Creating Instagram Stories: The complete guide

Instagram Stories are short photos or videos that disappear automatically after 24 hours. Millions of people use this popular feature every day to share their day. In this article you'll learn how to create Instagram Stories yourself and discover handy tips and tricks to make your Stories more appealing.

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are temporary updates that appear in small circles at the top of your Instagram feed. When someone has posted a new Story, a colored ring appears around their profile picture. Tap it to view the Story.

Stories disappear automatically after 24 hours, unless you save them as a 'Highlight' on your profile. That makes Stories ideal for sharing everyday moments without filling up your profile with photos.

Why use Stories?

Stories have several advantages over regular Instagram posts:

  • Low barrier: You don't have to think about the perfect photo
  • Interactive: You can add polls, questions and other interactive elements
  • Spontaneous: Share moments as they happen
  • No visible likes: There is less pressure to be popular

Creating your first Story

Creating an Instagram Story is easy. Here is a step-by-step explanation:

Step 1: Open the camera

You can open the Story camera in three ways:

  1. Swipe right from your Instagram feed
  2. Tap your profile picture with the plus sign at the top left
  3. Tap the plus icon at the top and choose 'Story'

Step 2: Take or choose a photo/video

You now see the camera. You have several options:

  • Tap the round button to take a photo
  • Press and hold to record a video (up to 60 seconds)
  • Swipe up to choose a photo from your gallery

Step 3: Edit your Story

After taking or choosing a photo, you can edit it with the buttons at the top right:

  • Text (Aa): Add text in different fonts
  • Stickers: Add stickers, GIFs, locations and more
  • Draw: Draw on your photo with different brushes
  • Effects: Apply filters and effects

Step 4: Share your Story

Done editing? Tap 'Your story' at the bottom to share. Your Story is now visible to your followers for 24 hours.

Creative features in Stories

Instagram offers many creative features to make your Stories more interesting. Here are the most important ones:

Adding stickers

The sticker feature is one of the most powerful tools in Stories. Tap the sticker icon (a square with a face) to open it:

  • Location: Add where you are
  • Mention (@): Tag other users
  • Hashtag (#): Add a hashtag so more people can find your Story
  • Music: Add a song to your Story
  • Poll: Let followers vote between two options
  • Question: Ask your followers a question
  • Quiz: Create a quiz with multiple answer options
  • Countdown: Create a countdown clock to an event
  • Link: Add a link to a website

Text and fonts

Tap 'Aa' to add text. Instagram offers various fonts and effects:

  1. Type your text
  2. Swipe through the fonts at the bottom
  3. Tap the color circle to choose the text color
  4. Tap the A icon with stars for text effects

You can move the text by dragging it and make it bigger or smaller by pinching with two fingers.

Drawing and highlighting

Tap the squiggly line icon to draw:

  • Pen: Normal drawing pen
  • Arrow: Draws with an arrowhead
  • Highlighter: Semi-transparent marker
  • Eraser: Erase parts of your drawing

Pick a color from the spectrum at the bottom or press and hold a color for more shades.

Handy tips for better Stories

With these tips you'll create Stories that stand out:

Tip 1: Use consistent colors

Choose colors that match your photo or your personal style. With the eyedropper tool you can pick a color from your photo for your text.

Tip 2: Add context

A photo doesn't always say everything. Add text to explain what is happening or how you feel. This makes your Story more personal.

Tip 3: Use music

Music makes your Stories livelier. Choose a song that matches the mood of your photo or video. You can even display the lyrics.

Tip 4: Make use of polls and questions

Interactive stickers drive more engagement. Ask your followers for their opinion or ask a question. This invites interaction.

Tip 5: Mind the aspect ratio

Stories have a vertical 9:16 format. Make sure your photos and videos fill this format for the best result. Horizontal photos can be zoomed in or placed on a background.

Advanced Story features

For those who want to go further, there are even more options:

Creating a Boomerang

A Boomerang is a short video that plays back and forth endlessly:

  1. Open the Story camera
  2. Swipe through the options at the bottom to 'Boomerang'
  3. Tap the record button to create a Boomerang

Using Layout

With Layout you place multiple photos in a collage:

  1. Swipe to 'Layout' in the Story camera
  2. Choose a layout
  3. Take photos or choose them from your gallery

Recording hands-free

For longer videos without holding down the button:

  1. Swipe to 'Hands-free' in the camera
  2. Tap once to start recording
  3. Tap again to stop

Saving Stories as a Highlight

Do you want a Story to stay visible for longer than 24 hours? Save it as a Highlight:

  1. Open your own Story
  2. Tap 'Highlight' at the bottom right
  3. Choose an existing Highlight or create a new one
  4. Give the Highlight a name

Highlights appear on your profile below your bio and stay visible permanently.

Privacy settings for Stories

You control who can see your Stories:

Hiding your Story from certain people

  1. Go to your profile and tap the three lines
  2. Go to 'Settings' > 'Privacy' > 'Story'
  3. Tap 'Hide story from'
  4. Select the accounts that are not allowed to see your Stories

Limiting replies

In the same settings you can choose who can reply to your Stories or turn this off completely.

Limiting sharing

You can prevent others from forwarding your Stories in messages by turning off 'Allow sharing'.

Viewing Story insights

Curious who viewed your Story? You can easily see that:

  1. Open your own Story
  2. Swipe up
  3. You now see a list of people who viewed your Story

The list also shows how many people tapped through to the next Story and how many left.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see who viewed my Story multiple times?

No, Instagram only shows that someone viewed your Story, not how often. The viewer list shows each person only once, no matter how many times they viewed your Story. This protects the privacy of your followers.

How do I add multiple photos to a Story?

You can add multiple photos by posting them one after another. After sharing the first photo, go back to the camera and add the next one. You can also use the Layout feature to place multiple photos in a collage. Another option is to select several photos at once when choosing from your gallery.

Why can't I add music to my Story?

If the music feature is not available, there can be several causes. In some countries Instagram's music library is limited because of licensing rights. Also make sure your Instagram app is updated to the latest version. Business accounts sometimes have fewer music options available because of commercial usage restrictions.

How long can an Instagram Story video be?

A single Story video can be up to 60 seconds long. If you upload a longer video, it is automatically split into 60-second parts. Each part appears as a separate Story, and they play one after another. For short, catchy content we recommend videos of 15 to 30 seconds.

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