What should you keep in mind with Instagram Stories? How to get more viewers and more interaction on Instagram Stories? What should you upload to Instagram Stories? What are the rules for Instagram Stories?
The best hacks and top 10 tips for Instagram Stories from experience and my own use of the popular smartphone app. I explain how you can get more viewers for your Stories in the long run and how they can also become followers for your Instagram account.
Instagram Stories have become an integral part of everyday life for many Instagram and smartphone users. With the normal Instagram account, it depends on the best and most coherent pictures possible for more followers and likes. People only follow if they like the person and the Instagram photo style. The last nine pictures are enough to decide whether you would like to become a follower or not.
With Instagram Stories, personality counts for much more. Viewers like to be entertained and see something refreshing. There are no limits here and you are welcome to be creative, but should always stay in a certain style. For those who have no idea what I’m even talking about, I’ve written my guide to Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories live on the moment, real life and the little things that keep popping up in our daily routine and always vary slightly. Honesty and humor are as much a part of it as great snapshots, like a great view of a sunrise. I’ll be happy to tell you at the end of the blog post what you see in my Instagram Stories over and over again….
For many months now, Instagram Stories has become a nice way for many successful YouTubers to take their followers behind the scenes and to give them an insight into how the video is made and what goes wrong.
Personally, I always find it interesting during the filming of my YouTube videos to show direct insights and to accompany the active community through the day. However, if you already have problems on YouTube and feel “uncomfortable” in front of the camera, you will certainly also seem a bit nervous in the first days and weeks. You also have to learn for yourself, Instagram stories may be different – but should also hold information ready and therefore offers itself as a perfect complement for the YouTube channel.
It is an interesting connection between the communities on Instagram and on YouTube and both communities are subsequently growing steadily and quickly. Instagram Stories is thus suitable for growth and more followers on YouTube, as well as vice versa on Instagram. Regularly, you can link to the current YouTube videos with “Swipe up” in Instagram Stories and thus take your followers directly to the next video in a pleasant way.
Instagram Stories – short videos in the Instagram app
With Instagram Stories, we are talking about the small videos that are behind the top circles in the Instagram app. The 15-second videos remain viewable for 24 hours, unless you delete them ahead of time or store them in your profile so that they can still be viewed for 24 hours.
Unlike YouTube and other video platforms, you don’t have to worry about removing the videos again – after 24 hours, the video is automatically deleted again.
If you haven’t had anything to do with Instagram Stories yet, I’d be happy to recommend my detailed blog post “How does Instagram Stories work?”. Step by step guide, features and tips on the Instagram app”, where I tell you more about the basics of Instagram’s feature.
For the beginner, Instagram Stories are still a bit unfamiliar and often you get the question – “Why should I do Instagram Stories if they get deleted after 24 hours?” – but that’s exactly where the appeal lies and you can be spontaneous for once and take your followers to “private moments”.
10 Tips for Instagram Stories
Below are my top 10 tips for more interactions, more views, and in the long run, more followers on Instagram. If you follow them a bit, you too will notice in the future how much fun it is and how quickly the views and direct messages increase. My top10 tips and tricks for Instagram stories:
Post regularly to Instagram stories.
You should post stories every day. It’s best to post different moments throughout the day. You should always have a story visible and active. The more often you post something, the more often you will be in front and the more you will be suggested to friends of friends.
Only those who you see online every day as followers, you build into your own life in the long run and begin to tell others about it. You simply live with the person in the long run, especially if you know the small and unimportant things about the person.
It’s these moments that make great YouTubers and Instagrammers natural – the direct exchange with followers and fans and also everyday situations that you don’t expect. I personally also started showing my YouTube followers private moments from the kitchen (before there were the first food videos) and could thus also test the reactions, whether there is interest in a video.
Likewise, it makes sense to post things that others are interested in or see added value in. Whether it is a shopping haul with discount code or a tutorial on how to edit pictures or if you can set links to blog updates, videos or websites.
You realize directly after a short time, which topics are interesting, what do the viewers want to see and what are there more questions about.
Post different stories with Instagram stories
You should try to post as different variants of Stories as possible. There is a wide range of story options for a reason, such as text, live, normal, boomerang, superzoom (different options), focus, hands-free and stop-motion.
You should always try to use the available options, as this allows you to simply illuminate and show a new side to certain situations that are always similar on a daily basis. This way it remains exciting for the viewer and you become much more creative yourself. You should also plan time to be online “live” for the questions of your followers on Instagram Stories.
Posting texts on Instagram stories
With the new “Text” or “Type” option, you can see the current focus for Instagram on an explanation of the situation. Some may find it superfluous, but it makes perfect sense, because not every follower watches Stories with sound and does not know, for example, what the talk video might be about.
Sometimes hashtags give something away, but an explanation makes the follower rewind and this results in an interaction, which is important for your value and the algorithm.
Likewise, perhaps not all of your followers understand German and are happy about a small English explanation as text, for example. Through the different fonts and font colors, it looks nice even if you only post text sometimes.
Post polls on Instagram stories – let followers vote
Interactions are important to keep in touch with your fans and followers. Voting gets followers and fans involved in the person’s life and builds a relationship with the Instagramer. You automatically want to know later how it was implemented, was the product bought, the hair dyed accordingly or did you have a say in the dinner. One becomes curious and comes back.
Ask questions on Instagram stories
If you have specific questions and problems, you are welcome to ask your followers on Instagram. However, you should perhaps not ask what to eat for dinner, but real questions that you ask yourself and need assessments or help.
Often you then also get targeted answers as a DM, i.e. as a “direct message”, which is also an interaction and thus very good for you and your algorithm and the permanent visibility.
For many years now, the hashtag #Followerpower has been used on Twitter when you need help with a topic or a problem. You automatically help as a follower because you see yourself as part of the “family” and “community”.
Use hashtags on Instagram stories.
When uploading a story on a particular topic, one should use hashtags and put them on the story. By using hashtags, you will be included in the appropriate hashtag directory with the story for a short time and can quickly generate new followers and new viewers.
Which hashtags to take is always up to you and your story. It should match what you can see on the story. Check out my separate blog post for more on hashtags on Instagram Stories.
Use location tags for Instagram stories
Similar to hashtags, it works with location info. You appear for a short time as a public Story for the respective location and are sometimes listed in multiple locations – for example, if you specify the Westin Hamburg as the location in a view from the hotel window, you also appear in the Story of the Elbphilharmonie, the Hafencity, Hamburg and Germany.
Through the location information, people in the vicinity become aware of you, who thus quickly see similarities through the location and often like to become followers. However, it counts more if you are really at the place than if you upload a Story afterwards and select the place manually.
View stories yourself on Instagram stories
If you watch and interact with many Stories from other Instagrammers, you will be shown more often to the other person and their followers as an interesting person to follow.
You can also help others with questions and decisions and thus also start interactions. At the same time, you can see how others do stories and get ideas for your own topics and exciting videos. You simply learn again automatically with the community.
At the same time, it is a good indicator for you, if you yourself make many stories and consume many stories, whether the call numbers of your own stories increase and also your followers in the long run.
If they remain the same or even decrease, you can try a different concept for your Stories or your Instagram channel. If you make a lot of Stories, regularly post new pictures and also comment diligently and in detail everywhere, you will quickly notice how the channel grows permanently and more and more people are interested in the channel and the person.
Most Instagrammers who diligently post stories, place good pictures and have a nice concept, often grow by 0.5-1% per week, whereas small Instagram accounts (under 10,000 followers) usually experience a much stronger growth and also get on average more than 15% likes per picture (in terms of followers).
Be real and personal with Instagram Stories
With Instagram Stories, not everything has to be (or even should be) perfect. Your viewers want to get to know the person behind the Instagram account and understand how you are.
You’re allowed to be real and often share very personal things. Accounts that are very people-related find new followers faster than accounts that only show landscapes.
Show yourself from time to time from a side that others would not expect from you and surprise these followers. Sometimes the many face filters are also entertaining, but you should use them in moderation. Your personality should also be in the foreground in the Stories.
Most Instagram Stories make very good experiences with personality in Stories and experience a growth, just like on almost every YouTube channel, if you are personal and human and do not pretend.
Be complementary to your Instagram profile on Instagram stories.
Your Stories, for all their personality, should also match your pictures and profile. Feel free to explain the background of the posted pictures – what was it like when the photo was taken? Who was involved? Where exactly was the photo taken?
Also, the subjects should not be completely different. You just want to see more backgrounds and real life situations. On the whole, stick to the themes that you have specified in your profile and are visible on your pictures.
In the meantime, there are many different ways to creatively express yourself in the stories and make your followers curious. Playfully you tell more about yourself and what is important to you. In the meantime, there are some Instagram Stories stars who put an extreme amount of effort into their Stories and film all Stories in advance with a camera, then edit them with video software and only upload them afterwards.
So much effort for only 24 hours of visibility on Instagram Stories?
Fortunately, with the new Highlights, you can now select Stories from the archive and “pin” them to different folders in your profile. This gives your profile even more character and people get a good impression of you and your Stories that are important to you even faster.
So what do you see in my Instagram Stories?
I send in my Instagram Stories about my special fashion looks, often with high heels, tights and elegant outfits, but also everyday looks and OOTD lookbooks with jeans, blouse and business looks and even once in jogging pants and fitness outfit. Often I change through my different daily routine several times a day and like to take you with me in my daily routine on Instagram stories
For this I show in my Instagram Stories different great hotels and hotel rooms in which I am staying and show you my view from the hotel in many different cities, such as Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt.
I also like to include you in my thoughts and ask you questions that keep me busy on a daily basis. I give you a lot of information about personal moments and thoughts. You will also get live impressions of behind-the-scenes of my video and photo productions.
I also love to take you to special events and sometimes show you what’s for dinner at my place, if it looks particularly nice.
Conclusion – Best Tips for Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories have become just as important as regular Instagram pictures. It’s just as fun to create and upload the little movies as it is to watch those moments on others. It’s a great variant to be able to actively interact with your followers.
However, you can only unlock some of the functions in Stories if you have a certain number of followers or if you have a business account. There are differences depending on the smartphone you use.
