How to make stories on Instagram. Why and how to shoot them.

Billions of people know how to do it, now it's your turn.

Stories are a convenient and popular content format on Instagram; a powerful tool for increasing reach and user engagement. It is particularly suitable for online store owners, coaching centers, and training groups. In general, all those people who want to improve their Instagram*.

What are the features of Stories

Distinctive features of Stories compared to other formats.

• Each story (photo or video) lasts up to 15 seconds.
• Stories are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

The automatic deletion of Stories prompts users to view the content before it disappears from sight. Exceptions include only current stories or Stories Highlights, which do not disappear within 24 hours.
Stories are located separately from the main feed, at the top of the Instagram interface.
Stories are placed above the feed, and only the Stories of the accounts that the user is following are visible. Stories in the profile are located below the description and control buttons.

You need to click on the icon to see Stories. In this case, if the Stories have not been viewed yet, they are highlighted.
Many people want to find where they can watch Stories anonymously, but it is impossible to do so within Instagram itself. To achieve this, special services like Gramster or Gramotool need to be used.

What are the advantages of Stories

In a study conducted by Delmondo and Buffer, more than 15,000 Stories were analyzed, revealing that the more Stories are posted in an account, the higher the average reach and number of views.
This can be attributed to the features and advantages of the Stories format.

1. The Stories feed is located at the top, attracting more attention.
2. An enhanced set of editing tools.
3. Instagram Stories seamlessly integrates with Facebook. To do this, simply link the accounts in the settings.
4. Links can be placed on Stories (if the account has 10,000 followers), users can be tagged, hashtags and geolocation tags can be added.
5. An intuitive interface that even beginner Instagram users can easily navigate.
6. The opportunity for gamification of content. Game mechanics create excitement, attract more attention, and require a response. This is beneficial for increasing the reach of an Instagram account.
7. AR filters - a set of special effects that can be applied to photos or videos. These effects can be static or dynamic. It is not the easiest, but nevertheless an effective way to promote your Stories.

How to shoot and add Stories

1. Click on the "+" button next to the avatar (in the account or on the main page).
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2. Once the camera opens, you can choose one of the modes (Boomerang or Collage). You can switch the camera mode on this screen.
3. To record a video, press the center button or tap once to take a photo. Finally, to publish the finished work, select a photo or video from your smartphone in the bottom right corner.
4. After shooting, the editor will open - you can draw something or add stickers, for example:
• "Order food" and "Support small business" - new stickers that appeared during the pandemic. You can share a link to a food delivery company or promote a small business account that you recommend supporting.
• Location - indicating a place on the map. With this tag, the Stories will be visible in location searches, providing additional reach.
• Questions - allowing followers to ask something directly to bloggers or companies in Stories.
• "Write me" - a quick way for users to go to direct messages.
• "Quiz" - a great option for gamification, turning communication into an interactive experience.
5. Next, choose the desired filter or mask. There is an option to select the most suitable option from a variety of variations.

What do you need to create and design Stories?

We won't rewrite the requirements from the Facebook* Business Help, but it's interesting to discuss some less obvious points mentioned there:

• To quickly and effectively use the Stories format and get the most out of it, it's best to use short, simple, but vibrant stories. More complex stories that require attention are better suited for regular posts.
• It's preferable to use videos and animations as the basis. For those who watch videos without sound, subtitles can be added. Additionally, consider where to place geotags, hashtags, or mentions of other accounts.
• If you want to create Stories, avoid using too much text as it can be difficult to read within the 15-second timeframe. It's better to place text in the center, as placing it on the edges can hinder focus. When choosing the text color, consider the background to ensure it doesn't blend in.

Five apps that can assist in creating Stories

• StoryArt: This app is designed for creating and editing stories on Android devices. It offers free templates, including animated ones, categorized into topics such as movies and fashion. Users can upload their own images or use pre-designed images from the catalog. There are also additional paid options available.
• VSCO: Used on both Android and iOS, VSCO allows users to create photos based on images with a variety of filters (some paid). It offers fine editing capabilities such as exposure adjustment, contrast adjustment, perspective correction, and white balance adjustment. It's like having Photoshop on your smartphone.
• Customizable music in Storybeat: Storybeat allows users to import music from Spotify and publish it directly to Instagram. It also offers additional features like overlaying audio onto videos or photos and creating stop motion effects.
• Slo mo video: This app allows users to slow down videos. To use it, simply select the portion of the video you want to slow down and adjust the speed.
• InShot: Another tool for editing photos and videos, InShot offers useful free functions such as creating collages, applying effects, and cropping photos. Some video filters are also available for free.