How to Post an Instagram Story

I often hear that Instagram stories are intimidating for one of these three reasons:

1. “I just overthink it all and spend so much time trying to make it perfect that I give up.”

2. “I just don’t even know what I should be posting on there.”

3. “My audience is going to know I don’t know what I’m doing.”

If you’ve felt that way at any point, or even feel that way now, don’t sweat it. We’re about to squash those fears and get you posting stories like a pro by the end of this blog!

What should I post to my story? 🧐

To start, we’re just going to think of our Instagram story like a cute little digital blog that updates our friends on what we’re doing through out the day.

Here are some business-y things to post to your story:

• A photo of your work set up today.

• A selfie with a client.

• Behind the scenes of you creating a product or service.

Also feel free to post more personal stuff to your story (even for your business account)!

Remember, stories are where your followers start to really get to know you.

Here are some examples:

• A shot from your morning walk.

• Your pet or kid doing something adorable (probably distracting you from work if you work from home 😆).

• Your trip to farmer’s market to grab a little treat before you start the day.

• A shot of your AM coffee 😍

If none of these ideas sound like they fit you or your business, go take five minutes to watch the stories of the people you follow to get some ideas!

NOTE: You can use photos already in your camera roll or a photo you’re taking on the fly.

Once you know what you’re going to post, you’re ready to make the magic happen.

Let’s Get to Posting!

Step One: Open Instagram and click the plus sign inside the square at the bottom center of your screen.

This will bring you to a page where you can see your camera roll. There will also be a bar at the bottom right hand side of the screen that says “Post”, “Story”, “Reel”, and “Live”. Press Story.

Now you’ve made it to the Story Creator space!

Step Two: Now you have four options! We’re going to break them down real slow:

1. Post an image or video from your camera roll. To add an image or video from your camera roll, click the small square in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. This will bring you to your camera roll where you can select the photo or video you’d like to post.

   TIP: If you don’t see the photo or video it may be in a different photo album. Instagram automatically shows you your “recents” album. You can change which album you are viewing at the top left corner of the screen where it says “recents”.

2. Take an image or video in the moment. This one is the most straight forward. Click the white circle at the bottom center of the screen for a photo, hold it for a video.

   TIP: If you want to record a video without holding the white circle, find the options on the left side of your screen. There will be three options and a down arrow. Click that down arrow.

   It will then name all of the icons for the different features. Click the Hands-Free feature. The bottom center circle will have a pink and orange smaller circle inside of it.

   Press that once and it will record the video for you until you press it again.

3. Make a color background with the “draw feature”. If you just want to post words without an image you can make your story background all one color. To do this you need to upload an image or take an image.

   Once you have the image, click the three dots on the upper right hand side of the screen and press “Draw”. This will give you color options. Click the color you want the background to be and press and hold on the image. This will make your whole screen that color.

   Then press “Done” in the upper right hand corner. To add words press the circle at the top of your screen with “Aa” in the middle and type what you want to say (we will go over this in a lot more detail in our next blog).

   TIP: If none of the colors that Instagram offers are what you’re looking for, try uploading an image of your brand colors first. Then click the “Draw” button. Once you’re in the “Draw” space, click the pin dropper in the bottom left corner. Select the color you want from the image, then press and hold on the screen!

4. Make a collage with the “layout” feature. To make a collage, find the menu on the left hand side again. This menu will have an icon with a box cut into three parts. This is the “layout” feature. Click it. It will then split your screen into four and the layout button you pressed will turn pink and orange.

   You can change how many parts your screen is split into from the icon underneath the pink and orange layout button. You can either take images by pressing the white circle in the bottom center of the screen or you can upload from your camera roll by pressing the square in the bottom left corner of your screen.

   When you’re done press the white check mark.

Your Challenge: Post a Simple Story!

Now that we’ve walked through four different story options, try the one that challenges you the most (or try all four for bragging rights 😆)!

If you’re still a little confused about this one and need some support, shoot me a DM on Instagram! I will be at my computer all day today to help anyone who needs support completing the challenge!

• How do I share someone else's story on Instagram?

  To share someone else’s story on Instagram you need to be tagged in it. If you are not tagged in it, there is no simple way to share it. If you want to repost someone’s post to your story, you can find more information about that here.

• What is the difference between a story and a post?

  Instagram stories live in bubbles at the top of your feed. They last 24 hours and are less curated and more personable. Instagram posts live on your feed. They are more curated as they live on your profile until they are deleted.

• What are some Instagram story tips for business?

  If you are a business owner marketing on Instagram stories, the best tip is to make use of Instagram’s story stickers to direct traffic to your website and boost engagement.

  Also make sure that your content helps your followers relate to the person or people behind the brand.