20 Instagram Story Ideas For 2024
Instagram stories are the first thing users see at the top of their feed, so it’s no surprise that you should be using that visibility to your advantage. Disappearing after 24 hours means Instagram stories give a sense of urgency and encourages your audience to stay engaged daily.
Stories provide an authentic way to connect with your audience and have tons of interactive features to boost engagement. So, get ready to humanize your brand with behind-the-scenes glimpses, real-time updates, and casual, unfiltered moments. Using Instagram stories is not only fun and creative, it also builds authenticity and trust, ultimately driving customer loyalty.
Have we sold you on making Instagram stories an important part of your social media marketing strategy yet? Well, here’s the other challenge: what should businesses post on their stories? Fear not! We’ve made a list of 20 Instagram stories ideas to get you started:
Employee Takeover: Let a team member take over your Instagram story for a day, offering a personal perspective and sharing their experiences within the company.
Flash Sale or Exclusive Promotion: Create a sense of urgency by promoting a limited-time flash sale or exclusive discount code available only to your Instagram followers.
Interactive Polls and Questions: Engage your audience by using Instagram's interactive features like polls or question sticker to gather feedback or opinions on various aspects of your business. Some easy examples are providing two options and having your audience vote for their favourite, or asking a simple question like “what’s the best _____ advice you’ve ever received?” (related to your niche). This is a great way to get real-time feedback and increase engagement.
Event Coverage: If your business is hosting or participating in an event, share live updates, interviews, and highlights to keep your audience informed and involved.
Behind-the-Design: share the process of creating a product or designing a project, from the idea to the result.
Meet the Team: Introduce individual team members, sharing their roles, personalities, and fun facts to add a personal touch to your brand.
Q&A Session: Host a Q&A session to directly address questions from your audience, fostering a sense of transparency and openness.
Virtual Tour: Give a virtual tour of your location, giving followers a closer look at your store, office, or production facility.
Meet the Maker: Introduce the creative minds behind your products or services, sharing their stories, inspirations, and a sneak peek into their creative process.
Client Spotlight: Feature a satisfied customer or client, sharing their journey with your products or services and how it positively impacted them. If someone posts about your brand, this is also a great way to feature their user generated content.
Office Pet Takeover: If your workplace has a furry friend, let them take over the story for a day, providing a lighthearted and adorable behind-the-scenes perspective.
Product Hacks: Demonstrate unique and creative ways to use your products, offering customers tips and hacks for getting the most out of their purchase.
Coffee Talk: Host a casual chat or interview series discussing industry trends, business updates, or even fun office anecdotes over a cup of coffee.
Friday Favorites: Share the personal or team favorites within your products or services, creating a sense of connection between your audience and your brand.
Ask the Founder: Conduct an “ask me anything” (AMA) session with the founder or CEO, allowing followers to ask questions about the business, product launches, industry insights, or personal experiences.
Sneak Peeks: Share a teaser or sneak peek of a new product, feature, service, or project that is in the works but hasn't been officially launched yet.
Pretend you’re the customer: Tour your website and walk your followers step-by-step through your ordering or booking process and ask for questions and feedback.
Pop Quiz: Use the quiz sticker to create a quiz related to your business or industry (true/false or multiple choice). Bonus points for a scoreboard at the end (magazine quiz-style)! Be sure to share the answers, this is a fun way to add some educational content.
FAQ: Share the answers to some frequently asked questions, chances are there’s someone out there wondering the same thing!
Offer recommendations: What inspires you? Have you read any books, watched any documentaries, or listened to any podcasts related to your industry? Are there influencers or brands that you think your audience would benefit from?
With a combination of photos, videos, and interactive features like polls and questions, Instagram stories allow you to be transparent, show personality, educate, and engage your audience. So, if you're ready to take your so