Instagram Stories draw in 400 Million users every day, making it twice as popular as Snapchat.

Many see this feature as a more casual place, having less pressure to fit your theme and more opportunity to share content regularly without spamming your fans. The creative possibilities are endless with this tool, but if you’re struggling to come up with content ideas, we got your back! Here are five content ideas for Instagram Stories:

1. Promotions

Have you recently uploaded a new blog post? Do you have a really exciting event coming up? Are you running a pop-up shop? Instagram Stories are THE way to promote new content and events that you want to draw more attention to. If you are a verified account you can even prompt people to “swipe up” opening a link directly in the app.

There is also the opportunity to provide exclusive offers, coupon codes, etc. This will make your fans feel special, giving them a reason to continue watching your stories and engaging with your brand!

2. Behind the Scenes

From photoshoots to boardroom meetings, sharing a picture/video of what is going on behind the scenes will make your fans feel more connected to you. You can take this opportunity to share bits and pieces with your followers, without giving away all the details.

You can also use features such as the poll or slider option to encourage engagement among your users. Another option is to live stream behind the scenes. This allows you to talk directly to your followers and opinions in real-time!

3. Key Takeaways

Unfortunately, not everyone has the chance to read your important blog posts or attend all the cool events you throw. Luckily, social media is designed to centre around small amounts of information that are easily digestible. By summarizing a blog post or event into a few points you will make your followers feel like they were there.

4. Instagram Takeover

If your brand is using influencers, influencer takeovers are a great way to drive traffic to your social media page and share helpful information. An example of this is Vogue, which often has celebrities and models take over their Instagram, posting updates of themselves and their interactions with the company on their pages Instagram Stories.

You can also do staff takeovers. This is a fun way to show users the inner workings of your business, having a peek into the corporate culture and brand. A great example of this is Ryerson University, which has different students and alumni regularly takeover their Snapchat account. 

5. Q&A

Question and Answers are a great way to increase engagement and have direct conversations with your users. This can be especially helpful if you have a new product or event to increase awareness and answer any questions people may have about the topic. This can be done by asking people to Direct Message your account or you can live steam and answer questions directly. If you do a livestream, make sure you promote it in advance so that more people chime in.