Continue with some Instagram Story Ideas to engage your followers for your brand…
10. Use the question sticker
Another good method of Instagram story ideas to engage fans is by utilizing Instagram’s question sticker. This permits you to pose a question to your fans (like the poll sticker) however they could answer with anything they need.
You could then share the answer on your Story. That is good for building engagement and having a bit fun with your fans.
With the question sticker, you could crowdsource new ideas for content, quiz your readers on different topics, or take requests for your impromptu piano concert.
11. Show off the office
Another Instagram Story idea is to show off your office—no matter where it’s. This offers your fans a cool, behind-the-scenes look at how your brand operates, making a higher level of transparency and trust.
The best part: You do not even need an actual office to show something off. It could be the coffeeshop you are working from, the view from your couch, or—if you wish to make fans really jealous—somewhere scenic like the beach.
12. Share follower DMs
You do not want to use the question sticker to share responses from fans. You could simply take a screenshot of their DMs to you and share that on your Instagram Story.
That is good once you get a great testimonial for your product, service, or business generally.
For instance, whenever Ramit Sethi receives a great testimonial from his readers on Instagram, he is quick to take a screenshot of it and share it on his Instagram Story. This offers his brand social proof and helps encourage other followers to do the same.
13. Contests and Giveaways
When you really wish to turbocharge engagement numbers, you could hold a giveaway or contest for your readers.
The prize could be anything from a free trial of your service, some samples of your product, or an hour-long consultation call from you. It just depends on what your products are!
With giveaways and contests, you could require your fans to do something to take part. Some common ones are requiring participants to:
- Share your Instagram Story and / or post
- Tag somebody in the comment section of the post
- DM somebody your Instagram Story or post
- Use a branded hashtag
- Like your post
For more on this, take a look at the article on winning Instagram contest ideas.
14. Tutorials and how tos
Good marketing is all about offering useful and informative content for your fans.
What better method to inform your fans than by teaching them something new through a tutorial? Your Instagram Story is the perfect platform for quick tips and actionable advice.
Good examples of this are the prevalent makeup tutorials led by beauty bloggers and influencers (see above). It’s a good way to engage with fans and give them great suggest they could use in their day-to-day lives.
And when coupled with a before and after Instagram post, you could make a really cool Story—which brings us to …
15. Before and after
A before and after Instagram post illustrates something before a change and then what it looks like after.
This could cover a wide range reveals, like the way your logo has changed since discovering your business, the number of employees you have had over the years, or how your products have changed.
When you perform a service for clients, you could showcase how your service changed your client over time. In the post above, cosmetic dermatologist Morgan Naylor showcases how her client looked before and after lip filler.
16. Share a quote
This one of the easiest Instagram story ideas: Share a quote you wish to your Instagram Story. It could be motivational, thought-provoking, humorous, or some mixture of all these things!
As long as it matches your brand and you think your fans will appreciate it, any quote could be fair game for your Story.
Pro tip: Post a motivational quote in the morning with hashtag #morningmotivation.
That is an extremely popular hashtag that many people follow. Utilizing it’ll improve your discoverability and assist you to draw in new fans — double win!
17. Countdown to an event
Another good sticker you need to use is the countdown sticker.
Set the sticker to countdown to an event (right down to the second). Customize it with a title to let your fans understand what you are counting down to.
Some ideas on what to count down to:
- The release of a new product
- An upcoming sale
- Your brand’s anniversary
- A reminder about holidays like Christmas, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day (i.e., holidays where clients should keep in mind to purchase gifts)
- New store openings
- Contest close dates
- New employees starting
One good function of this sticker is the truth that your fans could tap the sticker on your Story and set an alert for when the countdown is completed. They could even share the countdown with their fans.
18. #TBT
#TBT, or #ThrowbackThursday is the incredibly popular hashtag all about nostalgia and “throwing back” to past memories. That makes it excellent Instagram Story fodder for your fans.
It’s easy. Take a photo from your brand’s past and share it on your Instagram Story with the hashtag #TBT or #ThrowbackThursday. This could be a fun method to showcase where your brand came from and see how much it has grown over the years.
Some examples:
- Physical location
- Number of employees
- Your logo
- Milestones
- Your products
19. Ask for donations
Instagram’s donation sticker permits fans to donate to a charity directly from your Instagram Story.
Select the donation sticker in the sticker drawer, then search via a catalog of different nonprofits to select one they want their fans to donate to. Users could also be capable to customize the name of their fundraiser.
That is a simple method to both support your favorite nonprofit and build engagement with your fans.
20. Interview an employee
Giving your readers a peek behind the scenes of your business is a good way to build trust and transparency. Take it a step further by interviewing different employees about their role, what they do, and what they think about working with your brand.
Mailchimp does this very well with their “Day in the Life” series on Instagram, where they showcase different employees’ days through their Instagram Story. This offers its fans a fun chance to view the inner workings of Mailchimp, while showcasing the strong personalities in the office.
These Instagram Story ideas need to provide you with enough to get began with when you are staring at your content calendar and drawing a blank. When you are looking for more inspiration, try the guide to social media brainstorming.