Your guide to boosting engagement

Instagram Stories are vertical photos or short videos that disappear after 24 hours. They show up in a tappable row at the top of the Instagram app, which is prime real estate for catching your followers’ attention, fast.

• 24-hour shelf life: Unless you save them to a Story Highlight, your IG Stories vanish after a day.
• Full-screen, autoplay format: Made for mobile, Instagram Stories take up the entire screen and autoplay one after the other.
• Interactive tools: You can add question stickers, emoji sliders, polls, quizzes, and more to get quick reactions and feedback from your audience.
• Audio and effects: Use saved audio, music stickers, filters, cutouts, and more to make your Stories stand out.
• Audience control: Hide Stories from specific followers, allow replies only from Close Friends, or turn off replies entirely.
• Highlights: Save your best Stories to your profile with custom covers to keep that content working for you long after it expires.

Each individual Instagram Story can be:

• Photo: Visible for 7 seconds.
• Video: Up to 60 seconds per clip. Longer videos will be broken up into multiple clips.
• GIFs, stickers, and interactive tools: Match the length of your media.

Stories stay live for 24 hours, unless you add them to a Story Highlight, where they’ll remain visible on your profile until you remove them.

Stories are where you can show up consistently without needing to over-produce. They’re quick to make, easy to test, and a solid way to stay top-of-mind with your audience. Here are some go-to formats that work well for brands and creators alike:

Pull back the curtain and show what daily life really looks like outside of your regular programming. These candid peeks help your audience feel more connected.

Asking a simple question can go a long way. Whether you’re teasing a surprise or just having fun with your audience, question boxes are an easy way to get people talking (and tapping).

Nothing builds anticipation like a countdown. Whether you’re hyping up a product drop, an event, or just a well-earned vacation, the Countdown sticker keeps followers checking back.

Use Stories to share what’s happening right now. Whether it’s a live set, a launch, or a pop-up, these quick updates help your audience feel like they’re part of it.

Stories are a great way to share your brand’s vibe, without saying a word. Use visuals to set a mood, highlight your aesthetic, or build the world around your product or service.

Not every Instagram Story needs to be a big production. A quick selfie video or casual snap is sometimes all it takes to remind your audience you’re here and thinking of them.

Stories are the easiest way to showcase real people using your stuff. Whether it’s a repost, an unboxing, or a casual shoutout, it feels way more authentic coming from someone else.

Stories disappear fast — and that’s exactly what makes them perfect for time-sensitive promos. Use bold visuals and a clear CTA to drive clicks before the clock runs out.

Got something new on your site? Use Stories to tease it with a bold headline and strong visual. Add a link sticker so your audience can tap through instantly.

Stories show up right at the top of the Instagram app. That’s prime screen space. So, how does Instagram decide which ones get shown first?

To post a Story on Instagram, follow these steps on Android and iOS or iPhone devices.

1. Open Instagram by tapping the Instagram app on your phone.

2. Go to your Story camera by clicking the + button in the middle of the bottom screen menu.

3. Capture or upload content

a) To take a photo, tap the white circle.

b) To record a video, hold the circle down in the middle of the screen.

c) To upload something from your camera roll, swipe up or tap the gallery icon (bottom left).

4. Add text, stickers, or music. Use the tools at the top of the screen to:

a) Add text or captions

b) Insert stickers, polls, or GIFs

c) Tag accounts or locations

d) Add music

e) Use filters, effects, or your brand’s saved presets

5. Post your Story. Tap Your Story (or Close Friends) at the bottom—and you’re live!

Your Story will stay up for 24 hours. Want to save it longer? Tap Highlight (found by clicking the three dots on the bottom left of your posted Story screen) to add your Story to a collection.

Want your Stories to go out exactly when your audience is online — even if you’re in a meeting (or asleep)? Here’s how to plan and schedule them ahead of time using Hootsuite.

1. Open your Hootsuite dashboard. From the top left menu, click Create → Post.

2. Choose your Instagram account. In the Composer window, select the Instagram profile you want to post your Story to.

3. Switch to Story mode. On the right-hand side of the Composer, use the dropdown to select Story.

4. Upload your content. Click the upload icon to add a photo or video from your computer. Or choose a file from your media library.

Heads up: If you want your Story to include text or stickers, add them directly to your image or video before uploading, using the Image Editor. Anything typed into the caption box won’t show up in the final Story.

5. Edit in Canva (optional but fun). Click the Canva icon in the bottom-right corner of the Composer. Pick Instagram Story as your format and design away. When you’re done, hit Add to post to drop it into your Story draft.

6. Schedule or post. You’ll see a preview of your story on the right side. When you’re happy with how it looks, choose to Schedule for later (hint: use Best Time to Post if you’ve got it), or Post now.

Insta Stories move fast, so your content needs to grab attention and keep people tapping. These built-in features can boost engagement, increase visibility, and make your Stories way more fun to watch.

With Create Mode, you can create an Instagram Story without any photos or videos. This feature is great for plain text announcements. Or, for drawing attention to your message, rather than the media.

Within Create mode, you can choose from a few different options by using the icon wheel at the bottom of the screen. This gives you access to:

• Plain text Stories (great for quick announcements)
• Shoutout mode (good for including a collaborator in your post)
• Using a GIF as your Story background (adds a little fun to your announcement)
• On This Day (great for sharing past memories to your Stories)

The Notify sticker is an awesome tool for content creators and marketers.

Viewers can click on it to sign up to be notified of your content. This way, eager followers will be among the first to know when you post something new.

Find it in the sticker tab, shown at the top middle of your Story screen once you’ve added your media, or chosen Create.

Forget about swiping up! With the Link sticker, you can add clickable links to product pages, blog posts, events, or sign-ups. No follower minimum required!

Tap the sticker icon when creating a Story, choose “Link,” and paste in your URL. Customize the sticker text to increase clicks (e.g. “Read more” or “Shop now”).

You can also change the look and feel of your link sticker by tapping it once you’ve added it to your Story draft. Match the aesthetic of your Story, and get your customers converting!

The fastest way to get interaction on a Story? Ask a simple question.

With the Poll sticker, you can add a four-option poll to any frame. Think light, low-effort , yes or no questions, like:

• Would you try this?
• Tacos or pizza?
• Do you like this outfit?

Polls get your audience tapping and they signal to the algorithm that people are engaging with your content.

Use the Question sticker to start conversations. Literally.

This feature invites followers to send you responses in their own words. You can use it to collect ideas, source testimonials, ask for feedback, or just do a casual AMA (Ask Me Anything).

Responses show up in your DMs and can be shared back into your Stories to keep the conversation going publicly, like in this example from Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri.

Want to give your audience a chance to collab on your Story content?

Hype something before it drops. The Countdown sticker lets you build anticipation for a product launch, live event, sale, or premiere.

When followers tap the sticker, they can choose to get a notification when the countdown ends. Or, they can share the countdown on their own Story. It’s an easy way to turn Story views into actual conversions!

For food businesses, this one’s a no-brainer.

Restaurants, bakeries, caterers, and cafes can add a “Food Orders” sticker that links directly to delivery or takeout platforms.

Once added, Story viewers can tap to place an order directly, without needing to leave Instagram. It’s literally a one-stop-shop!

Add the emoji slider to gauge how your audience feels about a topic or product. Use it for mood checks (“How excited are you?”), quick reactions, or even as a fun way to crowdsource preferences.

The Location sticker can help your Story show up in local searches and the Explore tab. Whether you’re posting from an event, tagging your store, or highlighting a customer’s city, this sticker boosts visibility for regional content.

Give credit, shout someone out, or loop in a collaborator.

You can add mentions while uploading your story using the mention sticker.

Or, retroactively after it’s been posted by clicking the @ symbol at the bottom of your posted Story screen.

Mentions are a great way to increase your Stories chances of being shared. And, show your best customers, collaborators, and influencers how much you appreciate them!

Turn your Story into a shopping experience.

Tap the Music sticker and search from thousands of licensed tracks. You can pick the exact lyric snippet you want to feature, choose the visual style, and even match beats to your video edits.

Once it’s added, you can customize how it appears: lyrics, album art, or just a small tag in the corner.

Want a sticker or text block to move with your video subject? You can pin it.

Tap and hold on a sticker or text box while editing your Story, then anchor it to a part of the video frame. Instagram’s motion tracking will keep it locked as the subject moves.

This is perfect for making sure your CTA stays visible. Or, adding surprise elements to a Story as a little treat for viewers that stick around.

Extend the life of your best posts.

Tap the paper airplane icon under your feed post and choose “Add to Your Story.” This lets you re-share older content with new commentary, a sticker, or a CTA (“Click through to read”).

Great for boosting underperforming posts, giving a second life to announcements, or drawing extra attention to a launch.

Some Stories deserve more than 24 hours.

After you publish a Story, you can save it to your profile as a Highlight. Think of these like permanent collections — FAQs, reviews, tutorials, events, or product showcases.

Highlights let you surface key info for new Story visitors, and extend the ROI of your best work.

Instagram’s Cutouts tool lets you turn any image into a custom sticker.

Use your logo, a product shot, or even your face to add personality and consistency across your Insta Stories. Super handy for adding branded elements without needing a full design app.

Need to show more in one frame? Try using the layout feature.

This Story mode splits your screen into grids so you can share multiple photos at once. Use it for outfit roundups, travel highlights, product comparisons, or before-and-afters.

You can find Layout by choosing it from the left menu in your Stories camera. Then, choosing a grid style.

Recording a tutorial or trying to film something with both hands? Hands-free mode is your friend.

Before you start recording, click the downwards facing arrow on the middle right of your Story screen.

This will open up a window with the choice for hands-free filming.

This Instagram Story feature is especially useful for demos, makeup tutorials, workouts, or anything else where your hands are busy.

Don’t want certain people to see your Stories? Don’t stress. You can easily limit who can see your content by going to Profile > Settings > Who can see your content > Hide story and live.

You can also do this on a per story basis. After you upload a Story, click the three dot menu, and go to Story Settings. Here, you can choose to exclude certain accounts from this particular Story.

Note: This only works if they are following you, and you are following them. For accounts that fall outside of these specifications, you’ll need to go the “blocking” route.

If you want to customize your Instagram Story experience even further, open the Stories camera and then click the gear button in the top right of your screen.

Here, you’ll see a ton of advanced features for things like:

• Editing your Close Friends list
• Allowing or disallowing message replies and comments
• Whether you want all your Stories saved to your camera roll, or not
• Archiving Stories
• Sharing Stories to Messages, Facebook, and between users

One of the biggest shifts Lam’s team has made this year is thinking about Stories as a separate, standalone format — not just a place to re-share feed posts or drop behind-the-scenes scraps.

They’ve started building more content specifically designed for Stories, based on how their audience actually uses the feature.

“The biggest shift for us this year has been treating Stories as a primary touchpoint for our most loyal audience,” Lam says. “Your core community regularly views Stories, sometimes more than in-feed posts, so we’ve started creating more net-new content for the format.”

Because Stories appear instantly and expire within 24 hours, they’re especially useful for time-sensitive updates, product drops, or quick community check-ins.

“With recent algorithm changes, Stories have also become a key tool for timely messaging,” Lam adds. “In-feed posts can take days to surface, while Stories allow us to communicate instantly.”

Lam’s team has found small visual and audio upgrades go a long way in making Stories feel more considered and easier to watch. Lately, they’ve been playing with background music and optimizing reshared Reels to take up the entire screen.

“We’ve recently been experimenting with adding music to our Stories and full-screening reshared content — especially Reels,” he explains.

“Music has been a subtle but effective way to give our Stories a more elevated, editorial feel.” According to Lam, music helps the content feel smoother and more branded, while full-screen video gives user-generated content and community shoutouts the attention they deserve.

Instagram gives you a ton of analytics to look at for Stories, but Lam’s team focuses on a few key indicators: link clicks, exits, and time-of-day engagement.

Those numbers help them figure out what kinds of content to keep investing in — and when to post it.

“As a consumer brand, we’re focused on link clicks and how Stories can drive traffic to our site,” he says. “We also test time-of-day performance to spot patterns — for example, if weekend posts consistently see higher viewership, we’ll lean into that.”

They also watch for drop-off signals. “Frequency and quantity are another major factor,” Lam adds. “If we notice a drop in tap-forwards or increased exits, it’s a signal we need to tighten up and be more concise in how much we’re posting in a day.”

The key is balance: enough content to stay top-of-mind, but not so much that it becomes background noise.

When it comes to boosting interactions, Lam recommends tools that feel low-pressure for the audience but still give you valuable feedback. Polls, in particular, have been a go-to.

“Polls have consistently driven strong engagement for us,” he says. “They’re an easy way to get quick, direct feedback. It’s also a lightweight way for our audience to feel involved.”

One thing Lam thinks more brands should do with Stories? Pick a format and stick with it. Creating regular, repeatable content patterns helps viewers know what to expect and builds long-term engagement over time.

“Stories are an opportunity to build consistent, expected formats,” he explains. That consistency builds trust. People begin to recognize your content and look forward to it. Whether it’s weekly Q&As, customer shoutouts, or sneak peeks at what’s launching soon.

Plan and schedule Instagram Stories, Reels, and posts—and all your other social platforms—from a single dashboard. Try Hootsuite free today.