The purpose of this article is to help you get started with creating great Instagram Stories for your business, personal brand, or for marketing yourself on the platform.
Instagram Stories were first launched in August 2016 and quickly became one of the most popular features on social media.
It now has nearly 2 billion daily active users, with Stories remaining one of the most-used formats on the platform.
Since its launch, Stories have significantly increased the amount of time users spend on Instagram each day, helping keep the platform highly engaging.
According to Instagram, “Stories made Instagram a place for people to share all of their moments – the highlights and everything in between”.
Instagram Stories are a fun and creative way for people to express themselves, but they’re also a powerful channel for brands to increase engagement, reach new audiences, build brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate sales.
So Instagram is a great video marketing channel for anyone if you ask me.
Since its launch, its helped several businesses such as Teen Vogue, Insider, and Bustle grow their brand exponentially – and it can help yours, too.
Today, businesses across every industry — from restaurants and tech companies to news outlets, fashion brands, nonprofits, and even government agencies — actively use Instagram Stories to communicate with their audiences.
What is Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories are short 60-second videos or photos you share on your profile that disappear after 24 hours.
Stories can include videos, photos, text, stickers, links, and interactive elements that encourage engagement.
While your Instagram feed is typically more curated and polished, Stories are designed to feel authentic, casual, and real-time.
Depending on your privacy settings, your Stories can be visible to followers only or to the public.
The biggest difference between Stories and feed posts is their ephemeral, intimate nature, which makes them feel more personal.
Brands commonly use Stories to:
- Drive traffic and conversions
- Tease new product launches
- Share behind-the-scenes content
- Announce events or updates
- Educate their audience
This creates a stronger one-to-one connection with followers and builds brand loyalty over time.
To really make your Instagram Stories pop you need to have them edited in nice way. I know most Instagram video are not edited at all, especially stories, but it really makes a difference.
Here is an article to help you pick a video editing app for Instagram.
If you need help with the editing feel free to reach out to our video editing company and we can help.
Instagram Stories Creative Tools (2026)
Instagram Stories offer nearly endless creative options, including:
- Stickers
- Polls
- Quizzes
- Sliders
- Question boxes (“Ask Me Anything”)
- GIFs
- Text overlays
- Freehand drawing
- Filters & AR effects
- Boomerang
- Live Stories
- Hands-Free recording
- Countdown stickers
- Music stickers
- Link stickers (replaced Swipe Up)
Adding Links to Instagram Stories
Instagram has replaced the “Swipe Up” feature with Link Stickers, which are available to all accounts.
To add a link:
- Tap the sticker icon
- Select the Link sticker
- Paste your URL
- Customize the sticker text
- Publish your Story
Because Stories disappear after 24 hours, links work best for time-sensitive offers, launches, and announcements.
Stories Archive & Highlights
Instagram allows you to save and reuse Stories through two features:
Archive – Expired Stories are automatically saved to your private archive. Only you can see them unless you choose to reshare.
Highlights – Highlights appear as circular icons on your profile and allow you to permanently showcase selected Stories.
Highlights are ideal for:
- FAQs
- Product collections
- Testimonials
- Tutorials
- Brand values
Why You Should Use Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are not going anywhere.
If you want your brand to stay relevant and visible in 2026, Stories should be part of your content strategy.
- Over one-third of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are published by businesses.
- Millions of brands use Stories daily to engage their audience.
- Posting 1–7 Stories per day still delivers strong completion rates.
A completion rate measures how many viewers watch your Stories from the first slide to the last within 24 hours.
Use Instagram Stories wisely so that you can grow your audience. According to a study conducted by Buffer, posting between one to seven Stories is best for maintaining a high completion rate (over 70%).
Posting when your audience is most active increases reach and engagement.
The best time to post is when most of your audience is most active.
Use:
- Location tags
- Hashtags
- Interactive stickers
These features help Instagram surface your Stories to the right audience.
Engagement drives visibility — the more users interact, the more your Stories are shown.
Instagram Stories & Shopping
Instagram Stories now support advanced eCommerce features. [UPDATED]
- Product tags
- Shopping stickers
- In-app checkout (where available)
- Direct product links
These features allow users to discover and purchase products without leaving Instagram.
Stories have become a powerful discovery and conversion channel for Gen Z and Millennials.
Run Instragam Stories Ads
Instagram Story ads allow businesses to reach targeted audiences using Meta Ads Manager.
Story Ads support:
- Video
- Images
- Product tags
- CTAs
- Retargeting
Stories Ads are immersive, full-screen, and optimized for mobile-first audiences.
Instagram Stories for Business to Try
Quizzes
Airbnb uses stories to create fun, engaging and interactive travel-related quizzes to interact with their followers.
In some of their Stories, they use polls to let their followers guess the locations of their photos.
Image from Buffer
Promote deals and blogs
Hopper uses Instagram Stories and the “Swipe Up” feature to let their followers know about their latest offers and content.
Image from Buffer
How-To’s and Tutorials
Instagram Stories slideshow format makes it perfect for tutorials and how-to type content.
This is perfect for recipes, hair and makeup tutorials, DIY projects, and home renovation projects.
Beauty brands benefit from using this format because users can see how to use their products.
Clinique posting beauty tutorials through a series of Stories.
Countdown Stickers
Countdowns are perfect for product/service launches or events in order to build hype and excitement.
You can also use countdown stickers to make an announcement about a sale or a promotion that’s about to end, creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Share User-Generated Content (UGC)
Sharing tagged photos from your users is a smart way to engage your customers and showcase your users.
For instance, Converse users their #FOREVERCHUCK hashtag to proudly feature their followers’ photos in their Stories.
Stories are the perfect place to display your UGC if you’re particular about your main profile (as you should be) and don’t want to spam your followers’ feeds.
Reposting UGC is also important so you can let your followers know that you’re paying attention to them and that they matter to your brand.
Interactive Templates
This is a fun way to get to know your followers and boost your visibility!
You can use it to let people know more about your brand or just for fun. Samples of templates you can make include list of favorites, bingo type quizzes, this or that.
Behind-the-Scenes Stories
Part of the appeal of Instagram Stories is its intimacy. Many brands such as Teen Vogue use Instagram Stories to take users behind-the-scenes of events and photo shoots.
This gives your followers a more direct relationship with you and makes them feel like they’re getting a cool, exclusive look at how things go on behind the curtain.
Colourpop also frequently takes their users on tours of their factory and shows them swatches of products they are currently working on.
Behind-the-scenes stories work best for events and press conferences because it allows users to be a part of the event without actually having to be there.
This also allows brand to promote their event without clogging up their feed.
Offer a Sneak Peek
Instagram Stories is the best way to tease your users with upcoming products or services.
The optimum way to do this is by combining both photos and videos in your teasers. You can even create a special hashtag to create even more buzz about your new product.
J. crew presenting their new shades
They even utilized Instagram Stories further by offering their followers early access to the first 50 pairs of their shades.
J.crew added a promo to their sneak peek.
Time-Sensitive Offers, Deals and Promos
Because Instagram Stories happen in real-time and are only around for 24 hours, they’re the perfect avenue for creating a sense of urgency and FOMO.
You can use Instagram Stories for limited-time deals or sales.
Whole Foods uses Instagram Stories to promote their “Delish Deals” specials which are items that are currently on sale at their stores and provides an end-date so their followers are better informed.
Collaborations
Amp up your chance to be seen by collaborating with another brand or influencer!
They could be from someone in the same industry or could be someone famous. If it’s the latter, be warned that this could be a paid advertisement/collaboration.
The exposure you get from the exposure will be well worth it however.
There are several ways you can collaborate over Instagram Stories.
Instagram Takeover
You can switch Instagram accounts and let the other user run your account for the day.
Post Photos of Each Other
This is the simplest way to collab.
Don’t forget to tag the other person!
This will organically draw interest to the other person and encourage people to check out the other person’s account.
Exclusive Giveaways
One of the most popular reasons for having a collaboration is to have a giveaway.
This could be a product bundle, a service, a membership, subscription or even a chance to meet the influencer themselves!
Reaction Sliders
Reaction sliders are a type of sticker you can use to gauge how much your followers like for instance a photo you’ve posted.
Brands use sliders to boost their engagement rate and build excitement about products.
Since you can choose the emoji to use on your slider, brands typically go for the “heart eye” emoji to show how much followers love their product.
You can also use sliders to conduct surveys on your Stories. Check out how Colourpop used sliders on their Stories.
Use sliders to ask your followers to rank their opinions about your products.
“New Post”
Instagram changed its algorithm from a chronological one to one that’s based on the specific user’s preferences (basing it on likes, following, searches, among others).
Because of this, a user may not always see the newest posts from the people they are following.
This is where Instagram Stories come in handy.
You can post a teaser about a new post on your feed, with an emoji covering your most recent post and a CTA encouraging them to head on to your profile.
Direct your followers to your new posts using Instagram Stories.
Contests
Because Instagram Stories are only up for 24 hours, they inherently have a sense of urgency attached to them, making it a great way to promote a contest or giveaway!
Post a photo of the prize and rules i.e. “reply to this story with your email address to enter.”
You can then randomly pick a winner from the data you’ve collected.
Alternatively, you could run a competition on your profile and promote it on your Stories.
As what we’ve mentioned earlier about the algorithm change, there’s a chance your followers could’ve missed your competition posts so posting it on your Stories exposes your competition to more eyeballs.
Instagram Stories create a sense of urgency perfect for contests.
Instagram Accounts We Love
The Everygirl
The Everygirl is marketed towards career-centric Millennial women. They’ve fostered a sense of community with their followers by asking them questions such as what they should a Sephora gift card on, opinions on home decor purchases, and polls.
They also use their platform to educate their followers on currents such as the government shutdown.
The Everygirl posts socially relevant content geared towards Millennial women.
National Geographic
It’s not difficult to imagine that National Geographic has a treasure trove of images and experiences to draw on for Instagram Stories content.
They post intimate behind-the-scenes photos and videos of various shoots and events they’re attending.
On top of this, they aim to educate their followers by posting informational video clips and interesting facts.
They also use Instagram’s poll feature to quiz their followers on random trivia.
National Geographic uses polls to quiz their followers.
Netflix
Netflix is skilled at generating engagement using Instagram Stories.
For instance, they use the slider feature to ask their followers to rate how embarrassing a certain television moment is.
They’ll also quiz their followers on their knowledge on TV trivia.
Netflix loves posting engaging content such as polls and quizzes.
Glossier
Glossier has mastered the art of Instagram Stories and is constantly connecting with their followers.
They frequently post user-generated content on their Stories in a “Top 5” highlight, ask followers for their skincare resolutions and features them, and answers their followers beauty questions.
Glossier encourages their users to answer questions through DMs.
Chipotle
Chipotle is all about promoting a healthy lifestyle to its followers by educating them about different types of diets such as Keto, Paleo and Whole30.
When a viewer opens their Story, they can see diet-specific options that are available at Chipotle.
Chipotle’s Stories educates its users about healthy eating.
Booking.com
Booking.com is good at mixing up their Stories but the ones we love the most are their travel tips.
They post tips about various travel-related topics including solo travels and budget traveling.
Booking.com posting travel tips.
Conclusion
Instagram Stories have become an important part of many digital marketing social media strategy and it should be a part of yours as well.
They allow brands to:
- Tell authentic stories
- Build trust
- Drive engagement
- Increase conversions
Use Stories to start conversations, educate your audience, promote offers, and showcase your brand personality.
The brands that win on Instagram in 2026 are the ones that consistently show up, listen to their audience, and invite them into the story.
About the author:
Rebecca Van Ommen is the Executive Creative Director of Paper Boat Creative, a creative agency that specializes in high-end photo retouching, photo editing, and more. She was one of the youngest Art Directors for Getty Images in London. Her work has been published through some of the world’s largest advertising agencies including Mother, AKQA and BBDO London. Rebecca loves to exercise in her spare time. She also enjoys bringing her daughter to photoshoots for inspiration
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Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner, and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to videographers, marketing agencies, video production studios, or brands all over the globe.