*Disclaimer: Some links in this blog are affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission.*

Okay, just to clear the air here, let me tell you what you won’t get from this blog. This isn’t a blog giving you Instagram Story post ideas that will take you 10 minutes to craft together. I know there are a lot of cute Instagram Stories out there that use a bunch of GIFs, filters, and little drawings… but that’s now what you’re learning about today.

In my opinion, you should keep IG Stories as simple as possible. With Reels, IGTV, Lives, hashtags, and now Instagram SEO to worry about, I’m not going to convince you that spicing up your Stories will help with engagement. In fact, just like Tik Tok, I think that the more causal your Story is, the better.

You don’t need to create a cinematic masterpiece for your Stories to do well. If you’re itching to engage with your followers, there are tons of ways to get creative with your Instagram stories. I also think that Stories is the best and easiest way to start getting comfortable on video. Because “Videos are a consumers’ favorite type of content to see from a brand on social media (Animoto, 2018),” it’s about time you start giving live-action content a try.

If being in front of the camera is intimidating, don’t worry! Instagram Stories are only 15-60 seconds long and disappear from your account in 24 hours. So have fun with it and don’t stress about making a fool of yourself.

Lights, camera, action! Let’s dig into how you can use Instagram Story to show your followers some love (and give them something to talk about)!

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How To Post To Instagram Stories

You’ve probably heard that 50 million people watch or use Instagram Stories every day. Which means, if you’re trying to market your business on this app, Stories is arguably more important than p[posting to your main profile feed.

For all my Story newbies out there, here’s how you can post to Instagram Stories:

Step 1: Open the Instagram App and hit the + icon (top right on your profile or your scroll feed)

Step 2: Scroll over to Story

Step 3: Record a video. Tap the left-hand side and select ‘Hands-Free’ if you don’t want to hold down the record button

Step 4: Add closed captioning. Select the Aa text tool at the top and choose your favorite font and color.

Optional Steps to Post to Instagram Stories:

Share a photo or cute Instagram Story post template by opening Stories and getting access to your camera roll (seen at the bottom left)
Spice up your Instagram Stories by adding Stickers, gifs, or polls. Select the Square Smiley Face on the top.

Instagram Story Post Ideas To Help You Stay Consistent

I don’t know about you, but there’s a couple of reasons why staying consistent on Instagram Stories is so hard:

I’m always in my PJs, so I’m neeeever “camera-ready,”
I’m busy with work, and I forget to post, or I can’t think of enough things to say to keep my Story active all day long.

This is why the following Instagram Story post ideas will be all about keeping them as simple and unfiltered as possible.

It’s essential to have fun with your Instagram Stories, but having a strategy will make them more effective and consistent. That’s why I recommend having a call-to-action at the end of each Story. Not only does that increase your chances of getting more email signups or sales, but it can also increase your Story engagement.

More engagement = more views on your Stories.

Your CTA can offer your audience a freebie to get them on your email list, promote your product or service, encourage them to comment on your latest post, or ask them to send you a direct message (DM). But, your Stories don’t have to be 100% transactional. To boost your engagement, try Story Stickers!! Using Instagram Story stickers is an easy way to check in with your followers. Try using them once a day by posting a question, poll, DM, or quiz on your Story.

How often should you post on your Instagram Story?

If you said once a day is plenty, sorry, babe. More like at least three times a day.

With all those Stories, having a daily plan is a necessity. Here are a few simple yet effective methods to keep your Instagram Stories active all day long.

1. Share Others’ On Your Story

The end goal of your Instagram presence might be to up your business’s cash flow. But on social media, the real goal should be getting people to like, know, and trust you.

Everything else will follow.

User-generated content (UGC) can help you achieve that. Stories are one of the best ways to get more UGC on your feed. And on days when you don’t feel like being on camera, you can keep up with your Stories by sharing other Instagrammers’ content that you admire.

Try sharing relevant industry tips from your colleagues in your Instagram Story. Community over competition! Don’t pretend like you’re the only one with all the answers. Try to share at least a few a day. People love when their work is shared, so chances are, they’ll share your Instagram Story of you sharing their post and expose you to their audience. You can see how I tagged two of my favorite women entrepreneurs in my Story above. They both shared it to their own stories, exposing me to new audiences.

How to share someone’s feed post on your IG Story:

Go to a post > Hit the “Paper Airplane” icon > Share to Story
From there, Make sure you @ tag the original poster in your Stories. This is the only way they can reshare your Story to there’s (plus, it’s a sly way to slip into the DMs!).

To keep up with this kind of regular posting, I recommended creating an Instagram Collections Folder titled “Story Share” to save posts that you want to share on your Story. Keeping them all in this folder will give you a quick place to pull from when you’re running out of Instagram Story post ideas.

Include posts like helpful tips, favorite outfits, motivational quotes, feed captions that spoke to you… The list goes on!

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2. To-Do Lists

Think you’re too busy to consistently post on your Story? Think again.

Life Hack: Share your to-do list on your Story! Creating a template with your to-do list and sharing it to your Story will help keep you and your Story active all day long.

You can use my template by downloading it here. Just upload it to your story, write down your daily To-Dos, and make sure to save the Story each time you cross an item off your list.

Boom! Guaranteed 3-4 posts every day for each day you choose to use your To-Do list template. It’ll keep you on track and hold you accountable to yourself and your followers. Plus, it’s motivating for others to see what you’re crossing off your list. My DMs blow up with positivity whenever I share mine.

Other template ideas could be press announcements, upcoming collaborations, more user-generated content, client testimonials, and blog post promotions.

Templates are a great way to start being consistent with your Instagram Stories. You can spend time creating your own or buy templates from other content creators. However, Canva is the best resource for ready-made and versatile Story templates.

Warning: playing around in this app can be a serious time-sucker. I just spent, like, 2 hours trying to create “aesthetic” IG Story templates when I could have just used the hundreds they have available for me on the annual plan (highly recommend btw).

Don’t be me. Your Stories don’t need to be that serious.

And anyway, the true success is in the video feature.

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3. Tell Your Origin Story

We’re naturally curious creatures, so indulge your followers with a good origin story.

It’s time to spill the tea, sis.

Tell them what made you start your business. What was your defining moment? Go all in – this is your personal Story.

This is one of my all-time favorite Instagram Story post ideas because it’s a fun way to get in touch with yourself and your audience. Revealing your genuine self is a surefire way to build like, know, and trust with your Instagram fam.

You can tie this into a full published video, a blog post, or you can just tell your Story on Instagram. Whichever way you and your followers will enjoy most!

Try not to make your video seem too scripted. Your Instagram Stories should have an off-the-cuff, stream-of-consciousness vibe that shows your true self.

Worried about hearing yourself talk on video? Don’t be. 85% of social media users watch videos without the sound on, so be sure to add text to all of your Story slides (the Threads app is a lifesaver).

4. Your Transformation Story

Your followers want to feel like you’re a relatable person with dreams and fears, successes and failures. So tell them your transformational Story.

Talk about a time you almost failed, then tell them what you did to succeed. Try to keep it relevant to your business and your target audience. Maybe you want to vent about how someone told you that you charged too much. Or maybe you need to talk about how it’s hard being a mom and a business owner. Tell your audience about these fears and frustrations, end by giving your own advice, or even ask your audience for theirs.

This is a great place for engagement stickers. Try using the question or poll sticker to get your audience even more invested in your Stories.

If you’re a service-based business owner, showcase your clients’ transformation. This is called social proof, and you should be sharing at least one per week and adding it to your Instagram Testimonial Highlight. Showing your followers that someone else is loving your service is a neat little hack to get new potential clients to slide into your DMs

5. The How-To Instagram Stories

How-tos prove to your audience that you know what the heck you’re talking about. This helps validate their trust in you— not just as a person, but as a professional.

Start by writing down all the tiny, minute tips you have as an expert in your niche. I call these “Redundant Tips.” For example, I assume everyone who uses Instagram knows how to share someone else’s post to Instagram Stories, but you’d be surprised! So keep a list of literally everything you do in a regular workday because each one of these can be a How-To.

I came up with 52 How-To Instagram Story post ideas in 30 minutes. That’s one for every week for a year! Once you have a list, create an Instagram Story explaining your professional step-by-step process.

This is your promotional Story. You’ll want to position yourself as their go-to expert or “guide.” Have fun with it, but try not to give away all of your secrets. Leave them wanting more (and point them to your freebie, product, or service!).

Now that your notebook is full of Instagram Story post ideas, be sure to save some of your favorites. And remember to save your most important Stories as a Highlight under your Instagram profile.

Here’s how to save Instagram Stories to your profile highlights: