Do you have a hard time with what to post on social media? In this post, we will show you the best ways to keep your audience interested.

We broke them down by type.

20 Best Instagram Story Ideas for 2022

Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Follower Engagement

1. Conduct a poll.

A poll on your story is a great way to get to know your audience.

Instagram story idea: conduct a poll

Polls can be about anything. Polling your audience on their interior design styles, purchasing considerations, and their favorite decor trends is a great way to find new customers.

You can ask for feedback on their experience with your brand. This is a great story idea because there are so many possibilities.

Polls can be used to get more content ideas based on audience interaction. The home decor brand might discover that its audience doesn't know how to choose a rug size for a room. It could serve as a future feed post or inspiration for a new post on the internet.

2. Host a Q&A.

A Q&A will allow your audience to get to know you better.

There are a number of benefits to answering questions from your followers.

  • You can quickly and directly connect with your audience, in a low-effort way.
  • You will discover information gaps between you and your audience.
  • Based on the questions you get, you can create a “Frequently Asked Questions” highlight that will live on your Instagram profile. This can also translate to your website.
  • Start a hashtag and encourage your followers to use it when using your products or services.
  • Search relevant hashtags to find posts that feature your brand but aren’t tagged.

3. Spotlight your customers.

Highlighting your customers kills two birds with one stone.

instagram story idea customer spotlight.

You're using social proof by showing customers who are enjoying your products. This will add credibility to your brand.

4. Quiz your followers.

All of the young people are in a choke hold with the quizzes on the website. I took them all regardless of what the quiz was about. What's the reason?

It was a great way to connect with others and learn more about myself.

Instagram story idea quiz

It's possible to accomplish the same with your audience by taking a quiz on the social media site.

5. Repost user-generated content.

If you are having a hard time with Story content ideas, reposting UGC is the easiest way to go.

Instagram story idea UGC

If your audience has done the hard work for you, all you need to do is find it and post it.

There are a few ways to get started.

  • Start a hashtag and encourage your followers to use it when using your products or services.
  • Search relevant hashtags to find posts that feature your brand but aren’t tagged. 

6. Host a giveaway.

Hosting a contest is a good way to increase your reach. Your followers will be more likely to share your brand with their networks.

Instagram story idea giveaway

Users can access the in-feed post at any time, if you create one with the details of the contest. When it's time to promote this, use your Story.

It is a good idea to post about the contest multiple times in order to remind users to take part.

7. Start a challenge.

There are challenges on social media. It is possible for you to be the brand that starts a challenge.

The "Add Yours" sticker allows users to add a story to a specific thread.

This could be "add your favorite room in your home" or "add your favorite home purchase"

Everyone is having fun with it.

Creative Instagram Story Ideas for your Team/Company Spotlights

8. Introduce your team.

Consumers are no longer content with brands that don't have a face. They would like to know who is behind their favorite products and services.

The introduction of your team will help connect with your audience and foster a sense of community. Small brands that are just entering the market have to find new ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

The CEO, social media manager, fulfillment manager, and any other relevant roles can be introduced in a small company. This can be limited to a specific department for larger teams.

If you add the theme song to the show, you will get extra points.

9. Share behind-the-scenes footage.

Sharing content is one way to bridge the gap between you and your audience.

Instagram story idea BTS

It feels intimate even though it isn't exclusive. It means that you and your viewers trust each other.

What should you tell someone? Depending on what is happening in your company and your goals, it should be different. Come up with a pop-up event. You can show a glimpse of the location. Are you going to launch a new product? Product photography can be seen in a video.

You can focus on that type of content if you notice what your audience likes the most.

10. Celebrate milestones.

Taking the time to celebrate together is important. The opportunity to share company milestones with your online community is unique to you as a brand.

Did your brand have a recent increase in followers? $500k in revenue in one year? It is worthwhile celebrating with your audience.

This is a great opportunity for you to give away something to your customers.

11. Do a takeover.

The monotony of posting stories can be taken away with the help of takeover.

Instagram story idea takeover

A takeover is when someone takes over your account and posts from their POV.

It's popular among brand employees.

Current employees atHubspotlife will take over for the day, sharing details about their roles, their daily tasks, and more.

12. Share company updates.

Company updates can be useful for your audience as well.

If you hire a new DI&B director or open a new store in another city, your online community would like to know those facts.

Your audience will benefit from keeping up with your company's evolution.

Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Products/Services

13. Share testimonials and reviews.

Customers write reviews on a lot of different websites.

Instagram story idea customer reviews

If you find a good review, turn it into a good story.

It is a good idea to create a story template specifically for this and use it every time you share a customer review or testimonials.

14. Highlight products and/or services.

You will probably want to promote your products in Stories once in a while because there is a dedicated tab for shopping on the platform.

The shopping sticker within Story is a great way to drive traffic to a sale and generate sales.

Instagram story idea sale

You can tease a product in your Story if you have an upcoming product launch.

15. Announce discounts and specials.

People love a discount. When you have one, you want to reach as many people as possible.

If there is a big sale coming up, it is a good time to work on creative assets to share on your account.

Instagram story idea discounts

Link stickers should be included on your sales page as well.

Users will find what they need quickly, making it easier for you to make sales.

Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Educational Content

16. Share industry news.

Sharing educational content is a great way to increase your audience's value on social media.

Every once in a while, there will be a trend or news that will affect the industry. Third-party cookies are no longer used in marketing.

Share the news with your audience in a Story and possibly share your thoughts on it. There are three things that need to be done.

  • Provide the context for the news or update.
  • Share what it is quickly and concisely.
  • Reveal its potential impact.

Sharing your opinion and being a reliable source of information will help you become a thought leader.

17. Post quick tutorials.

It is possible to add value to your audience by making short, valuable tutorials.

Strong visuals that will capture your audience's attention are what you need for this to work.

Instagram story idea post quick tutorials

If you are a home decor company, you could create a quick one-story graphic to help you choose the right rug for your bedroom.

This is not only helpful to your audience, but it is also bite-size.

Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Miscellaneous Content

18. Direct traffic to other sources.

It shouldn't be where the brands end.

If you have a website, you should use your story to drive traffic to it.

Instagram story idea direct to other sources

Home decor brands want to increase their newsletter subscriber count. Stories can be used to drive traffic to the landing page of the newsletter.

Because of this, it's particularly valuable. Stories is one of the few places outside of the platform where you can find people.

19. Start a countdown.

If you want to create buzz around a product launch, you need to use a sticker on the wall.

Instagram story idea countdown

Users can set up reminders so that they are notified once the event starts, if you set up a countdown timer via stories. It is a great way to promote your brand.

20. Promote new posts.

With the ever-changing algorithm, brands are not sure if their posts are getting seen by their intended audience.

Instagram story idea new post

If you want to drive traffic to your post, you can post about it and use the new post sticker.

To get users to click on the sticker, place it directly on the clickable post.

There's a list of ideas to make sure you never run out of content on the social network.

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The story was originally published on Sep 20.