Last Updated on April 17, 2024 by Ali Hamza

Since the first news, they have completely stolen the spotlight on Instagram. As a result, content such as articles spilled over to other platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Some worked, others failed miserably, but none touched the popularity of Instagram Stories.

However, you may have noticed that Instagram is getting a little crowded.

According to social media statistics, Instagram Stories has 500 million active users every day.

With Stories being so popular, it also means that more story content is being shared on the platform every day. So you will face a lot of competition from other brands, influencers and advertisers compared to other platforms.

So if you want your audience to focus on your brand such as the global B2B marketplace, you have to go the extra mile to make your story unique and stand out.

You may be wondering: “How can I increase awareness on Instagram Stories?”

To do this, we need to focus on the top brands and those who are leading the way.

  • What did they do to get attention for their content?
  • How do they create news content that not only people love but also builds brand awareness?

If you’re ready to up your story content creation game, in this post, we’ll show you a selection of the best tools and techniques to make your story stand out from the competition.

Let’s dive in!

How can you optimize your Instagram stories?

Here are some ways to make your Insta Stories pop, suitable for beginners and advanced creators alike.

1. If you are a beginner, start with a well-designed template

Not everyone is a design expert. That’s great – luckily, there are plenty of apps that offer free and paid design templates for Instagram Stories.

Some popular apps for finding editable templates are Canva, Spark Post, and Over. My advice is to spend some time browsing through the options and find a template that fits your brand’s style and tone. Then customize them with your images, fonts and colors.

2. Add filters and special effects to your Instagram Stories

A good Instagram filter can make the most interesting photo or video. Not to mention the time you save if you have to edit each photo before you post it.

All you have to do is search for the result in the Instagram effects library and save it to your Story camera. This way, every time you record a new article, you can use your favorite filters to perform well without having to do a new search every time.

3. Make your story more effective and informative

There are different ways you can add stories to Instagram, but one of the most effective is to shoot a video story. When you show your face in front of the audience, people tend to listen to what you have to say.

So how do you tell a story on social media that gets people interested and engaged?

  • Take time to organize your story: think about what you have to say and in order. Practice speaking into the camera and time your speech. This will help you gain more confidence and make fewer mistakes. This best works for businesses and sites like the Chinese B2B platform.
  • Try not to make your stories 20 minutes long like the popular Vlog stories because they are short and sweet. The best length for a story is 7 to 10 slides (about 2 minutes). If you want to share a longer story, you can record an IGTV video.
  • Add interactive posters and additional slideshows to keep your audience engaged and watching until the end. Don’t forget to ask them questions and encourage them to answer.
  • What can you say? Introduce yourself, talk about a new product, share a life lesson, or talk about mistakes you’ve made during your business. The options are endless. And be sure to let your personality shine.

4. Use interactive stickers and GIFs to make your stories more interesting

Stickers are not new on Instagram, but they are constantly changing, adding new features to the app every day. So, if you want to make your story stand out – the easiest way is to add stickers and GIFs.

Just click on the smiley icon and select the sticker you want to add. You can create polls, interviews, ask questions, set statistics, or add animated GIFs to promote your story.

5. Organize Your Instagram Stories

Plus, we have tricks to increase your productivity and save you a lot of time.

Creating stories will be a daily occurrence. To keep your audience engaged, you need to be consistent.

But we all know how long it takes to create a good story. Now imagine setting aside time to create stories every day. This is where you have to plan ahead.

The best practice here is to create all the planned reports at once and organize them in advance.

There are two ways to schedule your Instagram stories: Facebook Business Suite and third-party scheduling tools.