Instagram Stories: What They Are and How to Make One Like a Pro
Ranked Number Four among the most popular social media globally, Instagram offers immense opportunities both for business and personal use. And it has much more to offer its users than simply sharing photos. Instagram comprises a number of great tools and features so that everyone can find the right thing for themselves.
Stories are one such feature that allows the user to share special moments and events with the help of photographs, texts, music, and stickers in just 15 seconds. You may try an anonymous Instagram story viewer to see how people use this feature to get people’s attention. So, if you have never tried it before, it’s high time you finally did!
No worries if you don’t know where to start from – we’ve collected the best practical bits of information on Instagram story and what’s in it for you.
Why Bother at All?
Just like any other story in the world, Instagram Stories have a beginning and an end and are rather short-lived, meaning that they disappear without any trace 24 hours after one has posted them. That’s one of the key reasons many users think they are not worth the effort put into their creation. However, the Stories feature’s advantages become obvious if you look at this situation differently.
Indeed, taking a high-quality photo with the most suitable layout, light, and color scheme takes a lot of time and editing skills. On the other hand, the time and effort spent are compensated by the fact that photos can be posted in the profile unlimitedly and accessed anytime.
However, the idea behind the Stories feature is quite different – it allows you to add life and vividness to the overall stillness of the Instagram account. A story doesn’t last long? True, and that’s the beauty of it!
There is no need for you to make several variants, edit them, and choose the best one – make a brief video of a moment you want to share with the rest of the world, be as natural as possible, and post it on your Instagram profile; that’s it!
Where do I Start?
You should focus on your initial idea of why you decided to make a story in the first place and which exact message you would like to get through to your audience. And then comes the design part. Though Instagram stories are short and brief, it would be wrong to completely turn a blind eye to such a crucial factor as their form and composition.
The good news is that professional, free graphic design software like VistaCreate can do all the hard work for you free of charge.
What’s Next?
Emotions are paramount since Instagram is a space without boundaries for creativity and imagination. If your followers wanted to watch the news, they would likely stick to something like CNN, not Instagram Stories.
So rather than concentrating on boring facts, better showcase your feelings and emotions about those special moments you share with the audience. Make sure you spice up your stories with smileys, Emojis, hashtags, locations, stickers, and other things Instagram offers, and let other users walk your path together! Don’t be shy, and go ahead!
Engage Your Followers
Unlike ordinary photos, Stories is a perfect interaction tool to help engage other users and boost their interest in you and your profile. Use various poll stickers to allow your followers to express their opinions on a certain issue by voting.
Moreover, if they want to see the poll results, they must come back and watch your story repeatedly. And something tells us they for sure will! A countdown and chat stickers are cool features to get bigger engagement from the Instagram community in who you are and what you do.
Consistency Matters
First stories, in all likelihood, will be a far cry from what one would like them to be in terms of both their quality and followers’ engagement and response. It might be disappointing, if not disheartening, but don’t let it discourage you from trying further. The key to success here is consistency.
Instagram Stories are quick to disappear, so make sure you post them systematically, preferably daily. If you are going to post one story, say, a week, then you’d better not even try it at all. With time and regularly updated Stories content, you’ll find your audience more and more engaged every week.
Try It and See for Yourself
Starting something new is almost always a challenge, and this equally applies to the Instagram Stories experience if you are more of a ‘photo’ personality and making videos is not your cup of tea.
The stories option offered by Instagram is worth your attention; however, it’s up to you to decide on the right way to approach it. Start with small steps, for example, by adjusting your privacy settings and showing your first stories to close friends only. After receiving their feedback and first-hand practical experience, you can choose what to do next.
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