27 Instagram Story Ideas to Boost Your Brand's Engagement

Over the years, Instagram has undergone a lot of changes, especially since TikTok entered the world of social media marketing.

While the platform still offers a lot of visibility and growth potential for businesses, social media managers juggling with Instagram marketing are faced with a lot more challenges nowadays.

From finding engaging Instagram post ideas to handling customer feedback, the need for creativity and adaptability is more prominent than ever.

Speaking about finding content inspiration, we've put together an extended list of Instagram Story ideas to help busy marketers who want tips on how to keep their audiences hooked through FOMO.

Let's dive in!

Table of contents

Company news and updates-related Instagram Stories ideas
Instagram Story ideas for team & culture content
Product & service focused Instagram Story ideas
Customer-centric Instagram Stories ideas
Educational & informative Instagram Story ideas
Instagram story layout ideas
BONUS: How to use analytics data to optimize your Stories strategy

Company news and updates on Instagram Stories can work wonders for businesses. They help you stay top of mind with your audience while showing that your brand is active and thriving. Sharing milestones, like a big partnership or an award, builds trust and credibility.

Plus, these Stories ideas for Instagram give you a chance to show your authentic side – be that a live Q&A with your C-levels, or a behind-the-scenes moment. It’s all about staying connected, up-to-date, and transparent.

Best for: educational platforms, analytics software providers, ad tech platforms, and all sorts of tech startups.

When a company announces new product launches, funding, or key integrations, it shows its constant innovation – such Instagram Stories keep both your clients and investors engaged. You have new features to brag about, why not use it for your Instagram Stories ideas?

#1. Company history walkthrough

If coming up with Story ideas seems exhausting, share your company’s history – every business has its own one. Take your audience on a journey! It’s a chance to show how the business started, the challenges you’ve overcome, and the moments that shaped you. Such Stories for Instagram aren't just interesting, they are relatable.

Partners and clients want to see the real story behind the brand they’re working with, and your possible future employees will see you as a reliable company to contribute to long-term.

Sinch has great Instagram story examples of that – not only informative and warm, but also low-key nostalgic.

Company history Instagram Stories help build trust, show your values in action, and give your audience a reason to root for you. It’s also a great way to create a sense of legacy and pride.

#2. Milestones celebrations

Milestones celebrations are great Story ideas, as this is how your business showcases progress and success. Whether it’s launching a new product or celebrating an anniversary, these Instagram stories highlight your achievements and show that your business is doing great.

Milestone celebrations spark great engagement – they encourage reactions, congratulations, and even deeper conversations about how you’ve achieved what you now have.

In Slack’s case, such Instagram stories encourage shares of appreciation, too.

#3. Events such as webinars or live

Promoting community live events and inviting your Instagram audience to join helps you build deeper connections with your followers.

When you have an event, posting stories on instagram serves as a direct bridge between your brand and people who follow you, being an amazing tool for community creation.

Having you post live interactions during the event, you make attendees feel more personally connected to your team and brand.

At Socialinsider, we do that, too – we like sharing our community live events on Instagram stories and invite our audience to partake in these experiences.

If you aim at creating more engaging Stories, you may also want to put countdown stickers or swipe-up links to get your audience excited and make people save the date or RSVP right away.

#4. Q&As about the business or industry

Q&As are extremely engaging Instagram stories, too, as they show your expertise in just a couple of screens.

These Stories for Instagram let you connect directly with your audience by answering their questions, which helps express that you care what real people’s common challenges in the industry are.

On top of that, as these questions give you insights into what they care about, it can help you shape your future content or even improve your products or services.

Below are some Q&A Instagram Stories examples – you can ask your inhouse experts to show up on IG and talk to the audience, like Adobe Photoshop does.

Not only is sharing photos of your event one of the greatest Story topics ideas to show your involvement in the industry, but also a way to create FOMO.

People seeing your event live might think, “I wish I was there!” However, posting stories on Instagram during the event helps your audience feel like they’re already part of the action, even if they couldn’t be there. This is how we spark comments, reactions, and messages.

Besides, if you’re working with partners or sponsors, sharing those moments shows your audience who you’re connected with, making your business look well-networked.

#6. CEO talks & interviews

CEO talks and interviews create engaging Instagram stories to offer a rare glimpse into the vision and leadership behind your company. Hearing directly from executives adds authenticity.

Such Story ideas for Instagram are valuable both for your customers and other businesses.

C-level perspectives often provide a big-picture view of the industry – your audience now understands trends, innovations, and strategies, while other executives may be seeking guidance or validation for their own business decisions and find it in your CEO talk.

Socialinsider was posting Stories on Instagram when our CMO did a presentation for Entrepreneurship Academy students – you always want to share an inspiring and insightful talk by someone who speaks from experience.

#7. Ask us anything

You want to talk about your business in detail, but perhaps you are missing out on other questions your audience has. This is what “ask us anything” is good for. These are interactive Story ideas for Instagram, as you leave room for people to learn about your activities more – values, pain points, team buildings, whatnot – while leaving room for yourself to learn about what really matters to people.

It goes without saying that AMAs with these Question stickers are highly engaging Stories, but they also give you ideas.

Instagram Story ideas for team & culture content

When you show the people behind the brand, it gives a sense of who you are beyond the products or services you offer. It’s a big trust builder. Sharing behind-the-scenes moments on Instagram Stories keeps your audience engaged and invested in your brand.

As you bring such Instagram Stories ideas to life, you give people a reason to keep coming back, and not just for what your business offers, but for the people and the culture that make it all happen.

Best for: event management companies, SEO agencies, content marketing and SMM services, IT training platforms, managed IT services.

If you are part of industries where trust and collaboration are key, you can post about team brainstorming sessions, behind-the-scenes footage from live events, workshops, fun episodes of office life, etc. It's your set of Instagram Story suggestions to prove that proper work culture drives success.

#8. Highlights of office traditions

Be fun and nice! When you create Instagram stories about enjoyable or meaningful office traditions, like team celebrations, monthly rituals, team buildings, or holiday events, it makes your company more relatable.

Showcasing traditions helps set yourself apart from others in your industry – these are good Story ideas to show your unique, memorable character.

People like working with businesses that feel personal, and sharing these highlights can foster that sense of warmth.

#9. Employees’ stories

Instagram Stories about your employees draw attention to your team’s expertise, dedication, and passion.

Potential clients and partners are more likely to engage with a company that shows the skills and personalities of the people driving it. Such Stories on Instagram demonstrate the value you place on your community, which can attract like-minded businesses – and future employees, too.

Using Instagram Stories ideas to speak more about your team is a great strategy for attracting top talent.

#10. Behind the scenes

Creative instagram story ideas often come from behind-the-scenes. Instead of just focusing on polished final results, you also get to show how things come together – this makes your business more transparent.

It’s easy to come off as distant in the B2B, but these Instagram Stories make your brand feel more approachable. It shows that you’re not just a collection of individuals but a company that works together to achieve goals.

#11. A “Day in the Life” of a team member

Importantly, a Story on Instagram about your team can resonate with other professionals in similar roles – don’t we all every now and then think to ourselves, “Is it just me or..?” It’s great to be able to share experiences in your workfield, or learn how people navigate issues similar to what we have, and these Story ideas make this happen.

We’ve been posting Stories on Instagram in a series of ‘Day in the Life’ where Socialinsider people share their day to day activities, because we want to show how we work and who we are, not only the results of our joint efforts.

Product & service focused Instagram Story ideas

Product and service-focused Story ideas for Instagram can give your audience a clear picture of what you offer in an easy-to-understand way.

Instead of just listing features, you can show how your products or services actually work in the real world and solve specific problems. These Instagram Stories are short and simple, so you can point out key benefits without overwhelming people.

Best for: E-commerce platforms, construction or design firms, software providers, healthcare tech, creative asset tools, PPC tools, API providers, IT infrastructure providers.

When it comes to showcasing products and services, Instagram Stories are ideal for industries with highly visual solutions. Feature new product launches, incorporate your products in real-life scenarios, post demos of how your tools and services help people – all in all, show, not tell.

#12. A time-lapse of product creation

Timelapse videos of product creation are among great Story ideas to show your long-standing expertise quickly – you compress hours of work into a few engaging seconds.

These Instagram stories help your audience appreciate the value of what you provide in a way words alone can’t convey (and even if they can, it may take a couple dozens of pages).

#13. Product demos

Product demos are the most powerful Story ideas for Instagram if you want to transform abstract features into practical benefits for your audience. Not only do you show how you can be of help with a couple screens, but also make your posting practical rather than just promotional.

Instead of relying on static descriptions or long-form explanations, you can visually demonstrate the key features and benefits in a digestible format.

Let your actions speak louder than words when it comes to product value; a product walkthrough would be a great Instagram Story example of that.

#14. New product/feature teasers

You can create Instagram Stories not only about what’s happening, but also about what’s going to happen.

New product or feature teasers spark curiosity around what’s next and help set the stage for a bigger launch. These Instagram Stories make a runway for the actual release by giving your audience time to consider how your new thing might fit into their needs.

Posting Stories on Instagram about your upcoming updates makes the transition from interest to action much smoother when the launch happens. You create anticipation and keep people looking forward to your updates and follow your account closely.

#15. Release countdowns

Instagram Stories with release countdowns give you multiple opportunities to showcase the value of your offering before it’s even released. Combined with teaser ideas for Instagram Stories, you’ll create a perfect space for people to anticipate a new product or feature, knowing what exactly they are waiting for.

The interactive nature of countdowns on Instagram Stories makes them very effective – features like reminders allow viewers to opt-in and get notified when the launch happens, and before that, it makes your audience keep your product or service in mind.

#16. Discounts

By promoting discounts in a fleeting Story format, you create a sense of immediacy – encouraging viewers to take action quickly. What’s more, Discount Stories ideas allow you to reward your loyal followers or early adopters in a personal and exclusive way, and who doesn’t like feeling special?

If you’re offering a discount on Instagram only, your audience, yet again, will follow your activity more closely to not miss out on the next sale or other important updates that can’t be found elsewhere (see one of such Instagram Stories examples below – a minimalistic and straightforward one).

Customer-centric Instagram Stories ideas

Customer-centric interactive Instagram Story ideas shift the focus from your brand to the success and satisfaction of your customers that your product helps with.

Such Stories also provide social proof – when your potential clients see others thriving because of your solutions, it builds credibility. It’s your space to demonstrate the results you deliver without being overly promotional.

When you involve your customers in your Instagram Stories, they’re very likely to share the content with their networks, expanding your reach and giving your brand greater visibility. These Instagram Stories ideas are a win-win: your people get recognition, and your business gets exposure and trustworthy content that speaks directly to its target audience.

Best for: education or training platforms, hospitality, accounting software providers, corporate training platforms, influencer and overall marketing platforms.

The described creative Instagram Stories ideas suit industries that thrive on building relationships.

You as a business become reliable when you can show use cases and success stories (hence tangible value) from your customers – and when you are in a constant state of dialogue with your audience online, you know what causes people pain and how you can help them.

#17. Customer testimonials

Customer testimonials Stories for Instagram do more than just validate your business – they let your potential clients see your value through the eyes of someone like them. If we are looking for a solution to our problem, we prefer to hear from people who’ve been in our shoes, and unpolished user reviews on Instagram Stories will do the job.

The business itself will surely tell us how great they are, and only those who used the product or service can verify how true this is. Customer testimonials build trust faster than almost any other content.

#18. UGC

User-generated content, or UGC is a fantastic asset for your creative Instagram Stories ideas – it allows your customers or partners to become advocates for your brand.

Your potential clients are more likely to believe the experiences of their peers because their experience is genuine and unscripted.

UGC on Instagram Stories is also a “we see you” kind of content that shows how much you appreciate your community.

#19. This or that

While seen as lighthearted, this or that posts and Instagram Stories can be tailored to provide you insights about your audience’s preferences, challenges, and priorities.

Such Instagram Stories create opportunities for audience segmentation, too. By analyzing responses, you can gain even more insights into what matters most to your audience, and this allows you to tailor your messaging, products, or services. It’s market research through Stories for Instagram designed as fun engagement.

#20. Instagram Story games

Most businesses focus on showing their professionalism, which obviously isn’t wrong, but let’s add some playfulness with more creative Story ideas.

Instagram Story games break the mold of traditional business-minded content and make your brand feel inviting and friendly, let alone the engagement they generate.

#21. Interactive polls & quizzes

A poll or a quiz is a better Instagram Story idea than you may think.

Instead of just delivering information, you’re inviting your audience to share their thoughts, preferences, and experiences. A two-way conversation on Instagram Stories is how to learn more about your customers, from their pain points to the trends they’re paying attention to.

Creating Instagram stories with polls is how to show that you are interested in understanding people’s challenges. This positions your business as a partner rather than just a provider.

#22. Caption this contests

A Caption this Story on Instagram gives people a reason to pause and interact with your content.

Whether it’s a quirky image from your office or something that subtly highlights your product, asking for captions gets people thinking about your business in a more fun way. With these Instagram Stories, you show that your brand isn’t afraid to have a little fun.

When viewers come up with clever or hilarious captions, they would want to share your Instagram Story or show it to their coworkers so that they can join in.

#23. Before & after

Creating Instagram Stories that show results helps potential clients imagine how your solution can solve their own problems. No abstract claims – you're providing concrete (and easy-to-digest) evidence of what your product or service can achieve.

Before & afters combined with customer testimonials should be included in your Instagram Stories strategy to help people quickly picture how exactly they benefit from your product or its feature.

Educational & informative Instagram Story ideas

Education helps build authority. With such ideas for Instagram Stories, you establish your company as a go-to source for useful insights – be that industry trends, how-to guides, tips, or case studies.

Another advantage is that educational content sparks discussions. By offering helpful and thought-provoking information on Instagram Stories, you encourage your audience to share their opinions, ask questions, and tell you more about themselves.

Not only does this dialogue strengthen your relationship with your followers, but also increases your visibility and reach, so let’s talk about it more.

Best for: financial services, digital marketing agencies, sustainability startups, cybersecurity companies.

These ideas for Stories work best for fields where you need to present yourselves as experts in the industry.

When you consistently share tips, challenge common misconceptions, and describe what issues you’ve successfully overcome, you are becoming a top voice for users and a trustworthy strategic partner for businesses.

#24. Debunks of common myths

Debunking common myths is a smart move. When you break stereotypes within your industry, you provide value by clearing up confusion. Misinformation and outdated practices can lead to people making decisions based on inaccurate data – and you are here to help.

By offering fact-based insights on your Instagram Stories, you subtly guide your audience toward making more informed choices, positioning your brand as a forward-thinking (and honest) authority. You also open a door for dialogue, hence engagement.

#25. Quick tips

Because of Instagram Stories’ simplicity and immediate value, quick tips are a great way to expand your presence without needing complex campaigns.

When followers find a tip that resonates with them on your Instagram Story, they will want to share it with colleagues or industry peers, giving you organic social media growth.

Among interactive Stories ideas is to prompt your audience to actually try out the tip and share their experience (twice as good if they tag you once they do), ask follow-up questions, or even suggest their own solutions.

#26. Do’s and dont’s

By emphasizing what to do (or avoid) in specific scenarios, you give your audience a glimpse into how your business approaches challenges and solutions.

These ideas for Stories can align people with your approach and make them feel more confident in choosing your business as a partner and a service to use as a customer.

It’s best if you use simple graphics, text, and icons on your Instagram Story to quickly communicate useful information without flooding your audience with too much.

#27. Top lessons learned

Top lessons learned are great Stories ideas to show your audience that your business has the expertise to navigate complex situations, when you share key takeaways from your own experiences – be that from your successful projects, overcoming challenges, or even mistakes.

Such Instagram Stories serve as a reminder of the practical, real-world knowledge that your business’s acquired over time. This kind of content appeals to your audience that values experience and proven results.

Instagram Story layout ideas

Split-screen comparison: Use a split-screen layout to compare two images side by side, such as before and after shots, different product options, or contrasting scenes.

Puzzle grid: Break up a single image into multiple puzzle pieces and post them sequentially on your story, prompting followers to engage by rearranging the pieces to reveal the complete picture. This is a great way of using multiple photos in an Instagram story.

Text overlay with image background: Overlay text or quotes onto a visually appealing background image, creating a visually striking and informative story post.

Storyboard sequence: Tell a visual story by arranging multiple images in a sequence, guiding followers through a narrative, or highlighting different aspects of your business or brand.

These layout ideas can add variety and creativity to your Instagram stories, helping you capture and maintain your audience's attention. Let me know if you need further assistance!

BONUS: How to use analytics data to optimize your Stories strategy

Instagram Stories can be a powerful tool for engaging with your audience, but you have to rely on data rather than guesswork. Socialinsider provides the analytics you need to understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to refine your Instagram Stories strategy.

You start off by connecting your Instagram profile and authorizing it, as you can only access Instagram Stories data for the accounts you manage.

Head to your Instagram analytics to review key metrics like reach, impressions, and exits for your Instagram Stories.

How does your top-performing content look like and what are the recurring Story topics ideas?

Do your Instagram Stories featuring people resonate more with your audience? Are videos outperforming photos?

These insights help you understand what grabs attention and generates engagement.

Get comprehensive Stories analytics with Socialinsider!

Do you post a Story on Instagram every week or month, or is it multiple Stories daily?

You can check your Instagram Stories’ retention rates to see how viewer drop-off varies depending on the number of Stories you post. This may or may not have a direct correlation, but again, when you create Instagram Stories, you need to rely on your numbers, not assumptions.

Socialinsider provides this data to help you identify the optimal content volume that keeps your audience engaged without exhausting them with your creative Instagram Stories – not to limit your creativity; we just need a proper balance.

Knowing the relationship between post frequency and audience interaction makes coming up with Stories ideas and fine-tuning your posting schedule simpler.

Once you understand what Instagram Stories for businesses work best for your field, product, and viewers, plan your Instagram Stories strategy and overall content creation around these social media insights.

The right balance between quality and quantity ensures you can deliver consistent, engaging Stories that your audience will love.

Last but not least, don’t stop trying new Instagram Stories ideas and formats and then check how your new content performed.

Final thoughts

Incorporating different Instagram Story ideas into your content strategy is key to creating connections with your past, present, and future customers.

Authentic content will help both present your products or services and build engagement by involving your audience in what you do.

Regularly analyzing performance data is key to refining your approach and making your Instagram Stories even more impactful over time. Socialinsider was made to help you work it out.

Company news and updates-related Instagram Stories ideas