Instagram stories are an essential way to personify your personal brand, push promotions, and share artistic details of your life. There aren’t strict rules to posting on Instagram stories, but there are elements to consider if you want a pleasing and cohesive style.
Here are some Do’s and Don’t to consider…
DO: stay within the borders
Instagram stories are 1080 x 1920 px which usually means that square cropped photos or any image that you aren’t willing to zoom into to fit the dimensions would leave some background space that is usually in the colour of your image selected. This is okay at times if you figure out how to centre the image in proportion to the blank space. For example if you are using one image and sizing it smaller than the dimensions of an instagram story, it is best to measure it to sit in the centre of the screen for a more clean look.
In my example here taken from my instagram, you can notice how I utilized the space by enlarging and sizing my images to fit it into a more calculated collage by making sure the space between the images are measured equally. Likewise, I had to sacrifice some images as the top right and bottom left were cropped off in order to have parallel borders that didn’t have any images sticking out further than the other. This isn’t a strict rule that you must embed into your stories, but it helps to create a pleasing photo collection on one story post.
DON’T: use boomerangs
I don’t have much to say on this other than, boomerangs are a bit outdated. Boomerangs remind me of 2016 trends of dog filters and flower crown selfies… it just makes you look like you are a couple years behind. I’m not going to absolutely hate on it because it can appear cute at times if you are taking a boomerang of friends, but if you are posting with the intention of branding your account- it’s best to avoid boomerangs.
DO: instagram polls
Instagram polls or questions are a feature where you can ask a question to your followers and they will have an area to provide their insights and opinions! I think it is a super fun way of engaging your followers to a deeper extent by getting to not only know them better but allowing space for them to understand you a bit more as well. Likewise, having a space to ask open-ended questions can garner some really interactive conversations and make you appear to be more personable and inviting of others opinions.
Here are some examples of my questionnaires….
My Instagram account is more centred around fashion and my lifestyle, which is why my questionnaire posts are more casual. It creates a light and humourous tone that emphasises the casualty behind the questions.
DON’T: use too much text
Writing paragraphs on your Instagram story can often feel like a PSA. Unless you are giving an announcement on your story or are advocating for an issue, writing a lot on your story can lead to your audience overlooking your post and swiping past. Instagram is filled with many attention-grabbing elements that can take your audiences away the second you bore them, so its best to keep your information concise and utilize diction to keep your context clear.
