Best Practice for Designing Instagram Stories
Over 500 million accounts use Instagram stories and publish more than 1 billion posts on a daily basis. One-third of the most viewed stories are from businesses. Not surprisingly, 62% of people say that they became more interested in a brand or a product after reviewing a 15-second video. Keeping all these stats in mind, it’s needless to say that Instagram stories have become an incredibly powerful tool of communication and promotion for both individuals and brands.
Surprising your audience with great story design is the way to get noticed and stand out from the masses. It is also an opportunity to establish an authentic connection with your audience, engage with them, strengthen your brand image, and manage some of your marketing goals. We share the best practice for designing Instagram stories to help you make the most of this tool.
1. Choose one aesthetic and be consistent with your designs
It goes without saying that a social media presence is extremely important for brands. However, many underestimate the power of it even in 2020. Being active on Instagram is only half the battle. Your communication through this platform should be well-tailored both visually and textually. This concerns images that are posted on the feed but Instagram stories as well. Although the 15-second-long videos disappear after 24 hours, this time is more than enough to engage with your audience and leave a long-lasting impression.
One of the ways you can achieve this is by combining persuasive copy and appealing visuals of a particular aesthetic. The text and images you share should perfectly go together and speak on behalf of your brand. They are the tools that help you outline your commitment to certain values and enhance customer experience with your brand.
If you stick to one aesthetic with all your Instagram communication, you’ll be able to anchor a particular brand image in the minds of your audience with just a couple of posts. Being coherent is key in forming a positive image that Instagram users will get used to and appreciate coming from your brand.
Source: Depositphotos Instagram account
2. Use your brand colors to get noticed
Colors are an important component of your brand’s aesthetic. They evoke emotions and quick associations and play a crucial role when it comes to establishing an authentic connection with your audience. If you have a brand book or at least your brand colors are outlined, you should stick to them in your communication to make sure the user experience is consistent and memorable.
However, this approach might also seem boring to you. If you have time and other resources to invest in your social media, seasonal makeovers are a great opportunity to diversify your communication. This approach will also allow you to show that you’re on top of the latest trends.
We would like to help you with that by sharing the most popular colors of 2020:
— Summer Color Palettes for Vibrant Designs
— 15 Cyberpunk Color Palettes for Dystopian Designs
— 20 Trendy Neon Color Palettes for Bold Designs
3. Stick to the same typefaces and fonts
To make your stories design look coherent, you should also pay attention to the typefaces and fonts you’re using. The general rule says that you should stick to no more than three different fonts but for aesthetic purposes, the number should be cut down to two. For instance, you can use one bold typeface for headings and taglines, while a legible one can be applied to the body text.
Your subscribers wouldn’t like to waste their time reading chaotic text and will quickly flip a story if yours seems too messy or complicated to absorb.
Source: Depositphotos Instagram account
4. Complement your designs with interactive elements
In addition to story designs you create in Photoshop or any other apps, you shouldn’t forget about the variety of elements that Instagram offers. You can add emoji, signs, gifs, hashtags, locations, polls, and other things just before posting a story. They will help you engage with your audience even more. Moreover, some of these elements are designed to highlight your CTA so you could hit your targets – from generating leads and boosting website traffic to simply gathering insights about your audience and their pain points.
5. Experiment with formats
The goal of Instagram stories is to allow brands and individual Instagram users to engage with their subscribers more. While images are perfect to post on the main feed, stories are a great opportunity for storytelling through animation and videos. For instance, you can share backstage videos from the product shooting, announce the launch of a new project with an animated series, or ask your CEO to share the news about your company with your audience.
All these formats can be presented as coherent stories and professionally edited in Photoshop or any other tool. Later, they can be saved to highlights so your new subscribers could check them out and get acquainted with your brand in a matter of minutes. Most importantly, using formats like video helps you raise credibility and endow your brand with a human face.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits of using different formats for daily activities, Instagram stories are perfect to hold thematic campaigns. One of the options is to create a separate account for that and continue the evolution of the new storytelling format such as Eva Stories.
Source: Eva Stories
Instagram stories might seem to be an easy tool to work with but it’s also quite powerful. In a couple of seconds, it engages with your audience and shapes the image of your brand in their minds. Thus, to create a lasting impression and reach all your marketing goals, you need to put a lot of effort into writing catchy lines and creating fascinating designs worth sharing. You shouldn’t be afraid to also experiment with new formats and elements. Instagram trends change fast and only those who are flexible and bold manage to captivate their audience’s attention and convert subscribers into leads.
