Instagram launched Instagram Stories in August as a new feature for sharing everyday moments, now the visual social media app is making it easier to find Stories from the community.
The company stated 100 million people visit the Instagram Stories each day to find photos and videos from accounts they don’t yet follow. The new suggested Stories section highlights the most interesting stories from across Instagram’s vast global community — and like the rest of Explore, the stories you’ll see are personalised to your interests.
“It was just five years ago that Instagram was only about photo; but the community has grown and changed, the way we communicate has grown and changed,” Marne Levine, Instagram’s global chief operating officer told B&T when she visited Sydney.
“What we have done is responded to what the community has been asking for in new and different tools and ways to tell their Stories. We’re committed to innovating on formats and creative tools so people feel inspired and excited.
“When I say people that means businesses and brands, they’re very much a part of it. Even with Stories, brands are the ones that are experimenting and leading the way.”
How to use Instagram Stories:
- Stories from people you follow appear in a bar at the top of your feed.
- When there’s a new story to see, their profile photo will have a colourful ring around it.
- To view someone’s story, just tap on their profile photo.
- To view stories at your own pace, tap to go back and forward or swipe to jump to another person’s story.
- To comment on something you see, you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments.
- When watching your own story, swipe up to check out who’s seen each photo and video.
Top tips from Instagram:
- Use Boomerang and Hyperlapse – Anything shot in the last 24 hours with your camera, including Boomerang or Hyperlapse, can be uploaded to your story. To upload, swipe down on the screen and choose from your camera roll.
- Drawing – Unleash your inner artist with our drawing tools – including three types of pen. You can adjust the size of the pen point by holding the dot on the left hand side of your screen, swipe the colour panel to reveal more shades and tap and hold on the colour panel to choose even more colours from a large spectrum.
- Add text – Drag and pinch text to resize or rotate, add emojis, add colour behind text to make it stand out, or add colour to the entire screen by holding your pen down and slowly drag it across the screen.
- Add filters – Add different filters to your image or video by simply swiping left on your image.
- Quick shortcuts – Hold down on the screen to pause a story, tap left to go back, tap right to move forward.
- Embrace neon – Use the neon pen to make your stories stand out, from neon snow to neon calligraphy.
- Share your story with who you want – you can easily hide your entire story from anyone you don’t want to see it even if they follow you by simply going to your Profile page, tapping the Setting icon in the upper right, and then Story Settings.
- Share your story on your profile – You can also feature a particular part of your story by posting it on your profile. Simply tap “…” in the lower right hand corner of the photo/video you want to share, then click “Share as Post” (iOS) or “Share” (Android)
