existing photo or video.
• Add stickers, time stamps, or GIFs to the Story.
• Once you've finished editing your photo or video, tap Your Story to share it with all of your followers.

You can make successful Instagram Stories too — but it requires a few more hacks and tips to make them look like the Stories big brands and influencers share.

But first, let's review the basics of how to share an Instagram Story.

1. Open up the Instagram app and tap your profile picture near the upper left-hand corner.

To start posting a Story, open up the Instagram app and click on your profile image in the top left corner. You can also swipe right or click the plus sign near the top right.

If you click the + sign, you'll automatically be prompted to create a post instead of a Story. To get to the Story creator, choose Story at the bottom right.

2. Choose a filter and image capture mode.

Once you start creating your Story, you can choose a filter by swiping right and left on the filter carousel at the bottom of the screen.

Normal means choosing no option. It means what it says: Tapping once on the camera button will capture a photo, and holding down will record a video.

Instagram Stories can be 15 seconds in length, so if you want to share a video that's longer, film in 15-second stints, or split your longer clip into 15-second installments.

Create mode will take you to a screen where you can create a Story from scratch. On this screen, you can choose stickers, place gifs, and write text.

Boomerang mode films looping GIFs up to three seconds in length.

Layout mode will take you to a screen with four quadrants, in which you can capture four different photos. You can change the style of the grid.

Multi-Capture

Multi-capture mode allows you to capture photos and videos consecutively without needing to upload them separately to your Story.

Photobooth mode allows you to take four photos that then appear in consecutive order in your Story. There's a flash in between, giving the effect of photos taken in an actual photo booth.

Use hands-free mode if you want to set up your camera to film a video for you. Make sure you prop it somewhere stable before you start recording. We'll talk more about this feature in a minute.

The level option will overlay a grid over your camera so that you can accurately align objects so that they're straight. You can combine this option with other image capture modes such as multi-capture and photobooth.

3. Capture a photo or video using the camera.

Now that you've chosen your filter and image capture mode, it's time to actually start filming and creating content. Hold down on the button to film a video, and tap once to capture an image.

If you don't like the filter, you can change it. You can also add stickers, text, and drawings.

4. Once you've edited your photo or video, tap "Your Story."

You can also save your edited photo or video to your gallery by tapping the "Download" icon up top.

Knowing how to post to your Instagram Story is one thing, but knowing what to post is a different ... well, story.

For businesses looking to tell their story on Instagram, it's important to know who your ideal followers are and what they'd be interested in seeing on Instagram. Remember, Instagram is a visual platform, but that doesn't mean you can't teach or promote something in the process.

Below, we cover a few ideas for using Instagram Stories to attract followers and build a customer base.

• Post footage of an office event.
• Post breaking news about your industry.
• Demonstrate your product.
• Promote a company event.
• Preview one of your company's blog posts.
• Mention other companies who follow or work with you.

1. Post footage of an office event.

Sometimes, the best thing a business can do on Instagram is be as human as possible. One way to do this is to post a brief video of a company function.

Whether it's an office holiday party or an award banquet, posting footage of it to your Story is easy and in-the-moment entertainment for your followers. This content also shows people you're a relevant and friendly voice in your market.

2. Post breaking news about your industry.

Just as you might on your company blog, you can use your Instagram Story to report on the latest happenings in your industry. With the right design work, you can turn small news breaks — that don't merit an entire article — into a Story on your Instagram account.

This keeps users coming back to you to stay abreast with market trends. You can even ask users what they think, as shown in the Instagram Story by HubSpot below. We'll explain how Instagram "stickers" can help you do this in just a minute.

3. Showcase your product.

Your product might not be the simplest or sexiest product in the eyes of the layperson. Well, your Instagram Story is the perfect format for showing potential customers how that product is used. Post a long video, segmented into 15-second clips that show users what your product or service does and how it helps your customers.

If you sell software, for example, you might record a video of your computer screen, using a recording tool like Loom , that shows people how to log in, use the software's dashboard, and navigate to the various functions included in the product.

Just remember to modify your video's dimensions before uploading it to your Instagram Story. Remember, Instagram Stories' image dimensions are 1920px high and 1080px wide, with an aspect ratio of 9:16.

4. Promote a company event.

Does your organization host a trade conference or attend a big one every year? Use your Instagram Story to promote the event and tell your followers to look for you there. Work with a graphic designer, or do some artwork yourself, to illustrate an event flyer with all the information one would need to find you.

Most of this, you can do directly on Instagram. For example, use the native text options in your Story to add:

• The event's name.
• Where the event is located.
• Dates you'll be attending.
• Your booth number.
• The event's official hashtag.

5. Preview one of your company's blog posts or videos.

Your blog posts and YouTube videos need all the exposure they can get. Even if social media isn't your blog's primary source of traffic, your Instagram Story can help readers discover that post or video for the first time and find it later.

In the screenshot below, Google Pixel used its Instagram Story to preview a video it published about a customer who used the device. When you tap all the way to the end of the Story, Google prompts you to swipe up with your finger, where it then links you to the full video on YouTube.

6. Mention other companies who follow or work with you.

As your Instagram following grows , you'll eventually pick up other business accounts that want to follow you as well. Whether those accounts are your business partners or simply fans of yours, consider giving them shout-outs on your Instagram Story.

This is a passive but effective way to nurture your relationships with the users that matter most to your business's growth. We'll explain how to link to other accounts in an Instagram Story in the tips below.

Now that you know the basics, let's run through tips and hacks for producing high-quality, clickable Instagram Stories.

Instagram Story Tricks and Hacks

1. use stickers..

Once you've captured a great photo or video, it's time to jazz it up with some fun stickers. You can access these by clicking "Create," then tapping the smiling sticker icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen once you've captured a photo or video.

Here are some best practices after you choose a sticker.

Change the size of your stickers.

You can pinch the sticker once you've added it to your Story to increase or decrease its size. You can also tap and drag it around the frame to change its position.

Check stickers every day for new and unique ones.

Instagram releases unique Story stickers often — whether it's for a weekday, a holiday, or a season. Check this section every day for new and timely stickers to add to your Story.

Add location, hashtag, poll, and selfie stickers.

Boost engagement on your Instagram Story by opening it up to other people doing the same things you are. Open up the stickers section, and tap any of these buttons to customize your Story:

Link Stickers

Instagram recently released a new feature that allows users to include clickable, external links in their Instagram Stories - a long-awaited tool desired by many users.

Location Stickers

Start typing in your location, and you'll be able to pull in a geographically-specific sticker to show where you are. When people view your Story, they'll be able to tap the location sticker and see other photos and Stories happening around the same place.

Hashtag Stickers

Same concept here: If you add this sticker and type in a hashtag, your Story will appear in searches for that hashtag, and viewers will be able to click it and see who else is using it.

Poll Stickers

You can add a two-option poll to your Instagram Story, and you can even customize the possible answers so they're more unique than "Yes" or "No." Use a poll sticker to gauge if people are really engaging with your content.

Selfie Stickers

Open up the Stickers menu, and tap on the camera icon.

You can also find stickers for:

2. Record a hands-free Instagram video.

If you're a frequent video recorder on Instagram, you know you need to hold your thumb against the record button for as long as you're recording. This can make it tedious when attempting dynamic and interesting videos that require more hand mobility.

But did you know you can record these video s hands-free?

3. Let viewers share your Stories.

Increase engagement and views of your Instagram Story by letting viewers share them with their friends — as direct messages (DMs).

To do so, navigate to your app's settings, then to Privacy , then tap Story .

4. Use the pen.

Use the pen to add embellishment, symbols, or more text to your Story. If you tap the pen icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen once you've captured a photo or video, you'll open up your options.

From there, you can adjust the thickness of your pen stroke or change the color you're writing with.

I like using the highlighter pen to add emphasis to words — or even to highlight my photo or video.

5. Add a background color.

If you want to share a Story with a background color — like the images I've shared above — you can actually select it from the color palette.

Take a picture (it doesn't have to be a picture of anything in particular), and then tap the pen icon to open up the color palette.

6. Mention another Instagram account in your Story.

Sometimes, it's just not enough to send an Instagram Story to a particular person — you need to give them a shoutout in the photo or video itself. In these cases, Instagram allows you to tag up to 10 specific handles directly in your Story's photo or video.

To mention an Instagram account in your Story, shoot a photo or video and then tap the square "A" icon in the upper righthand corner of the screen.

Enter the account you'd like to tag, starting with the "@" symbol and the account's first letter. Scroll through the suggested accounts that appear below your cursor until you find the account you have in mind, and tap it.

7. Have some fun with your text.

The text on Instagram Stories is pretty basic — jazz it up with these tricks.

Customize your colors.

If you're unsatisfied with the color palette Instagram offers, create your own from one of the colors in the photo or video you've captured.

Open up the text icon, and tap the eyedropper icon in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.

Use the dropper to sample a color from somewhere in the image you've captured, and use it when typing out text or using the pen tool.

Add a drop shadow to your Story's text.

If you want to add some extra drama to your text, add highlighting or shadowing by retyping or rewriting your text in a different color. I recommend choosing black or white to add emphasis to a bright color you've picked. Then, move the text above or underneath the brighter text to add some drama to your words.

Turn your text into a rainbow.

This one's tricky, but you can actually turn your text into a gradient rainbow.

• Tap the text icon, and type out your message to add to your Story. Then, highlight your text.
• This is where it gets tricky: Turn your phone to the side so you can hold one finger down on the right side of your text, and with another finger, tap on a color and hold until the color wheel pops up.
• Then, slowly drag both fingers across both the text and the color wheel from right to left to create rainbow text. Go slowly, letter by letter until you've created a rainbow. (This one took me several tries before I nailed it, and I succeeded using both thumbs to highlight the text and the color wheel.)

Gradually add text to a Story.

Sometimes, you might want to add text or stickers to an image to build on it — perhaps to promote a content offer or event, or to encourage viewers to swipe up to read a link you've shared.

Start editing the photo you want to share, post it, and save it to your camera roll.

Then, swipe up on your screen to add the screenshot to the next installment of your Story — adding new text or stickers on top of the first photo. Keep doing this for as long as you want the Story to last. Just make sure to keep taking screenshots of your latest photo so you can add to it.

8. Dig into your Story analytics

Snapchat users have always been able to see which of their friends have viewed their snapped Stories over the 24-hour period that the Story is visible. Well, Instagram Stories can do the same thing, plus more.

Not only will you see who saw your Story, but also dig into the actions taken by viewers.

Start by navigating to the homepage of Instagram on your phone and click on the circular icon denoting your Story. Then, swipe up from the bottom of your open Story. This will pull up a list of all the accounts that have viewed this content plus actions they've taken.

This can range from stickers they tapped to profile visits, accounts reached, impressions, follows, and more.

9. Center your text and stickers.

When you're moving around text and stickers on your Story, you'll see blue lines appear vertically or horizontally in the frame. These are guiding lines you can use to make sure you're keeping everything centered.

Don't put your text too high or too low on the screen.

That said, make sure you don't add anything to your Story too high or too low in the frame — or it will be cut off when viewers scroll through your Story, when Instagram adds things like your name and how long ago your Story was posted that could block out your carefully-crafted text.

10. Add music to a Story (or mute it).

This one's easy: Turn on music using your phone's native streaming app, and record a video Story. Once you get ready to edit and share, make sure the sound icon isn't muted so your viewers can jam with you.

Alternatively, if you'd rather your video be muted, tap the sound icon so a slash appears over it.

You can also add music from artists on the app by clicking on the music sticker and choosing which section of the song you'd like in your Story.

11. Upload Instagram Stories from your phone's camera roll.

Great Instagram Stories aren't just created through the Instagram app. You can also upload photos and videos from your mobile device's native camera roll.

To upload a photo or video for use as an Instagram Story, open your Instagram Story's camera lens and tap th e little square icon on the bottom lefthand corner. See what this looks like below.

Post Instagram Stories to Grow Your Audience

We hope these tips help you post killer Instagram Stories your audience won't be able to stop following. There are lots of hidden ways to take your Stories to the next level — some we may not even have covered here.

Our best advice? Keep clicking around and see what you can do with the latest updates from the app. Happy 'gramming!

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Instagram: here's how to use the new type mode in stories, users can now share text without photos or videos.

February 2, 2018

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Instagram recently launched a new Type mode in Stories,  allowing users to share Story posts containing text on colorful backgrounds, without the inclusion of pictures or videos. Our guide will show you how this feature works.

Note: These screenshots were captured in the Instagram application on iOS.

Step 1: Tap the camera icon in the top-left corner of the screen.

Step 2: Swipe from left to right at the bottom of the screen to move into the “Type” mode.

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How to create an Instagram Story

Instagram Stories let users post temporary updates to their profile that disappear after a day.

Snap a pic at a cool restaurant? Add it to your Story. Hanging inside watching movies on a rainy day? Add it to your Story. Take a really shaky video at a concert with incomprehensible audio? Add it to your Story *forces a smile.* That's the kind of content we love to see *forced smile intensifies.*

Many people use Stories to post minor updates to their day or life that they don't necessarily feel the need to commemorate with a permanent post. Followers can view the Story to check in, see what's up, and then be on their way.

There's probably a million other reasons people use Insta Stories. We could try to list them all, but you probably just want to know how to make one, right? So without further ado...

There are a bunch of different ways you can start. All will get you to the same place.

1. From the home page (where your feed is), tap your profile picture in the top left where it says "Your Story" with a little plus sign next to it.

2. From the home page, tap the "+" icon at the top (to the left of the heart icon).

3. From your profile page, tap the "+" icon in the top right corner, then select "Story" in the menu that pops up.

4. From the home page, simply swipe across your screen from left to right.

Any of those options should get you to your camera feed. Just make sure "Story" is selected at the bottom.

Now that you're here, this where the fun begins. You have access to a multitude of tools and features you can play around with to create your story. We'll give you the most important three steps and some basic info about the features in between. You'll have to play around with everything to create the specific Story you want.

1. Generally, you'd start by snapping a pic or a video.

But you don't have to. You can scroll across the bottom to pick out a fun filter. You could also tap any of the features on the left to start. Here's a quick guide on what they can do.

Add text with a background

Create a special occasion/shoutout post for someone (birthday, anniversary, etc.)

Creates a back-and-forth effect from a short video

Allows you to take multiple pictures and include them all in a layout of your choice

Records video segments in 15-second intervals until you hit "stop"

-Lets you decide which segments you want to use after

Multi-Capture

Lets you snap up to eight pics, one after another

Decide which ones to keep and which ones to discard after

Provides a grid on your camera view to help ensure the view is level

Middle segment lights up when the view is level

2. Once you have your picture or video, use the features at the top to edit it.

Symbols from left to right:

Saves the content to your phone's library

Search for a song you want on your Story

Choose which 15-second segment of the song you want

Include lyrics in different fonts/colors or display the album artwork

Add stickers

Add location-themed stickers

Use search bar to find a sticker you're looking for

Draw/paint:

Tap to draw

Use different colors

Draw arrows easily

Add glow effects

Type custom text to overlay on your Story

Apply background

Center or align however you want

3. Once your masterpiece is ready, tap "Your Story" in the bottom left corner, and your content will be uploaded to your story!

You can also choose to send it directly to somebody you follow. But otherwise, it's up on your Story for your followers to view for the next 24 hours.

More in Instagram , Social Media

Andy is a fellow on Mashable's Culture team. He graduated with a B.S. from the University of North Florida in 2018 and moved to New York to pursue journalism in culture and entertainment. He can (and will) talk for too long about Star Wars and movies in general. His fear of stinging insects and 80+ degree weather will keep him inside forever. He wishes he were shorter.

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How to post a text-only image on Instagram using the 'Create Mode' feature

• You can post a text-only image on Instagram by accessing the "Create Mode" in Instagram stories. 
• From there, you'll be able to create images with text, with access to other creative tools like gifs and stickers. 
• Once created, you can either save the image for use as a regular post, or simply post it to your stories.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

If you've ever seen text-only images on other people's Instagram stories or or posts, you may have wondered exactly how they made those. Are those images made by a third-party app? Or are they something you can do within Instagram?

The answer is text-only images are actually a built-in, if not immediately obvious, feature on the platform. You just have to know where to find it.

Here's how to post images with text on Instagram, either in a story or a post.

How to post a text-only image on Instagram using Create Mode

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone.

2. Tap the camera icon in the top-left corner of the home screen.

3. Slide the bottom toolbar from "Normal" until you see "Create."

4. Tap the screen to add your text. If needed, you can cycle through different font options by tapping the top middle button, or change the size via the slide bar on the left-hand side. When completed to your liking, click "Next"

5. You'll now be able to edit your text image as you would normally do with a story. Another helpful hint: You can tap the colorful circle toward the top-left side of the screen to change the background color.

6. When the text and image is to your liking, you can either tap the "Send to" button to add it to your stories, or select the "Save" icon at the top of the screen to save it to your phone's camera roll. 

If you save the image, you will be able to see and select it when you go through the usual posting process for a standard grid post.

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to put spaces in your instagram bio using the mobile app or desktop site, how to change the font on your instagram bio with a third-party app, how to put a link in your instagram bio on desktop or mobile, how to add a location to your instagram business page's bio, how to make your instagram public using your phone or computer, so anyone can see your photos and stories, now watch: how to take full advantage of the iphone's new dark mode.

• Social Media

How to Add Text to Instagram Stories

Dave Johnson Read more September 22, 2021

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• Device Missing?

Whether you are an influencer, a business social media manager, or a general social media user, you’re probably aware of the power of Instagram Stories. These Stories offer various design features, including the ability to add text. It’s a great tool to get your message across.

If you’re not sure how to add text to your Instagram Stories, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we will show you how to do so for both Android and iPhone devices, using simple step-by-step methods.

How to Add Text to an Instagram Story on the iPhone

Adding text to your Instagram Stories using your iPhone is simple if you follow these steps:

• Launch the Instagram App on your iPhone.
• Tap on the “Camera +” icon on the top left corner of your screen. The “Stories” screen will open.
• Take a photo or video for your story.
• Once you have your photo or video, look for the “Aa” icon at the top right and tap on it. Instagram’s text tool will open on the screen. Start typing your text.
• You can change your text color by clicking one of the color icons at the bottom of the screen.
• A slider on the left lets you adjust the size of your text.
• You can align the text from the top left of the screen.
• The Backdrop option lets you add an opaque or semi-transparent backdrop to your text.
• The “Font” tool in the center allows you to choose your font from one of the five options.
• When you are satisfied with your text, hit the “Done” button in the top right corner of the screen.

How to Add Multiple Lines of Text to an Instagram Story on the iPhone

You can add more than a single line of text to your Instagram Story. You have the option to add a paragraph of text or separate lines of text to your photo or video, or you can create a solid background with multiple rows of text. This is how you do it:

• Open Instagram on your iPhone, and on the “Home” screen, tap the “Camera” icon in the top left corner.
• When the “Stories” screen opens, take a photo or video for your story.
• After you’re done, tap the “Aa” icon in the top left of the screen to launch the Text tool.
• Start typing your text. If you want a continuous paragraph, continue typing.
• When you are happy with your text, you can edit it by changing the color, justification, backdrop, and font style.
• If you prefer multiple lines of text in different locations across the screen, type your text and edit it. Tap on the screen to add this text to your Story. Tap on the screen again, and another text box will appear. Type in your text, edit it and tap the screen. Repeat this as many times as you want to add in different lines of text.
• When you are happy with your text, click “Done” in the top right corner of the screen.

Perhaps you decided you want to add text to your Instagram Story without a video or picture in the background. There is a simple way to do this and here is how:

• Open Instagram on your iPhone and click the “Camera” icon on the top left of the screen. The “Stories” page will open.
• Navigate to the bottom toolbar and slide it from “Normal” until you find the option to “Create.” Your screen will fill with a colored background which you can change by tapping on the colored circle in the bottom right of the screen.
• When you’re satisfied with the background, tap the screen to type. You can add as much or as little text as you would like here.
• When you’re finished with your text, it will save directly to your screen, and you can post it to your story.

How to Add Text to an Instagram Story on an Android Device

Adding text to an Instagram Story on an Android device is similar to the method used for an iPhone, with a few differences here and there. This is how to do it:

• Launch Instagram on your Android device. On your “Home” screen, swipe right to open the “Stories” screen.
• Snap a photo or video. Then navigate to the top right of the screen and select the “Aa” icon to launch the Text tool.
• On the screen that opens, begin typing your text.
• When you are satisfied with your text, you can edit the font, size, justification, color, background, or animate the text with controls located along the bottom, left, and top of the screen.
• When you are happy with how your text looks, click “Done” in the top right of the screen.

How to Add Multiple Lines of Text to an Instagram Story on an Android Device

Although the device and interface differ, adding multiple lines of text to your Instagram Story remains the same. Follow these steps to add more words of text to your Stories:

• Open Instagram on your Android device and swipe right to launch the “Stories” screen. Take a video or photo.
• Once you’re happy with your image or film, tap the “Aa” icon in the top right corner of the screen to open the Text tool.
• Start typing your text. If you want a paragraph of writing, keep typing until you have all the text as you want it.
• Edit your text. If you want multiple lines of text in various places across the screen, type your text, then tap on the screen to add that text to your Story. Next, tap in a different spot on the screen to open a second text box. Add your text, edit it, and tap on the screen. Repeat this until you have added all your text to your post.
• When you’re satisfied with your text, tap “Done” in the top right corner of the screen.

To create a solid background with multiple lines of text is simple too:

• Open your Android device and navigate to Instagram. Launch the app, then swipe right to open the “Stories” screen.
• Tap the drop-down arrow on the left and find the option to “Create.” Press on it.
• A multi-colored background will open with a text box over it. To change the color of this background, tap on the colored circle in the bottom right of the screen.
• When you’re happy with the color, tap the screen to start adding in text. Keep typing until you have your text is complete, and tap the screen.
• Now you can post the text to your Story.

Text Added!

Adding text, whether a few words or a couple of paragraphs to your Instagram Story, is relatively easy when you know the steps to follow. By practicing the instructions in this guide a few times, you will soon be creating Stories like a pro. All you’ll need to worry about then is what to add to your Instagram profile next.

Have you added text to your Instagram Story? Did you use a set of steps similar to those given in this guide? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The complete guide to using instagram stories for business.

Learn the basics of how to use Instagram Stories, then move on to some Instagram Stories tips and tricks to help you stand out from the crowd.

More than 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day. And those Instagram users have a keen eye for new products and trends. 58% say they’ve become more interested in a product or brand after seeing it in Stories. And half say they’ve actually visited a website to buy a product or service after seeing it in Stories.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that 4 million businesses advertise on Stories every month.

In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to use Instagram Stories for business.

Get your free pack of 72 customizable Instagram Stories templates now . Save time and look professional while promoting your brand in style.

How to use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are vertical, full-screen photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. They appear at the top of the Instagram app, rather than in the news feed.

They incorporate interactive tools like stickers, polls, and Instagram Story filters to make your content really pop. Here’s how to get started with the format.

How to make Instagram Stories

• In the app, click the plus icon at the top of the screen.
• At the bottom of the screen, choose STORY from the menu.
• Optional: If you want to switch to the selfie camera, tap the switch-camera icon on the bottom right.
• Tap the white circle at the bottom of the screen to take a picture, OR…
• Press and hold the white circle to record video, OR…
• Swipe up (or select the square camera roll icon on the left) to use pre-existing photos or videos.

On the left of the screen, you can select a format to experiment with: Create, Boomerang, Layout, Multi-Capture, Level, or Hands-Free.

How to check your Instagram Story views

If your Insta Story is still live — meaning less than 24 hours have passed since you posted it, just tap the Your Story icon on the app main page to see a viewer count for your Story. Tap the number in the bottom left to get a list of the people who make up those Instagram Story views.

After 24 hours, once your Instagram Story has disappeared, you can still access insights , including reach and impressions.

Reach is the number of unique accounts that viewed your Story. Impressions is the total number of times your Story was viewed.

Here’s how:

• On the app’s homepage, tap your profile photo at the bottom right of the screen.
• Tap Insights.
• Choose the time period you’d like Insights for: 7, 14, or 30 days, the previous month, or a custom timeframe.
• Scroll down to Content You Shared and tap on Stories.
• Choose your metric and time period.

Source: Instagram

How to use Instagram Stories stickers

To add a sticker to your Instagram Story:

• Start creating your Story following the steps above.
• Once the photo or video is ready to go, tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen—it’s the square that’s smiling and has a folded corner.
• Select the type of sticker you’d like to use. Each type has its own properties, so experiment to see how each one behaves when you tap on it. You can pinch and drag to relocate and resize the sticker.

How to add a hashtag to your Instagram Stories

Adding a hashtag to your Insta Story makes it discoverable to a wider audience.

There are two ways to add a hashtag to your Story:

• Use the hashtag sticker (tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen—the smiling square with the folded corner).
• Use the regular text function (tap the text icon —the one that says Aa) and use the # symbol.

Either way, once you start typing, Instagram will suggest some popular hashtag ideas to get you going. You can add up to 10 hashtags to your Stories. (In which case we recommend shrinking them down and hiding them behind stickers, gifs, or emojis — learn how to do that from our Instagram Story hacks post.)

How to add a location to your Instagram Stories

Like hashtags, adding a location to your Instagram Story expands its potential reach beyond your follower list.

Places and businesses may have a location page. Users can find the location page under the Places tab when they search, or by tapping on the location in another user’s post. If your Story ends up there, you could end up with a lot more views.

And if you have a brick-and-mortar business, your location page is where your happy customers can showcase their experience with you, and potential customers can check you out. (In order to set up a location page for your business, you’ll need an Instagram business account .)

To use a location sticker on an Instagram Story:

• Tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen.
• Select the location sticker.
• Choose your preferred location from the list (could be a store, a street, a city — get as broad or as specific as you like).
• Tap and drag to adjust the sticker’s color and size and location so it complements your Story’s look.

How to add captions to Instagram Stories

60% of people watch Instagram Stories with the sound on. That means, of course, that 40% watch with the sound turned off. If you’re posting videos, captions are a great way to make your content more useful to that 40% of people.

Captions are also an important way to help make content more accessible.

Instagram will auto-create captions for your video Stories if you add the captions sticker.

• Start creating your Story. The captions sticker will only appear if you use a video.
• Once the video is ready to go, tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen.
• Tap the Captions sticker .
• Instagram will auto-create captions. It’s a good idea to take a look and see how good a job the tool did at capturing what you actually said. If it got something wrong, tap the text to edit any word.
• You can change the caption font and color using the tools at the top and bottom of the screen. When you’re happy with the captions, tap Done .
• You can pinch and drag the caption to relocate and resize it as you would with any other sticker.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)

If you use the Music sticker to add music to your story, you can caption your video with music lyrics.

• Start creating your Story. The music sticker will only appear if you use a video.
• Tap the Music sticker .
• Select a song from the suggestions or search for a specific song.
• Use the slider at the bottom of the screen or scroll through the lyrics to get to the section of the song you want to use.

How to use Instagram Stories highlights

Stories don’t have to disappear after 24 hours. Highlighting keeps them pinned to your profile until you choose to delete them. This is a great way to showcase your best, brand-defining content.

Each highlight can contain as many Stories as you like, and you can keep adding to them as you post new content.

How to create an Instagram Stories highlight:

• If the Story is less than 24 hours old and still visible on Instagram, just tap Your Story to open it, OR…
• If the Story is more than 24 hours old, retrieve it from your archive. Tap your profile icon at the bottom right, then tap the menu icon (three lines) in the top right. Tap Archive . Scroll back to the Story you want to highlight.
• In the lower right corner of the screen, tap the highlight icon .
• Choose the highlight to which you’d like to add the Story, OR…
• Create a new highlight.

Check out our full guide to Instagram Story highlights, including icons and covers .

Instagram Stories on Explore

The Instagram Explore page is the collection of algorithm-selected photos and videos that appears when you click the magnifying glass icon. Getting on the Explore page usually means a boost in reach and engagement, because the algorithm is showing your content to fresh, interested eyes.

So how do you increase your Stories’ chance of getting featured there? Instagram says that the biggest ranking signals of what you’ll see in your Explore feed are:

• How many and how quickly people are interacting with the post
• Your interaction history with the person who posted
• Which posts you’ve interacted with in the past
• Information about the person who posted, like how many times other people have interacted with them recently

Here’s some information about how to create content that’s most likely to appear on Instagram’s Explore page.

How to use Instagram Stories polls

To create an Instagram Story poll:

• Once the photo or video is ready to go, tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen.
• Choose the Poll sticker.
• Enter your question
• Enter your two potential responses. The default is Yes/No, but you can type any response up to 24 characters, including emojis.
• Let your poll run for 24 hours.
• Don’t forget to share the results!

Source: OfficeLadiesPod on Instagram

How to use Instagram Stories questions

Like polls, IG Stories questions offer a way to make your Stories interactive.

Instead of asking your followers what they think, the questions sticker allows your followers to ask you questions. Think of it as the Instagram equivalent of an Ask Me Anything.

To use Instagram Stories questions:

• Choose the Questions sticker.
• Customize the text of the question prompt.

You’ll find the questions in your viewers list. Tap any question to share it and reply. The identity of the asker will not be revealed.

Source: Team Canada on Instagram

How to add links to Instagram Stories

In order to add Swipe Up links to Instagram Stories , you need to either have 10,000 followers or have a verified account.

If that’s you, read on. If not, skip to the video at the bottom of this section for a simple hack to add links to Stories even without 10,000 followers.

How to add a Swipe-Up link on Instagram Stories:

• Once the photo or video is ready to go, tap the link icon at the top of your screen.
• Paste your link.
• Tap Done or the green check (depending on your type of phone).

Don’t have 10,000 followers or a verified account? Here’s a hack to add links to your Stories:

Of course, there’s one final way to add a link to IG Stories, and that’s to pay for it. Instagram Stories ads always include a link.

How to use Instagram Stories shopping

If you haven’t already set your business up for Instagram Shopping, you’ll need to do that first. Check out our step-by-step guide to setting up Instagram Shopping for all the details.

Once you’ve got your account set up, just use the shopping sticker to make your Stories shoppable.

• Create your Story as usual.
• Before you share, tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen.
• Tap the Product sticker .
• Choose the product from your catalog that you want to tag.
• Move and adjust the shopping sticker by dragging and tapping.
• Share your Story.

Instagram Stories sizes

If you’re designing or editing your Stories on desktop, or uploading a Stories ad to Facebook Ads Manager, you’ll need to keep these numbers from Facebook in mind:

• Recommended image ratio: 9:16 (all feed ratios are supported, but this ratio maximizes the Stories format)
• Recommended resolution: 1080×1920 (minimum resolution is 600×1067 with no maximum, though very high resolution may increase upload times)
• Maximum file size: 30MB for images, 250MB for video
• Title-safe area: Leave a 14% title-safe area at the top and bottom (in other words, don’t put text or logos in the top or bottom 250 pixels of the Story, to avoid overlapping with the app’s interface)

Instagram Stories tips and tricks

Before we dive into this list of tips, here’s a quick video primer with some strategies to optimize your Instagram Stories:

Now let’s get into our specific Instagram Stories tips.

Shoot vertical and lo-fi

If you’re just getting started, there’s nothing wrong with repurposing existing creative assets for IG Stories. In fact, if you want to run Stories ads, Instagram will automatically optimize existing content for the Stories format.

But realistically, you’ll have better results if you plan and shoot your Stories content in vertical format right from the start. The good news is you don’t have to get fancy. In fact, Instagram found that Stories ads shot on mobile devices outperformed studio shot ads by 63%.

That’s because mobile-shot Stories from brands look more like the content regular users post. By blending in with what users expect to see, brands can create a more immersive and less intrusive experience.

For example, KLM’s Stories series Live With Locals uses low-production, mobile-shot videos in which local residents showcase cities KLM flies to.

Source: KLM on Instagram

Define your brand’s visual identity

Yes, we just said low production value is A-OK. That doesn’t mean you can forget the fundamentals of visual branding. For example, notice that the KLM Story above uses the airline’s signature colors of blue and white for the text. And, of course, there’s the flight attendant at the bottom of the screen encouraging you to swipe up.

Consistent visuals help nurture your relationship with your audience: they should recognize your style without having to check your username.

Using consistent colors, fonts, gifs, and Instagram Stories templates is a great start. A style guide is a good place to track all your design decisions so you can keep your brand’s tone unified and your team on the same page.

If you don’t have a design team and you feel a little unsure of where to start, there are plenty of Stories-focused design apps to help you get this right.

Use quick cuts and motion to keep attention

Images are shown for 5 seconds on Stories, and videos last up to 15. But how often have you actually looked at a still image in Stories for a full five seconds? I’m guessing approximately never. And that holds true for your followers, too.

Instagram’s parent company Facebook found that top-performing Stories ads have an average scene length of just 2.8 seconds. For videos, use quick cuts and keep things moving.

For still images, you can create motion that holds your viewer’s attention using stickers like animated GIFs or the new animated text sticker.

Now you can make your story text move ✨ Just tap the animate button when creating your story. pic.twitter.com/G7du8SiXrw — Instagram (@instagram) February 8, 2021

Maximize the first three seconds

The most effective Stories convey their key message in the first three seconds. That might sound fast, but count it out — it actually gives you plenty of time to get to the point.

Consistent, branded visuals with a clear unique selling proposition right upfront will give viewers reason to keep watching your Story or, even better, swipe up to learn more.

This ad from Matt & Nat conveys everything right from the start: the brand and brand promise are both clear, the offer is prominent, and there’s a simple call to action.

Source: MattandNat on Instagram

On that note…

Include a CTA

Like all good marketing creative, your Instagram Stories should include a clear call to action. What do you want viewers to do next?

Swipe up is a perfectly fine CTA, but it can be a good idea to make it even more clear. For example, the Matt and Nat ad above uses text overlay to specify “Swipe up to shop.”

When you run Instagram Stories ads, you can choose to replace Swipe Up with more specific text like Shop Now or Learn More.

Schedule Stories in advance

Posting Stories regularly is a good way to keep your audience engaged, But having to interrupt your workflow throughout the day to create and post Stories can become pretty disruptive.

Fortunately, you can create and schedule your Stories in advance using the Hootsuite scheduler. You can then work your Stories into your social media posting schedule so they complement your other social posts and integrate effectively into any ongoing campaigns.

Here’s how it works:

Ready to start scheduling Instagram Stories and save time? Use Hootsuite to manage all your social networks (and schedule posts) from a single dashboard.

Get Started

Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.

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How to Use Instagram Stories Like a Pro to Build Your Audience

Instagram used to be simple.

But the days dominated by square images are long gone. Now, you can share images, videos, time-lapses, boomerangs, stop-motion sequences, and live-streams while using Instagram for business .

The biggest change came in 2016, with the introduction of Instagram Stories .

This form of social sharing altered the way people interact online, creating new influencers and catapulting brands into the limelight.

However, as social media continues to evolve, it’s getting more and more difficult to cut through the noise.

Take minimalist watch brand MVMT for instance. Relying heavily on social media, they built a business with over $80 million in sales in just five years.

But today things are different.

“It’s much more difficult without a doubt,” says MVMT’s Kassan . “It’s still possible, but it would be very difficult to scale as fast as we did. We used channels that just aren’t as efficient or easy to use anymore.”

So what can you do?

Get ahead of the competition by learning the best Instagram Stories hacks. In this article, you’ll learn how to use Stories on Instagram like a pro to build your audience .

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories, also known as Insta Stories or IG Stories, is a feature that allows users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. The feature is somewhat similar to Snapchat Stories, a feature introduced way back in 2013 that was a critical part of the company’s growth.

Content shared via Instagram Stories doesn’t appear in the standard profile content grid or in the Instagram feed.

Instead, Stories appear in a bar at the top of the feed:

When users post an Instagram Story, their profile image will gain a colorful ring around it to notify other users.

To view someone’s Story, simply tap on their profile photo. Their Story will appear in full-screen, and you’ll be able to view all of the content they’ve posted within the last 24 hours.

When viewing a Story, you can skip backward or forwards by tapping the left and right side of the screens.

Finally, unlike most social media posts , Stories have no likes or public comments.

How Do Instagram Stories Work?

As per Instagram statistics Instagram Stories has amassed 500 million daily active users.

Plus, Instagram reported that Stories have encouraged users to use the platform longer and more frequently .

The fact that Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours means there’s an urgency that most forms of social sharing don’t have.

This presents an incredible opportunity to catch people’s attention.

However, as Gary Vaynerchuk explains , “It’s not how many followers you have, it’s how many care. It’s not width, it’s depth. It’s not how many impressions you get, it’s how much attention you get.”

And this is where Instagram Stories truly excel.

The medium is perfectly suited to transparent, authentic, real-time content – in other words, content that has power.

And the best part is, it’s free . Because let’s face it, in 2021 many marketing tools aren’t.

How Long Do Instagram Stories Last?

Instagram Stories typically stay up 24 hours before disappearing.

However, the case is different IG stories featuring video content. The video lasts up to 15 seconds before Instagram cuts to the next set of content. 

So if you upload a video that’s longer than 15 seconds, the app will chop it into 15-second pieces for your story. You can use an Instagram video editing app to break up a longer video into 15-second parts to post as a Story.

How to Create an Instagram Story

To create a new Story, tap the camera icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen, or swipe to the right.

Then, Instagram will show you the Instagram Story creator:

Now, there are two main options when creating a new Instagram Story:

• Choose a photo or video from your smartphone’s camera roll.
• Use the app to capture new content.

Content that you upload from your device must have been created within the last 24 hours. To add content from your device, swipe up or tap the icon.

Then you’ll see the most recent content from your camera roll, and you can select the content you’d like to add to your Story.

It’s worth noting that the ideal dimensions for Instagram Stories are 1080px wide by 1920px tall, with an aspect ratio of 9:16. You can use these dimensions to create a special image or video for your Instagram Stories, such as this post from GoPro :

If you want to create your own custom graphic, check out free online design tools such as Canva .

Okay, Instagram provides a few different ways to capture content. Let’s take a look at each of them.

The Types of Instagram Stories You Can Create Within Instagram

There are ten different options to choose from when capturing new content in the Instagram Story creator.

You can see them by scrolling to the left and right at the bottom of the screen:

Instagram Story Type #1: Type

This setting provides a colorful background for your words to shine.

Simply change the color by tapping the icon in the bottom-left of the screen, and then select a font style by tapping the icon at the top.

Instagram Story Type #2: Music

This setting lets you record a video to a particular music track, or include music with an image. To start, search for the song you’d like to include in your Story and select it.

You’ll then be able to scroll to the point in the song that you’d like the music to start.

When you’re ready, tap the musical notes icon to take a photo, or tap-and-hold to record a video to the music.

Instagram Story Type #3: Live

This is how you go live on Instagram . Just tap “Start Live Video,” and Instagram will notify your followers that you’re live!

Bear in mind that your video will disappear from the app once it’s finished unless you save it to your camera roll.

Instagram Story Type #4: Normal

This is the setting first shown when you open the Story creator.

You can use Normal to take a photo, record a video, or upload content from your camera roll, as we discussed earlier.

Instagram Story Type #5: Boomerang

The Boomerang setting takes a burst of photos which loop over and over to create an animation.

Tap the main icon once and you’ll see the screen flash as the photos are taken in quick succession. While this happens, make a small movement, such as winking to the camera or taking a step forward.

If you particularly like this feature, Instagram has a dedicated Boomerang App you can use to create Boomerang animations to share on other platforms.

Instagram Story Type #6: Focus

This setting lets you focus on a particular feature while blurring the background.

In professional photography, this is known as having a large depth of field, and it works particularly well for faces.

Once again, take a photo by tapping the large icon once, and tap-and-hold to record a video.

Instagram Story Type #7: Superzoom

Superzoom allows you to zoom in on a particular feature accompanied by a sound effect to create a humorous or dramatic video clip.

To start, tap the small music icon in the middle of the screen to select a style. You have four options to choose from:

Next, tap the spot on your screen that you want to zoom in on and the camera will mark it with a white rectangle.

Then, tap the record icon – and hold the camera steady!

Instagram Story Type #8: Rewind

This type lets you record a video to be played in reverse. It works particularly well with videos which feature full body movements such as running or dancing.

Instagram Story Type #9: Hands-Free

This setting enables you to record a video without having to keep your finger on the screen of your smartphone.

It’s perfect for content like makeup tutorials and exercise demonstrations.

Instagram Story Type #10: Stop-Motion

This setting lets you create short animations made from photographs, like an old flipbook.

To create a stop-motion sequence, take a sequence of photos one-by-one. When you’re finished, tap “Done” at the top of the screen to see your stop-motion animation come to life!

Okay, what else can you do?

Instagram Stories Tricks You Should Know

Want to make your IG story pop? Here are a few key ways you can customize your Story to get more attention:.

1. Add Face Filters to Your Story

Bored with selfies? Check out this feature!

Face filters let you easily add bunny ears, a flower crown, glasses, and more. Plus, these animations are responsive to your movements.

To use face filters, change the camera to the front-facing view, and tap the smiley face icon on the bottom right-hand side of the screen.

Then, you can scroll through the different filters available to find one you like.

In the image below, I’m using the most popular Instagram Stories face filter : puppy ears!

2. Add Text to Your Instagram Story

This might seem a bit basic, but the text tool is extremely versatile and customizable, letting you choose the font, color, effect, size, and position of your text.

Simply tap the “Aa” icon at the top of the screen to open the text options.

Change the style of the font by tapping the “Classic” button in the top-middle of the screen. You then have five options to choose from:

When it comes to adding text, don’t underestimate the importance of variety.

Using multiple fonts, sizes, and colors can help to keep things interesting and draw the viewer’s eye to the message you want to highlight.

You can also use the text tool to include hashtags and tag other accounts:

Just add the “@” symbol before you write the name of the account you want to tag, or the “#” symbol to include a hashtag.

When your Story is published, users can tap the tags to reveal a small bubble with a link to the hashtag or tagged account.

3. Draw and Paint on Your Instagram Story

The markers in Instagram Stories are also extremely versatile. Even simple additions can be effective, as demonstrated by The Minimalists :

To start, tap the pencil icon at the top of the screen.

Then select your marker style – there are five choices available:

You can adjust the size of your paintbrush or pencil using the slider on the left-hand side of the screen.

To select a generic color, tap one of the options at the bottom of the screen. Or to select a custom color, press and hold one of the generic colors then drag your finger around the color palette that appears.

4. Create a Reverse Color Background Effect

Let me show you a quick way to create an eye-catching graphic that reveals certain parts of a photo or video.

Once you’ve selected your photo or video, select the marker tool and the color of your choice. Then press and hold the screen for a few seconds to make the whole screen one color.

Next, select the eraser tool at the top of the screen and use it to reveal the hidden image or video!

5. Swipe to Add a Filter to Your Story

Image filters have been around since the start of Instagram – and Instagram Stories use them to good effect.

To add a filter, simply swipe left or right.

Add Stickers to Your Instagram Story

There are tons of great stickers available. To access stickers, just tap the square smiley face icon at the top of the screen.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the main sticker options.

Location Stickers

This is the most popular sticker used in Instagram Stories. Here’s an example from the artisan bracelet brand BreakTime :

Not only does it let viewers know where you are, it can also expose your Story to a larger audience.

This is because Instagram compiles the best Stories for each location into a separate location Story. Viewers can find these in the “Explore” feed or by searching a location.

Hashtag Stickers

Similarly, the hashtag sticker allows you to add additional context for viewers.

Once again, if your Story performs well it could be added to the hashtag’s Story and boost your views!

Plus, people viewing your Story can tap the sticker to visit the hashtag’s Instagram page and explore related content.  

Here’s another great example from BreakTime :

Tag Stickers

Tag stickers provide a way to link to other accounts in your Stories in a visually appealing way.

What’s more, Instagram will notify these users about your Story, and they have the option to repost it , potentially exposing your brand to more people.

GIF Stickers

GIFs are an easy way to add some personality and vibrancy to your Stories. Plus, Instagram has partnered with Giphy so there are plenty to choose from.

First, tap the “GIF” icon.

Then choose one of the trending GIFs that appear on the front page or search for GIFs using the bar at the top of the screen.

Poll Stickers

Polls are a popular feature on Instagram Stories.

They provide a great way to interact with your audience, and you can use them to gain valuable insights from your followers.

When it comes to creating an Instagram story poll, you can choose from two types of poll stickers: A/B polls and slider polls.

A/B Polls let you ask a question and provide users with two answers to choose from. This option tends to generate the most engagement and provide you with the clearest feedback.

Write your question, and edit the two answer options.

Slider polls gauge viewers’ feelings by letting them slide a bar sideways to submit their answer as a percentage.

Just write your question and choose the appropriate answer emoji. To view more emojis, swipe left.

Countdown Stickers

One of the best Instagram story stickers in existence, countdown stickers let you add an interactive countdown to your story.

Once you’ve selected an image or video to post as a Story, tap the Stickers button and then tap Countdown. 

When someone taps on your countdown sticker, they’ll be presented with a screen that allows them to set an alert for the timer end time or date. 

After the countdown ends, whoever signed up for a reminder will get an alert.

Countdown stickers work best for sharing time-sensitive contests.

 When the contest starts, post an Instagram story with a countdown sticker to let people know they only have a limited time to send their entries and participate. 

Publish Your Instagram Story

Once you’ve finished creating your Instagram Story, don’t forget to download your image or video if you’d like to keep it.

To do this, tap “Save.”

When you’re ready, publish your Instagram Story by tapping “Your story.”

Congratulations, you just shared a killer Instagram Story!

How to Use Instagram Stories?

The capabilities of IG Stories make them ideal for a variety of marketing campaigns . Below are a few Instagram Stories best practices for getting the most out of the feature. .

1. Host a Story Takeover

Stories takeovers is where a person “takes over” your Instagram account temporarily to give your followers a real-world perspective of your products or brand.

You can partner up with an influencer or customerto run your Stories’ content, giving people insight into not just your offerings, but your advocate’s opinions and tips.

In a recent influencer Story takeover, cosmetic brand Sephora allowed an influencer to talk about a product that it recently added to its stock.

By letting the influencer showcase the item, Sephora gave a fresh, personal voice to its Instagram account, while also showing followers how real people trust its brand.

2. Tease Something Special

Teasers that keep your followers on their toes represent one of the best Instagram stories tips in existence.

Using Stories to tease an upcoming event or product gives your followers a sense of exclusivity.

And the natural curiosity makes them want to revisit for the big reveal.

For example, handcrafted headbands brand Bougie Bands used a Story to tease an upcoming product.

Their Story image provides followers with a glimpse of what the new product would look like.

This type of lively content is ideal for piquing follower’s interest.

3. Post Things That Your Followers Will Want to Screenshot

Stories may disappear after 24 hours, but you can post content your followers will want to screenshot and save on their phones for reference. 

This should help keep your business top-of-mind.

Dessert advocate Jessica Holmes does this with the help of recipes.

How Long Are Instagram Stories

As I hinted earlier, an Instagram Story stays on your profile for 24 hours before disappearing.

However, the videos you add to your IG Story have a playtime of 15 seconds.

Despite the 15-second runtime restriction, there are apps to prolong the time a video plays in your Instagram Story.

Apps like Story Cutter and Continual will help you split videos that run longer than 15 seconds into individual 15-second clips.

You can then add each clip to your Story, so they play in a sequence.

Take Advantage of Instagram Story Highlights

One of the best Instagram Stories tips I can give you is to leverage IG Story highlights.

Although normal Stories expire after 24 hours, this features allows you to “pin” Stories to your Instagram profile indefinitely.

Savvy brands use Story highlights to promote their most important information, updates, and deals.

On the Oberlo Instagram account, we’ve highlighted Stories linking to some of our top resources to help people build their online empire..

To use story highlights, first create a new story as before.

Once your story is live, open it and tap “Highlight” in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

Then you can continue to add as many sections of your story to your highlight as you’d like. Finally, give your highlight a title and tap “Add.”

How to Check Who Viewed Your Instagram Story

After you’ve posted a story, you can find out how many people have viewed your story and which accounts have viewed it.

To do this, swipe up when viewing your own story, or tap the “Seen by” icon in the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

How to Add a Link to Your Instagram Story?

Once you’ve grown your audience to 10,000 followers or more, Instagram lets you add links to your story.

You can use this feature to promote your website, a specific product, your latest blog post, or even an affiliate offer. 

This is especially useful for Story highlights.

Just select the link icon at the top of the screen and input the link you wish to include. Then tap “Preview Link” to make sure it works before tapping “Done.”

Then, viewers will see the text, “See More” at the bottom of the Story with the arrow prompting them to swipe up to open the link.

Instagram Stories are a powerful tool when used to their full potential. Plus, the features available provide a blank canvas for endless creativity !

However you use Stories, focus on engagement and developing relationships with your audience.

Most importantly, have fun!

Which feature are you most excited to use next? Let us know in the comments below!

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Want to Learn More?

• Instagram Marketing: A Complete Guide 
• The Ultimate Guide to the Best Instagram Hashtags for Likes
• A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Shopping
• Best Time to Post on Instagram 

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