With massive competition and popular short-form video formats on YouTube Shorts and TikTok, you can’t afford to ignore Instagram Stories and fade into the background.

Need some inspiration? Here are some creative Instagram Stories ideas you can use to your advantage.

Behind-the-Scenes Content

A curated feed of posts is a stylized representation of a brand, but Instagram Stories offers an opportunity to allow users to “peek behind the curtain” and see candid shots of your brand. Factory tours, studio sneak peeks, production videos, and employee highlights are great ways to create engaging videos that humanize your brand and build connection with your audience.

Behind-the-scenes content can be effective at any time, but it’s an excellent way to introduce a new brand to the audience and create transparency early on. This is especially important if one of your brand pillars is focused on sustainability, fair trade, or other social responsibility topics.

Product Demonstrations

Videos are one of the best ways to sell an audience on products or services that are a little complex. It’s easier for prospective buyers to understand how a product or service offers real-world benefits to them when they can see it in action instead of reading about it in a description.

Here’s an example of AnyCubic showing the FDM 3D printer in action:

Customer Testimonials

Sharing a video review or a slideshow of customer testimonials is a great way to use Stories to provide social proof and help prospective customers feel more confident about their purchases. You can use user-generated content (UGC) or compile quotes from real customer reviews.

Here’s an engaging example from K9 Ballistics:

Q&A Sessions

Instagram Stories has a lot of feature tools to create engaging content, including the question sticker. You can use this feature to include frequently asked questions from your audience and answer them in the stories, helping users get the information they need about your brand or products.

Another option is to host an “ask me anything” (AMA) in your Stories or do a livestream to answer questions from comments.

Here’s an example from Kamui Cosplay:

Promote a Loyalty Program

Stories is an intimate format that’s just for your followers, so it’s a great opportunity to promote your loyalty or referral program and get more members. Include information about the program benefits and a link to join.

Share a Daily Menu or Specials

If you have a brick-and-mortar restaurant or bakery or an online menu service with a rotating menu or seasonal food, Instagram Stories is a great place to feature your daily menus or specials.

Starbucks, which always has new featured menu items and seasonal options, does this well:

User-Generated Content

If you see customers sharing photos of your products or services on Instagram, you can share them to your Stories to show them off to your audience. This shows customers that you appreciate them and what they do for your brand and builds social proof by highlighting happy customers.

Another option is to create or participate in trending challenges. Tap into what people are talking about by including a trending topic or meme that’s relevant to your brand.

Here’s an example from Blackmilk Clothing with real customers wearing its popular products:

Sneak Peeks

If you’re launching a new product or collection, let your followers know first. Use Stories to create buzz around a new launch by showing sneak peeks and including progress updates. You may want to include a gated page with an early-access link that’s just for your Instagram followers.

In another example from Blackmilk Clothing, Stories were used to build anticipation for an upcoming licensed collection:

Educational Content

Stories offer an opportunity to share quick tips, life hacks, and other short educational bits with your audience – especially visually appealing tutorials. This is ideal for beauty, skincare, tech, fashion, and art brands, but many other industries can leverage tutorials.

For example, Kat Art Illustrations offers tips for her art medium to help her followers realize their talent:

Promote Blog Content

Instagram Stories is part of your content marketing strategy, but you can use it to push followers to content on other platforms, such as a blog or podcast. Repurpose your blog post or podcast into Story graphics by summarizing your key points and linking to the content.

Storytelling

Brand storytelling creates strong emotional connections with your ideal audience to build brand awareness, keep attention on your marketing channels, and establish trust. Stories is the perfect format for short narratives that align with brand values or celebrate brand milestones.

For example, the eyewear brand Warby Parker used Stories to celebrate distributing over 15 million pairs of glasses to people in need through the “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program:

Seasonal and Trending Topics

Holidays or seasonal marketing is an important part of your marketing campaign, especially if you sell products or services with these themes. Use Instagram Stories to share holiday-themed content, such as holiday recipes or menu items, seasonal clothing collections, or holiday gift guides with products and links.

Harvest Seasonal Grill, a farm-to-table restaurant with a rotating menu, uses stories to share its seasonal menu and highlights:

Quizzes and Polls

Quizzes and polls are easy with Instagram Stories thanks to the quiz sticker. You can test your audience’s knowledge of your industry with multiple-choice questions, ask for feedback through an audience poll, or create quizzes to address misinformation in your industry.

For example, skincare brand CocoKind offers educational videos in Stories and includes polls to understand its customer base:

Highlight a Collaboration

If you’re collaborating with an influencer or another brand, highlight the collaboration within your Instagram Stories. This can expand your brand reach to include their followers and yours. Make sure you tag the collaborator and use the link sticker to drive audiences to the collection.

Note of Thanks

Without your followers, you would just be sharing content into the void. Every so often, make one of your Stories a note of thanks to your followers and show them some love for their support and loyalty. You can do this at any time, but it’s especially important if your followers have helped you reach a milestone or turned out for an event.

Coupon Codes

Use Instagram Stories to spread the word about your promotions, sales, or discounts. You can reach a much wider audience or use Stories to offer exclusive deals to your loyal Instagram following or loyalty program members.

GameStop used Stories to promote a massive deal with GameStop Pro:

Tips to Maximize Your Video Impact

These ideas for Instagram Stories for business should inspire you, but here are some tips to make the most of your campaigns:

Keep It Short and Sweet

The purpose of Stories is to provide snappy, engaging videos that hook viewers in the first few seconds. Use a strong opening to grab attention immediately. You should stick to one main message or theme to avoid overwhelming viewers with too much information.

Use Captions and Text Overlays

Captions ensure that your content is accessible to a wider audience, including those with hearing impairments or non-native speakers. You can also use text overlays to highlight important information or drive your message home, making it easier for viewers to remember.

Incorporate Music and Effects

Background music can enhance the mood and tone of your video. Choose music that complements your message. If you have key moments or transitions, add sound effects that create a dynamic flow.

Add a Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) is important to tell viewers what you want them to do next, whether that’s visiting a website, subscribing to a channel, or following a social media account. Make your CTA specific and persuasive to encourage immediate action.

Stay Consistent

Maintain a consistent style, tone, and message across your videos to build a recognizable brand. This may be a similar style for text overlay or stickers, a logo in your stories, a consistent color scheme, or any other element that keeps your Stories cohesive. You should develop a schedule for posting content to ensure that your audience stays engaged and keeps checking in with your brand.

Track Your Performance

It’s important to keep track of how well your Instagram Stories are performing to fine-tune your strategy and see which types of content resonate best with your audience. You can use Sotrender to analyze which Stories are reaching the most people, track engagement metrics, and determine what’s driving the best results. This helps ensure you’re consistently optimizing your approach and focusing on content that delivers.

Leverage These Ideas for Instagram Stories

Whether you’re just getting started with IG Stories or you haven’t seen traction from your efforts, these creative approaches to Instagram Story highlights can help you level up your Instagram marketing campaign and create engaging short-form videos that leverage this feature to its fullest.