Ana Gotter — April 10, 2020 Instagram Stories are a fantastic way to share photo and video content with your audience–without a lot of fanfare, if you want. In fact, it’s incredibly easy to create short, informal Stories in two minutes or less.
With 1 billion people actively using Instagram every month and 500 million of them using Stories daily, creating Story content is a brand signal boost you can’t afford to miss out on. But, like all content, making and posting Stories can get time-consuming. That’s why it’s so important to find ways to save that valuable time.
Let’s take at a few amazing examples of Instagram Stories that you can create in two minutes or less for a scalable, personalized-to-your-audience campaign that will drive results.
Share what you’re doing right now
One simple, quick, and easy way to create an Instagram Story in two minutes or less is by sharing a snapshot (or video) of what you’re doing right now. Your viewers want a glimpse into your life, and this is a great way to give that to them, while also creating content for your brand.
Snap a quick vertical photo or video of your current meal, food prep, view, books you’re reading, or the vacation you’re on. Authenticity and vulnerability are key here, so make sure you’re engaging fully with the moment you’re choosing to share with your viewers.
Voiceover actress and entrepreneur Ashley Eckstein shared this example of Instagram Stories in her content from Disney Cruise Lines:
Ashley’s story isn’t only a plug for Disney’s brand, it also gives her followers a look at what she’s up to.
Impromptu behind-the-scenes video shoot
Audiences love behind-the-scenes photos and videos from their favorite brands. Share a quick making-of Story, or highlight a fun moment with your coworkers or friends. It’s easy to switch on your camera and grab a few moments of genuine, behind-the-scenes fun.
Author, speaker, and entrepreneur Lindsey Curry shared this funny, behind-the-scenes video clip of an Austin Powers impersonator singing to fellow speaker Blake Mallen. The antics took place backstage during a conference where the two were speaking:
Quickly demonstrate your product
You can create an Instagram Story demonstrating your product or service in two minutes or less. Again, it’s a matter of grabbing some quick video clips or photos to share with your audience, with the purpose of helping them learn a little more about what you do or what you offer.
Business leader, author, and speaker Pat Flynn shot this Instagram Story of his product, the Switchpod, to demonstrate how easily it packs for travel:
Share a UGC video or post from the feed
User-generated content (UGC) is always a great way to boost your content production, showcase your brand, and share social proof with your audience. In this case, it only takes a few clicks to share a UGC post from the Instagram feed to your Stories.
Author and artist Micheline Ryckman shared a post to Stories from Trina, a book reviewer on Instagram. Trina included Micheline’s latest novel in a lineup of books to-be-read and reviewed:
In this case, Micheline shared the feed post itself. You can also add text, music, and emojis to post shares from the feed.
Share a UGC story you’ve been tagged in
In addition to sharing UGC posts from the regular feed, you can also share UGC Stories you’ve been tagged in on Instagram. When someone tags you in a Story, you automatically receive a message that lets you know you’ve been tagged. In your messages, you have the option of including the Story in your own Stories feed. This is yet another fast, easy way to create Stories on Instagram.
Sencha Naturals shared this Instagram Story from one of their followers, who snapped a quick photo of their matcha green tea:
Create a Story using Instagram’s built-in filters
Instagram Stories has a variety of fun, built-in filter features, such as Boomerang, Superzoom, and the lineup of filters in Normal mode. These features help users embellish their videos and photos quickly and easily, then upload their creations to Stories. This can be done in two minutes or less.
Musician Isaac Hanson shared a silly Story post using the Instagram filter Sunglasses, shot in Normal mode:
Create a quick user survey using Instagram’s question tools
You can quickly make short posts through Instagram Stories’ Create mode, including Shoutouts, GIFs, Templates, Polls, Countdowns, and Quizzes.
Focus on keeping your content short and sweet to condense the time it takes for you to make and post these Stories. You can open the floor for your viewers to take short quizzes, answer surveys, receive a shoutout, and much more.
Eco-friendly yoga apparel brand Inner Fire Apparel shared this quick survey to their audience:
The brand shared a post from their own feed, then added the question to it to boost user engagement and drive viewers to the post. Plus, it was quick for the brand to create.
Let other users ask you anything
Another cool feature in Create mode is the Questions tool. It’s a great way to get content prompts from your audience, which you can then answer on your own time and share to Stories.
Utilizing the Questions tool allows you to not only create the initial Story in just a few minutes; it also generates topics for you to talk about and opens the door for further Stories that answer those user-generated questions.
Book marketing and author coaching service Waypoint Author Academy hosts weekly Coffee Chats, where they open the floor for their followers to ask them anything about publishing, writing, and marketing books. Take a look:
Final Thoughts
It can be incredibly easy and simple to create Instagram Stories on-the-go that are both time-saving and engaging. These days, business owners and marketers need to be able to create quality content in bulk and on the fly, and Instagram offers a range of tools to its users that keep Stories available to even the most time-crunched users.
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