31 best Instagram Story ideas for brands and creators 

Instagram Stories show up prominently at the top of a user’s Feed–a prime spot to stay top-of-mind to your followers without disrupting the browsing experience. People are mindful to look to Stories for new updates and time-sensitive information from both brands and creators alike. So you need to use them strategically to keep your audience engaged and invested.

In this post, we share some of the best Instagram Story ideas to enrich your Instagram marketing strategy. Let’s take a look!

Instagram Story layout ideas

1. Photo-text grid

Alternating between photo and text in a grid is one of the easiest ways to create aesthetic Instagram Stories. It helps you neatly lay out your visuals and break them up with a bit of white space.

See how Frank Body uses this Instagram Story layout idea to show its different face wash products. It uses text in coordinating colors to highlight the key benefit of each product.

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2. Photo with a video backdrop

Adding a video backdrop to a photo overlay creates visual intrigue for your Instagram Story. This is a refreshing way to bring your Story to life instead of sticking to still images. Fenty Beauty uses a video background to share snippets of an interview to make the text-heavy content more engaging.

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3. Photo with a high-transparency photo backdrop

You can also lay your photo over a high-transparency version of another image. This creates a layered look for an aesthetic Instagram Story. Another alternative is to use a black-and-white version of a similar photo as the backdrop.

4. Photo/video grid with product cutout overlay

A grid consisting of multiple photos and videos helps you highlight specific products. You can show the product from different angles and use cases. Add a cutout of the product over the grid to place a bigger focus on it and link to a relevant landing page.

If you have Instagram Shopping enabled, you can also create shoppable Stories by adding relevant product tags. So users can directly check out the products from your Instagram Shop.

Here’s another Frank Body example to help you visualize this Instagram Story edit idea.

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5. Photo/video with countdown timer

Another layout option is to add a countdown timer over your visual asset. This is ideal when you’re gearing up for an event, such as a product launch. The timer helps you build anticipation and get your audience hyped for the event. See the Glow Recipe example below to visualize how this might look.

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6. Use a photo editing tool to create a custom layout

Creating custom layouts and templates can bring your Stories to life and add a little extra branding.

These are especially useful for brand-specific Stories, or series that should all visually tie together. Check out Adler Planetarium’s “Space News” series.

Work with your design team to create unique-to-you Story templates. Or, try your hand at design by using an app like Canva.

One step further: An added benefit of pre-made Story templates is scheduling them versus adding them manually. Using Sprout Social’s compose tool, schedule Stories and posts ahead to save yourself time.

And with our Canva integration, add images directly from your Canva account.

Multiple photos in one Story Instagram ideas

7. Instagram Story layouts

Instagram offers a few built-in layout options so users can share multiple photos in one Story. Use these existing layouts to share up to six photos in your Story. Spoonflower shares a Story with pictures of four different farmhouse spaces. It adds an interactive element by letting users vote the space that best matches their vibe.

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8. Instagram Cutouts

For an artistic vibe, you can also use the “Cutouts” feature to share snippets from multiple photos in one Story. This is great for curating and highlighting specific elements from different photos.

9. Polaroid-style photo lineups

Another creative way to share multiple photos in one Story is by using templates with polaroid-style frames. You can find plenty of third-party editing apps that offer this type of layout to share to your Stories.

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10. Multi-image overlays

One of the easiest ways to add multiple images to one Story is by using the “Photo” tool from the sticker tray. This lets you add multiple images and lay them over one another so you can share a Story like the one below.

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How to create and manage engaging Instagram Story content

Instagram Stories are a prime spot to get your audience’s attention and engage them. Once they tap on your Story, you want to keep them hooked. That’s why you need visually appealing Stories that will make them pay attention. Meanwhile, interactive elements like polls and emoji sliders can drive more engagement.

With 61% of social users finding their next purchase on Instagram, Stories are also perfect for generating more sales. So you need persuasive content with compelling calls-to-action in your Stories.

Effective content management is the key to making all this work and creating Stories that resonate. That’s where Sprout Social comes in, with advanced content creation and management tools to streamline your workflow. This allows you to easily create high-quality, on-brand content that engages your audience.

How to create and manage Instagram Story content with Sprout Social

Designing and collaborating with the Asset Library

Sprout’s Asset Library serves as a centralized hub for managing all your visual content in one place. You can easily find and use content from this library to compose your Stories and maintain brand consistency. It also allows for seamless collaboration as users can easily exchange design assets through the library.

Drafting and refining Story content

With powerful publishing tools and a visual content calendar, Sprout makes it easy to plan your Stories ahead of time. You can draft your captions and strategically plan your interactive elements to resonate. This gives you the chance to fine-tune your messaging for clarity and ensure strong calls to action.

Monitoring and responding with the Smart Inbox

A unified Smart Inbox helps you stay on top of all your Instagram messages and comments. So you can easily keep track of replies to your Stories and quickly respond to time-sensitive messages. Prompt replies are essential for facilitating real-time engagement to foster a strong community.

Test these features for free with a 30-day trial.

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Instagram Story ideas for photos

11. Blurred product photo with question sticker

Tease followers about an upcoming launch by sharing a blurred photo of the product in your Stories. Include a question sticker asking them to guess the product to make it interactive and engaging. This type of content helps you build anticipation for the launch and keeps the audience invested.

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12. Photo with poll

Some of the best Instagram photo Story ideas are simple and straightforward, like a photo with a poll. Share a relevant photo and ask your followers to vote. Ask them to pick their favorite product, let them help you pick out an outfit and so on.

The following creator simply shares a mirror selfie and provides context about making up for a long run she missed the previous day. She includes a poll asking her followers, “HBU?” where they can choose from several distance options.

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13. Product photo with rating sticker

In the same vein, you can simply add a rating sticker with a product photo. So people can rate how much they love the product. See how Dyson does it below.

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14. Event highlight photos

Instagram Stories are also a great place to share key highlights from an event. Share a series of photos that capture some of the best event moments or setups. CeraVe shares the product display setup from its 20^th anniversary celebration.

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15. New product drops

You can also share photos of your latest product drops to your Stories. This is one of the best ways to leverage Instagram for business as it helps you simultaneously announce the drop and drive sales for the products. Notice how Fabletics Scrubs shares a photo featuring items from its latest color drop. It includes a link sticker inviting customers to “shop now.”

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Instagram Story design ideas

16. Stories with brand colors

Using brand colors in your Story designs helps you maintain branding consistency. Create graphics and templates that incorporate your signature brand colors. You can even use these colors as backdrops to your photo or video overlays.

17. Handwritten text

Handwritten text creates a unique design that adds a personal and human touch to your Stories. Use the drawing tool to write out a relevant message to align with the content. Make sure to use colors that coordinate with the visuals in your Story.

18. Graphic embellishments

Instagram offers a ton of stickers that you can use to customize your Story. With these, you can add fun graphics and GIFs to jazz up your design. Think: stars, hearts, squiggles, scratches and more.

Instagram Story collage ideas

19. Monthly photo dumps

Create a collage of photos showing key moments from each month. This type of monthly photo dump works for both brands and creators alike. You can even turn it into an “Add yours” template and encourage your followers to contribute.

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20. Favorite product picks

Create collages that showcase your favorite product picks. Use them to share the products you like to use for specific routines or seasons. For example, summer product picks or haircare favorites.

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21. Mood boards

Instagram collages are perfect for putting together mood boards based on certain themes. For brands, these boards could feature specific items from your collection. Choose a product photo and add other visuals that complement the vibe and color.

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22. Collection highlights

Collages can also help you highlight products from your collection. You don’t necessarily have to show every item from the collection, just the most “aesthetic” picks. See how Spoonflower highlights patterns from the “French Country” collection.

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23. Dedicated product features

Alternatively, collages can also help you do a close-up feature of specific products. This involves showing the product in different angles and highlighting certain elements. For example, brands like Fenty Beauty use them to showcase product textures and swatches.

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Instagram Story text ideas

24. Brand story/history highlights

One of the best Instagram Story ideas for businesses is using text to share your brand story. Use the opportunity to share history lessons with your audience and help them learn more about your journey.

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25. Key product benefits

You can also use text to share the key benefits of your product. Keep your text brief and catchy, preferably as a bulleted list. See how ColourPop shares all the reasons its Shadow Stix is trending.

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26. Urgency CTA

Use text strategically to add a sense of urgency in your call-to-action and encourage more clicks. Glow Recipe uses a link sticker with a custom text that shows the time limit for the offer.

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27. Product launch 411

The text in your Instagram Stories can help you share the details of an upcoming product launch. Use it to drop launch timing and other essential info so customers can stay on top of it.

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Instagram Story caption ideas

28. Did you see…?

Instagram lets you add captions over your visuals. Use them to share your latest post and ask your audience if they saw it. Notice how Mae Jean Vintage asks their followers if they saw “this treasure chest on (their) feed”?

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29. Come get your…

Your Story caption can also serve as an invitation for customers to get their free gifts or offers. See how CeraVe invites their audience to “come get (their) free gift bag while supplies last.”

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30. Offer details

If you’re currently running an offer, your Story caption can help you provide essential details about it. Include info like the key benefits of the offer and what people can get from it. See how Glow Recipe shares the benefits of signing up for its Club Glow loyalty program. Emojis and coordinating font colors add to the caption’s visual appeal.

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31. Event invitation

Use creative captions in your Stories to invite customers to an event. Use the opportunity to get them hyped up for an upcoming event, like a sale or a store opening. CeraVe keeps it simple with a “see you soon” followed by an emoji for the brand’s 20^th anniversary celebration. A location tag further adds context, encouraging customers to join the event.

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Create better, more impactful Stories on Instagram

The ideas shared above can serve as inspiration to help you create more impactful content for your Instagram Stories. But effective content creation is more than just having great ideas. You also need to plan and manage the content strategically, so it aligns with your overall Instagram marketing strategy.

Sprout’s publishing and collaboration tools help you manage it all in one place. Start your 30-day free trial to see how you can use them for effective Stories creation.