How to Use Instagram Stories: Tricky Questions Answered

 Instagram Stories have all kinds of built-in tools and functionalities. But they can be tricky to find, and even trickier to use. Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to use Instagram Stories to make the most of the powerful real estate at the top of the app.

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are vertical, full-screen photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. They appear at the top of the Instagram app interface rather than in the news feed.

Stories can include interactive tools like stickers, polls, and AR filters to make your content really pop. Here’s how to get started with the format.

How to post an Instagram Story

• In the app, click the plus icon at the bottom of the screen.
• At the bottom of the screen, choose STORY from the menu.
• Tap the white circle at the bottom of the screen to take a picture, OR…
• Press and hold the white circle to record video, OR…
• Tap the switch-camera icon on the bottom right to switch to the selfie camera, OR…
• Swipe up (or select the square camera roll icon on the left) to use pre-existing photos or videos.

                                       

On the left of the screen, you can select a format to experiment with: Create, Boomerang, Layout, or Hands-Free.

How to check your Instagram Story views

If your Insta Story is still live (meaning less than 24 hours have passed since you posted it), just tap the Your Story icon on the app main page to see a viewer count for your Story. Tap the number in the bottom left to get a list of the people who make up those Instagram Story views and see any likes your Story got.

After 24 hours, once your Instagram Story has disappeared, you can still access insights, including reach and impressions. (Reach is the number of unique accounts that viewed your Story. Impressions is the total number of times your Story was viewed.)

Here’s how:

• On the app’s homepage, tap your profile photo at the bottom right of the screen.
• Tap the menu icon in the top right and select Insights.
• Choose the time period you’d like Insights for: 7, 14, or 30 days, the previous month, the last 90 days, or a custom timeframe.
• Scroll down to Content You Shared and tap on Stories.
• Tap the Sort & filter icon to choose your metric and sorting options.

How to use Instagram Stories stickers

To add a sticker to your Instagram Story:

• Start creating your Story.
• Once the photo or video is ready to go, tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen—it’s the square that’s smiling and has a folded corner.
• Select the type of sticker you’d like to use. Each type has its own properties. We’ll explain some of the most common below, but you can also experiment to see how each one behaves when you tap on it. You can pinch and drag to relocate and resize each sticker.

Link stickers

To add a link to your Instagram Story, use the Link sticker:

• Tap the stickers icon.
• Choose the LINK sticker
• Enter the URL of the link you want people to visit.
• In the Customize sticker text field, enter the text you want to appear on the link sticker itself. This can be much shorter than the URL, or you could use a CTA like Learn More.
• Tap the sticker to change the color, and pinch and drag to position it where you want it.

Polls, quizzes, and questions

Polls, quizzes, and questions on Instagram Stories give you an easy way to engage with your audience, and to encourage them to engage with you. You can also gather valuable feedback to power future content ideas and campaign strategies.

To create an Instagram Story poll:

• Tap the stickers icon.
• Choose the POLL sticker.
• Enter your question.
• Enter your potential responses. The default is Yes/No, but you can type any response.
• Let your poll run for 24 hours.
• Don’t forget to share the results!

Quizzes are similar, except that you give your followers a few options to choose from, and they get immediate feedback about whether they made the right choice.

• To create an Instagram Story quiz:
• Tap the stickers icon.
• Choose the QUIZ sticker.
• Enter your question prompt.
• Enter your potential answers.
• Tap the correct answer. It will be highlighted in green so people get feedback about their choice.

Finally, IG Stories questions offer a completely customizable way to make your Stories interactive.

Instead of asking your followers what they think, the questions sticker allows your followers to ask you questions. Think of it as the Instagram equivalent of an AMA (ask me anything).

• To use Instagram Stories questions:
• Tap the sticker icon.
• Choose the QUESTIONS sticker.
• Customize the text of the question prompt.
• Tap Done.
• You’ll find the questions in your viewers list. Tap any question to share it and reply. The identity of the asker will not be revealed.

Of course, you can also get creative with the questions sticker and use it to ask for any kind of commentary from your followers:

Hashtags

Adding a hashtag sticker to your Insta Story makes it discoverable to a wider audience.

There are two ways to add a hashtag to your Story:

Use the #HASHTAG sticker.

Use the regular text function (tap the text sticker—the one that says Aa) and use the # symbol.

Either way, once you start typing, Instagram will suggest some popular hashtag ideas to get you going. You can add up to 10 hashtags to your Stories, but we recommend sticking to just a couple of the most relevant.

How to use GIFs on Instagram Stories

GIFs are a great way to add movement and color to even the most static Instagram Story. Here’s the easiest way to add one:

Tap the sticker icon and select the GIF sticker.

Choose from your recently used GIFs, trending GIFs, or search to find the perfect GIF for the current Story.

Tap the GIF you want to use to add it to your Story.

Pinch and drag the GIF to reposition and resize.

How to use saved audio on Instagram Stories

There is no built-in functionality to add saved audio to an Instagram Story, but there are a couple of workarounds. These are legitimate methods that won’t get you into copyright trouble.

For either method, you need to start by saving some audio. Do that by tapping on the name of the audio track on any Instagram content and clicking the save button on the top right of your screen.

Use the Music Sicker to add saved audio to an Instagram Story

Note that this option only works for music, not original audio tracks. In this method, your Saved Audio library is essentially acting as a reminder file.

• From your Instagram profile, tap the menu icon (three lines) and select Saved.
• Tap Audio, then Music and find the track you want to use. Write down the name of the song. (Or just remember it if that works for you!)
• Create your Story and tap the Music sticker.
• Search for the track you just wrote down and add it to your Story from the Instagram Music Library.

Use Reels to add saved audio to an Instagram Story

In this workaround, you’ll use saved audio to create a Reel, then share the Reel to your Story. It’s not seamless, but it’s the only option for using saved audio other than music tracks.

• From your Instagram profile, tap the menu (three lines) icon and tap Saved.
• Tap Audio, then select the track you want to use.
• Tap Use audio.

Make sure you have Reel selected in the bottom menu (rather than Post). Add your photos and clips to complete your Reel. When you’re ready, click Share. If you don’t want the Reel to appear on your main grid, turn off the slider option for Also share to Feed.

• Go to your Reels tab and click on the Reel you want to share
• Tap the Share icon and then tap Add to story.
• Resize the Reel as desired and tap Your Story.
• How to use original audio on Instagram Stories

As seen in the section above, there’s no elegant way to add someone else’s original audio to your Instagram Stories. Instead, you’ll have to create a Reel and add that to your Story.

To add original audio from your saved audio library, follow the steps above under the heading Use Reels to add saved audio to an Instagram Story.

Here’s what to do if you are scrolling through Instagram Reels and come across original audio you want to use right away:

• Tap on the Reel from which you want to use the audio.
• Tap the name of the original audio track at the bottom left of the screen.
• Tap Use audio.
• Follow steps 4 through 7 from the section above to add the Reel to your Story.