8 Instagram Story Ideas To Spark Your Creativity

Whether you regularly post content or it’s your first time making an Instagram Story, coming up with new ideas can be tough. You want something that isn’t overdone or inauthentic — all while grabbing your followers’ attention.

These Instagram Story ideas can give you the inspiration you need to make your next great post. 

What Are Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories are posts that last 24 hours. They can contain photos or videos, and you can post as many as you want every day. They appear on your profile picture and at the top of your followers’ homepages, making them less likely to get lost in the feed. 

Stories are best for sharing everyday content and real-time updates you might not want to live on your feed permanently. For example, you could post a quick Story about your morning smoothie, but you might post a Reel of more professional-looking content later. 

Why Use Instagram Stories?

Stories let your followers into your everyday life with more real-time, casual posts. When you add a photo or video to your Stories of what you’re doing today, your followers will see it almost instantly, which can make them feel closer to you — whether you want to build connections with your audience or share your life with relatives who live far away. 

Instagram users also know they only have 24 hours to watch Story content, so they’ll likely do it quickly. If you have an announcement or need to share urgent information, a Story is a lot more efficient than a post. Imagine you’re hosting an event and get sick on the day of, so you need to cancel and let people know. A Story would probably reach more people faster than a feed post or Reel.

8 of the Best Instagram Story Ideas 

Most content is fair game for Stories. You could post a brunch picture, a cute video of your dog, or an outfit of the day — but with such a wide variety of options, it can be hard to decide what to post. Here are eight creative Instagram story ideas to start with:

1. Create Stories That Repeat

Build excitement with recurring Stories that you’ll post every day, week, or month. You could explore a new shop in town every weekend or document your kids’ craft hour every Wednesday. Your followers will learn the posting schedule and get excited for new Stories, and at the same time, you’ll already know what to post that day.

2. Go Behind the Scenes

Behind-the-scenes content is best if you have a business or love teaching others your social media tricks. You can let viewers know how much you appreciate them by showing them this “secret” part of your production process, which builds a sense of community and loyalty. 

If you’re a makeup influencer, show viewers how you set up for a get-ready-with-me video. If you own a local eatery, share how you create that famous ice cream flavor people line up for. You might just bring in some new business, monetizing your presence on Instagram. 

3. Answer Questions 

When you aren’t sure what to post but want to engage your followers, drop a question sticker on your Instagram Story and invite users to ask you anything. Collect questions via the sticker and post videos — or images, if you prefer not to talk — of you answering the questions. 

Followers love the opportunity to learn more about you, even if they’re people who already know you. A good friend might enjoy discovering your favorite book just as much as a follower halfway across the world.

4. Use Polls and Quizzes

Just like people enjoy learning about you, they love answering questions about themselves. Put poll and quiz stickers on your Instagram stories to survey followers about their interests, or have them help you decide between a “this or that” (like what to wear on a first date). You’ll learn more about your followers and perhaps discover some unexpected connections. You could even promise to repost some of the best responses, motivating people to answer.

You can also use polls and quizzes to determine how your audience feels about your content. Do they love chatty Stories, or do they prefer more polished videos? What topics do they want to see more content on? Does your new camera look better than your old one? You’ll get some direct feedback from your followers and show them you care about their opinions. 

5. Share Reviews

People like knowing what they’re getting into before they make a purchase, so reviews can be valuable things to post on an Instagram story. Share a testimonial on a service you tried, a restaurant you ate at, or a product you bought. You can even run thematic reviews, like rating all of the pizza spots in your town or great products for new parents. If your followers trust your opinion, you could even set up affiliate links or start working with brands.

6. Repost Content You Love 

When you really aren’t sure what to post, or if you’re sick in bed and can’t go out to shoot content, try reposting images or share Reels you think your followers will like. It gives another creator a shoutout, and it fills up your Stories when you’re out of content. You could reshare everything from a product you’re excited to buy to an inspirational video that speaks to you.

7. Advertise an Upcoming Livestream

Stories tell your followers what’s happening in your day, but live streams bring them right into it. Decide on a date to host an Instagram Live, and use Stories to let your viewers know when it’s happening and what topics you’ll tackle. You’ll build excitement and give yourself more opportunities to post content as the event gets closer. 

8. Experiment With Design

Not every Instagram picture has to be revolutionary. You can keep posting similar Stories to what you usually do — but with a twist. Try using stickers, text, and other visual elements to reframe the image and make your Story more creative. For example, if you love posting your outfit every day, you could add stickers that relate to the vibe of your clothing. 

5 Bonus Tips for Making the Most of Your IG Stories

Having cute Instagram Story ideas is just the first step of content creation. When it comes time to post, create higher-quality content with the following tips:

1. Focus on quality — Before posting, take a few seconds to polish your Story. Applying a quick filter, adding some text, or including some music elevates your content and shows more effort than just a mirror selfie. 
2. Make them interactive — Interactive stories encourage viewers to engage with your content, which can give you a boost in Instagram’s algorithm. Ask users questions, start a poll, or invite them to drop a comment on a post. 
3. Don’t overwhelm followers — Be careful not to post excessive amounts of content. If you notice a sharp drop-off in views when you post a lot of Stories back to back, your audience may be getting bored with so much to watch. A few Stories per day is more than enough.
4. Use Instagram Highlights — Save your most popular content in your Highlights — an Instagram feature that lets you save old Stories directly to your profile. If you attend a memorable event or document a cooking process your followers may want to revisit, gather these posts in a Highlight so you (or anyone else) can look at them again. 
5. Take notes from other creators — If you’re trying to post more consistently, take note of Instagram story examples you love from other creators. Even if you don’t plan on using them anytime soon, you’ll build a bank of ideas for when you need inspiration. 

Supercharge Your Stories With Captions

Even if you have a great Story idea, you might not be sure how to make it come to life. Luckily, you can easily script, craft, and edit content that pulls people in, all with Captions. 

In the Captions app, you can quickly polish the look and feel of your Stories without needing to spend hours editing. That’s because Captions AI helps you edit 10x faster, with automatic captioning and tools that cut away your mistakes for you. Create Stories you’re proud of in a flash.