Ways To Use Instagram Stories And Highlights For Guaranteed Success

The Instagram Stories feature is a useful one because it allows users to post on the platform at a higher frequency but make sure that they are not over-posting. This will prevent the main feed from clogging up. The two most unique features of the Instagram Stories are:

• These are usually less-polished and more organic photos and videos and
• Just like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Story also disappears after 24 hours.

However, Instagram Stories are all about authenticity. The difference between Instagram Stories and Instagram feed is that the Stories can be a little raw as compared to the more polished phots that feature in your Instagram feed.

• The use of the feature will allow you to show the behind-the-scenes look of your brand and especially showcase the culture of your company
• You can also use the Stories feature of Instagram as a helpful tool to showcase any live event that you may have hosted or attended.

This is because, the Instagram Stories feature is much more time-sensitive and therefore helps you to gain more auto IG likes on your posts, positive comments and even a lot of sharing among the users.

Posting the Instagram Stories

You will actually get three offers from Instagram while posting your Stories. Instagram offers three options for posting to your Story.

• You can tap the camera in the upper left corner
• You can click on the Your Story button located just above your feed or
• You can just swipe right to access the camera.

When you use your camera, by default it will turn to Normal but there are several other camera settings that you can have apart from that which you should know and focus. These are:

• Type: This setting will allow you to create a text post.
• Music: This setting will pair a music clip of your choice to the image or video.
• Live: This setting will allow you to capture and publish live content for your followers to watch.
• Superzoom: This is the feature of the camera that will allow you to add an animated zoom to the video.
• Focus: This feature will focus on the subject and blur the background.
• Hands-Free: This will allow you to capture video but you will not have to keep on holding the record button down.

In addition to the above settings, the thunderbolt icon will control the flash just like the camera you find on a typical phone. Finally, the arrow icon will switch the camera view from front to forward-facing.

Instagram has recently added the filters feature like Snapchat that you can access by clicking on the smiling face located next to the arrow icon. This feature will help you to add personality to your content easily. All you have to do is:

• Swipe to the right or left to access the filters and then
• Select the pen icon to add a doodle and to choose a color.

Lastly, if you want to add text with your keyboard, press the Aa icon. The smile icon will allow you to add a location, music, GIF, poll, and several other fun features.

Tagging other accounts to Stories

Instagram Stories feature will also allow you to tag another account in your Story. This ideally is a wonderful way to establish a connection with other followers and businesses. If you want to tag some other account, the process to follow involves:

Typing the “@” symbol followed by the username of the particular account you would like to mention. This will make the tag clickable and enable the viewers to visit the profile of the tagged account. Likewise, if you are mentioned in the story of someone else, you will receive a notification.

Once you are ready to publish you will need to press the Your Story icon. If you want to publish later you will need to save it to your camera roll. to publish later. If you want to add to your Story as well as send it to other users directly, you will need to clock on the Send To button.

Summarizing Instagram Stories feature

The Stories usually appear at the top of the Instagram feed and also through your profile picture. If you want to see who viewed your content, you will have to swipe up when you view your Story.

Instagram Stories are much similar to Snapchat, though Snapchat has a facial recognition feature and Lenses or filters. The Instagram Stories feature provides a great opening for the businesses to be discovered due to its large and active user base combined with the search capabilities of it.

Therefore, if you are wondering whether or not you should use Stories for your business, the answer is a comprehensive “yes”.

Instagram Story Highlights

The fact that Instagram Stories life expectancy is only 24 hours make the businesses to use the Instagram Story Highlights feature. This is the actually the Instagram Stories that are preserved for over the set 24-hour period for posting on an Instagram profile. You will find this in a small circle under the Instagram bio.

• Story Highlights are a great way to showcase the best stories and post them in your account semi-permanently for your followers to see.
• You can use these to showcase different things such as your business products and services, promotions and new launches and more.

The most significant reason that the Instagram Story Highlights is far better than other features is that your Highlights can include a link to external sites.

The Instagram Story Highlights can also serve as a menu of some sort. Most of the Instagram businesses use Story Highlights to post different things such as their:

• Business hours
• Current promotions
• Salesteam member
• Shop location info
• Behind-the-scenes video and much more.

Since the Story Highlights are placed at the top of your Instagram profile, these are usually considered to be an extension of the bio. Another good thing about it is that you can add Highlight Covers to keep your profile branded and illustrate your Story Highlights.