If growing engagement is your goal, the right Instagram Story ideas will get you there.
Instagram is the most-used social media platform for Gen Z (ages 16-26) and continues to rapidly rise in popularity among all ages, now ranking third with 50% of U.S. adults. Plus, Instagram shoppers of all ages spend the most, being twice as likely to spend over $1,000 compared to users on other social media platforms.
Instagram Stories is a unique format that helps build trust, reach new people, and nurture your existing audience. These are the top content ideas to grow right now.
Bonus: Claim your free pack of 30 Instagram Story background templates created by Hootsuite’s professional graphic designers. Easily customize them in Canva, and take your Story game to the next level today.
11 Instagram Story ideas for beginners
1. Share a product photo
Video is great for Instagram Stories, but a simple photo works wonders too. You don’t need a fancy photoshoot. Hold up a product, snap a pic, name it, and share.
Source: @winners on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Share a recent shot from a photoshoot or product photo and add a link sticker.
- Bonus: Add a link sticker to shop that product on your website.
2. Feature a review
Share customer testimonials to your Instagram Story, either one directly from a customer’s Instagram feed post or create your own with a photo, the customer’s review, and their name (if applicable).
Source: @getsproutsocial on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Pair a review with a link to the product or another call to action.
3. Share new Reels and posts in a Story
Add a touch of mystery to your Instagram Story and direct people to your latest content.
Personally, I notice a substantial increase in likes, comments, and shares when I share one of my Reels or Instagram posts to my Instagram Story. It’s a basic idea, but highly effective at boosting engagement.
Source: @wulfsnacks on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Share new Reels, carousels, and posts to your Story and slap a “New Post” sticker over top so viewers have to tap on it to see your full post.
4. Share user-generated content
Similar to the above, repost content where your audience mentions you to your Story — it’s great social proof!
Source: @vsp.consignment on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
5. Poll your audience
No one can resist a one-tap, multiple choice poll sticker. No one!
It only takes someone a moment to answer your poll and each click counts as engagement. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to subtly drop product features to educate your audience.
Source: @thelocalspace on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Ask for feedback from your audience about what products they want to see, or other valuable insights.
- Use a poll to educate your audience by posting it alongside “Did you know” style questions with your product features as the answers.
6. Quiz your audience
Quiz stickers are interactive and a fun way to gamify your Instagram Stories.
Ask your audience trivia questions about your brand or products, or have them try and guess what’s coming up at your upcoming launch.
Source: @wiseguytriviayyc on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Mega engagement Instagram Story idea: Link to a product page, then use a quiz to ask questions. Enter those who got the correct answers into giveaways.
7. Celebrate milestones
Reached 50,000 Instagram followers? 100,000? Sold your 100th or 10,000th order? Thank your audience with a quick Instagram Story to commemorate the occasion and express your gratitude.
Source: @trexorobotics on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Host a celebration double whammy by having a staff party. That way both your employees and audience feel appreciated.
8. Use hashtags
Just like hashtags on posts and Reels, Instagram Story hashtags are searchable and can help boost reach and brand awareness.
Source: @aircanada on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- If you’re posting about an event, be sure to use that event’s hashtag to be added to the content people are finding for it.
- Encourage your audience to share UGC content using a specific hashtag to make it easy for you to find.
9. Feature a customer
Start a weekly or monthly series to highlight your V.I.P. customers, or as Tourism Kelowna does here, members of their business community. It’s a great way to share your values without being self-promotional.
Source: @tourismkelowna on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
10. Ask for feedback
Use question stickers, polls, or even ask people to message you to gather opinions. The information you gather could help make merchandising decisions, identify upcoming trends, or crowdsource new product ideas.
Source: @designmehair on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Not sure what to ask? Start with asking for product reviews or your audience’s opinion on current trends, then branch out into specific questions designed to get customers involved in your creative process.
- Save the Story as a highlight as a virtual “suggestion box” people can use anytime.
11. Use location tags
Along with your Story’s content, the Instagram algorithm uses location tags to target who it thinks will be interested in your content to expand reach.
People can also search Insta posts and IG Stories by location tag. Tags can be cities, businesses, public areas like parks, and more.
Source: @nhljets on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Hosting a company dinner? Meeting a client for coffee? Traveling to a new city? Tag the places you go to be added to the Instagram Stories of those locations in the app’s map.
- If you have a physical business location, tag it often in Stories.
18 more creative Instagram Story ideas
12. Use custom font colors
You’re not limited to the default text or brush colors Instagram gives you. When adding text to your Story, tap the eyedropper icon at the bottom left. Drag it around your image to use that color for the text or drawing tools.
Source: @photoallison on Instagram
Font colors help your Stories appear on-brand, but as Instagram expert and travel blogger Helene Sula says, authenticity is much more important:
“To create a truly powerful Instagram I believe in creating an Instagram theme or aesthetic. But sometimes your content doesn’t always fit your theme. That’s why you can use IG Stories to share. You also have the opportunity to share your personality.”
Swipe this idea:
- Stand out with only a few seconds of effort by matching your Story text to your brand color(s), or to colors within the photo.
13. Add a countdown
Generate buzz about an upcoming event with the countdown sticker.
Source: @wandrd on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Countdown to a product launch, sale, or other event.
- Pair it with a sneak peek video for more excitement.
14. Share behind-the-scenes content
No matter what industry you’re in, you have some kind of “behind the scenes” teasers to show your audience. You can show everything from your warehouse and the team members who keep your deliveries going out or the creative processes of the people crucial to your success, such as this feature on the prop master of a TV show.
Source: @cbc on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Curiosity gets engagement: yes, even the most boring-seeming behind the scenes content can be interesting to your customers.
15. Host a Q&A
Use the Instagram Stories question sticker to get your audience to submit questions that you can answer in Stories. Answer questions about your products AMA style, or “Ask Me Anything.” Or bring in an expert for a special Q&A, such as Truly’s example below. The skincare brand had a dermatologist answer audience questions.
Source: @trulylifestylebrand on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- After the Q&A is finished, save it as a highlight so your audience can access the valuable information anytime.
- Share commonly asked questions in a FAQs highlight.
16. Tag other brands
Build bridges and potential collaborative relationships with other brands by tagging them in your IG Stories. This can encourage the other brand to share your Story to their own, and even potentially reach out to collaborate further on campaigns.
Source: @reapercustoms_ on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Start with brands you use in your business, such as one of the paint brands you use for your work.
- Share your honest review of the brand’s product or how it contributes to your own success.
17. Offer Stories-only discounts
If you’re specifically looking for creative Instagram Story ideas to grow engagement on Stories, there’s no better way than offering an exclusive discount in Stories.
Source: @experienceflyover on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Post about the discount in your Instagram feed but make people watch your Stories for the code.
18. Keep Stories highlights updated
If you use Instagram Stories highlights to communicate information, keep them updated.
Source: @tsa on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Start a series on IG Stories you can save as a highlight and keep updating, such as the TSA’s prohibited items one above which is informative and often funny.
19. Use interactive stickers
Punch up your Stories with one of Instagram’s built-in interactive stickers. They are quick and easy for people to engage with. For example, this “emoji slider” sticker only takes one tap and drag for viewers to respond to.
Source: @michelle.lynn.martin on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Question stickers are great, but require more effort for someone to fill out. Make life easy for them (and make it more likely they’ll engage with you) by swapping a “long answer” ask to an emoji slider.
20. Offer a sneak peek
Post a sneak peek of something exciting and ask your audience to guess what it is. This is one of the best Instagram Story hacks for saving time because you can publicly share the responses in Stories for great content all day.
Source: @scienceworldca on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Use a question sticker to collect guesses, or use other interactive elements like the emoji slider or a poll.
21. Show your process
Give your audience a glimpse into how your product is made with this Instagram Story idea for product-based organizations of all sizes. People love knowing what goes into making the items they buy, especially when those are hand-crafted or made by small businesses.
Source: @dbldesigns3 on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Create a video, GIF, or photo slides showing how your product is made, or the steps in delivering your services. Infuse your passion for what you do into it.
22. Share a collage
What’s better than one photo? More than one photo. Collages offer you an opportunity to creatively show off your products.
Source: @bikepackingcom on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Show your product from different angles, or sandwich a video between two photos for a delicious engagement sandwich.
- Feature multiple customer posts in one Story, or snaps of a recent event as a recap.
23. Layer an image on top of a photo
Create an eye-catching visual by selecting a photo for your Story’s background as usual, then layering another photo on top using the photo sticker.
Source: @nhlflames on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Take a screenshot of customer testimonials and layer that on top of a product photo for an easy Instagram Story idea.
- Mimic this effect by sharing a new feed post and layering it on top of a photo.
24. Use emojis
This Instagram Story idea needs no introduction.
Source: @oddbunchcanada on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Using either regular emojis or Instagram’s emoji-style stickers can turn a basic photo into something hilariously memorable.
25. Make your Story shoppable
If you sell online, tagging your products in Instagram Stories is a huge opportunity to convert attention into sales. With one tap, a viewer can checkout without leaving Instagram.
Source: @nataliemariejewellery on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- If you haven’t already, set up your Instagram Shop to be able to tag products.
- Ask influencers you partner with to tag the product they talk about in their Instagram Stories too.
26. Keep a Story highlight for your rewards program
Your Instagram Stories highlights are a great place to communicate key policies or programs, including your rewards program.
Source: @threeshipsbeauty on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Summarize the program, add a link sticker to sign up, and save it as a highlight.
27. Share a tutorial
Show your audience how to use your product or tips for the best experience. Or educate them on something related to your business, such as this hair tutorial from a hairstylist.
Source: @nicolepommehair on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- If you’re not sure what you could create a tutorial about, ask your audience what they want to learn.
28. Have a careers Story highlight
Finding top quality employees is a challenge for all organizations. Whether you’re hiring for specific positions or always on the lookout for talent, social media is a great place to get the word out. Share careers-related news on your Stories and save those as a highlight on your profile to make it easy for applicants to find.
Source: @cherrypick.vtg on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Create Instagram Stories for open positions and save them to a careers highlight.
29. Try creative text
Instagram Stories has countless options for creative text, from color options to drop shadows, outlines, mixing fonts and sizes, add emphasis with stickers, and more.
Source: @theapartmentlife on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Start small: Mix two different fonts or colors on your next Instagram Story.
- Ramp it up: Combine a text effect with multiple other creative Instagram Story editing tricks for a truly unique Story.
7 experimental Instagram Story ideas for bold marketers
30. Always have active Stories
Always having active Instagram Stories means you’ll keep showing up near the top of your followers’ Instagram feeds when they open the app. That means you’ll have a higher chance every day of reaching your audience.
You don’t need to spend hours per day on Stories either. Our recent experiment found that posting just 1-2 Instagram Stories per day yielded the best engagement results. That said, find what works for you. Don’t be afraid to test out posting more.
Source: @shopgoodboy on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- No need to reinvent the wheel seven days a week. Mix easy-to-create content with more involved Stories to ensure you don’t run out of Stories to post.
- Also no need to personally post daily: schedule Instagram Stories with Hootsuite for automatic publishing.
31. Use Instagram Stories as a menu
If you’re a coffee shop, restaurant, or other business where your products or services change often, consider using Instagram Stories as a main way to communicate those changes.
Source: @oldtownbakeryladysmith on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- List your daily menu, class schedule, or appointment availability in a daily Instagram Story.
- Save your Story template in Canva for your favorite Instagram editing app.
32. Try Instagram Story Ads
Instagram Story ads can be very effective and are easy to get started with (especially if you create an Instagram ad campaign in Hootsuite). Story ads appear periodically as users browse organic Stories and blend in very well, distinguishable only by the small “Sponsored” text under the Instagram account name.
Source: @fablehome on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
33. Educate your audience
The types of social media content people actually want can be simplified into two categories: educational and entertainment, as we found in our Social Trends 2025 report.
Source: @nikonusa on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- While educational content is important, it’s equally important to make it entertaining. Consider creating a video to communicate your information (and repurposing it for other channels).
- Save tutorials as Story highlights to extend the life of them past twenty-four hours.
34. Share memes
Meme humor isn’t the best fit for all brands, but if memes resonate with your audience, add them to your Instagram Stories strategy.
Source: @customcatcribs on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Sharing memes from other accounts is a great way to build relationships and save time with content curation.
35. Partner with a creator for a Stories takeover
Partnering with a creator is a great way to get exclusive, custom content without having to make it yourself.
Source: @travelandleisure on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Have an influencer partner with you for a full day of Stories content centred around their experience with your brand and unique viewpoint.
- Cross-promote the takeover on both accounts for maximum engagement potential.
36. Get on camera
Don’t be shy! For a personal touch, get in front of the camera for authentically on-brand videos, whether you’re a solo business or large company. Instagram Stories are all about authenticity, and nothing is as powerful for building trust with your audience.
Source: @evolutionstudios on Instagram
Swipe this idea:
- Instead of posting a photo of a new product, film a short video of you talking about the product as you hold it. Or, talk about why you started your business or lessons learned along the way.
- Repurpose video used in IG Stories for Instagram Reels, ads, and more.
Plan and schedule Instagram Stories, Reels, and posts—and all your other social platforms—from a single dashboard. Try Hootsuite free today.
