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How to Engage Your Audience Authentically through Instagram Stories

This post is one that I planned to post next month but after getting a ton of emails and direct messages wanted to go ahead and share now. Let’s talk about Instagram Stories! Most bloggers know about the Instagram algorithm and how it’s affected the reach of your photos.

As frustrating as the Instagram algorithm can be, I’ve been able to connect with my audience on that platform by using Instagram stories & today I want to share some of the apps I use for storytelling.

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Lifestyle blogger, What Nicole Wore, shares her favorite apps for Instagram stories plus how to get animated text!

If you don’t have the ‘swipe up’ feature, never fear! There are still a lot of ways to make your Instagram story interactive and a unique component of your brand. I try to engage my audience by doing a number of different things.

  1. Do a quick product review! Instagram stories are composed of 15-second videos and photos, so I like to show new products I’m testing out and even ask for feedback. I include my audience by asking which nail color they like best, if they have suggestions, and even for recommendations.
  2. Show real life as it relates to your brand. If I’m going out to eat or trying something new in town, I try to share a quick snap. Bonus tip: if you have any brand specific hashtags, use them! For example, I use #WNWeats for food posts and #WhereNicoleWent for travel. If I’m sharing content in my stories that ties into these verticals, I’ll use these hashtags so that people can see other related content.
  3. Have a new blog post? Share it! Not all of my Instagram followers read my blog, just like not everyone that reads my blog follows my Instagram. Still, I try to entice my remind them of new posts when they go live and if it’s something that ties into my Instagram theme or something I’ve talked about with followers {like this post!}, I’ll go ahead and call that out.
  4. Storytell! My number one tip is to share more of yourself and your brand by incorporating your personality through Instagram stories. Sometimes I share more of my real life: like going on a date and having someone order me an ice cream sundae even though I’m lactose intolerant. Other times I storytell with my brand: last week I worked on a shoot with Draper James and Kentucky Bride Magazine and used my story to share behind the scenes and highlight some of the vendors that were apart of the day.

And if you’re storytelling with your brand, odds are you may find yourself a little limited with the tools available in Instagram stories. That’s why I’m sharing some of the best apps for creating an authentic storytelling experience with Instagram Stories!

I’m sharing some of the best apps for authentic storytelling with #InstagramStories. Click To Tweet

A Beautiful Mess

I mentioned this app before as one of my favorites for social media; the ‘A Beautiful Mess’ app allows you to resize images to fit the Instagram story size. I use this regularly I’m sharing graphics from my blog to my story.  Simply change the crop size to the tall vertical size and leave a bit of white space around the graphic you want to share in your Instagram story.

ABM also has plain text features with several fonts {I prefer using Instagram Stories text} and filters {I don’t use these}.

Boomerang

Okay, I know you’re probably thinking – Nicole, I can do this in Instagram Stories. And you’re right, you can! In fact, I actually prefer that but leading into this next pro tip, take your boomerang and then save it instead of directly posting it. I’ve got something good for you, I promise.

Videoshop

This video editing app isn’t going to give you YouTube level editing but can make boomerangs longer, add music to videos and boomerangs, throw a filter onto videos and animate text {prefer the next app for animated text but this one is good too!}

I use this app when I have multiple video clips I want to edit into one long ongoing story. Drop all the videos into one project and then you’ll need to split them into 15 second or less clips. This isn’t super timely but it’s also not a super quick process either so be warned.

Hype Type

Here’s the app that so many of you have asked about! This app lets you animate text over photos or videos. The app is free but I’d recommend paying the $2 to remove the watermark from your uploads. For photos, the animated text will save as a five second video clip, which is short enough to upload into Instagram stories. I prefer this app over the others I’ve tried for animated text.

Wondering how to animate text for your #IGStories? Click To Tweet

Want more tips on Instagram Stories?  Give Katherine’s post on the Do’s and Don’ts for more inspiration on how to master Instagram Stories.

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Comments

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      I was unsure about it in the beginning but it’s such a fun way to connect with your audience!

  5. Lisa says

    I have been thinking of starting IG stories but needed some of these tips to get going with it. I will be checking out the Hype app for sure. Thank you!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      I think you’ll really like HypeType Lisa! Glad this post was helpful!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      It can be intimidating but is a great way to connect further with followers!

  10. Nataly says

    This is such a great post! I am going to download these apps! I have been wondering about animated text!! Thank you girl!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      I bet that is a challenge! Love that you use them to take followers with you ☺️

  19. Maggie says

    This is so helpful! I have been trying to do better at stories!

    Maggie @ Polished Closets

  20. Liz says

    I’ve been slacking on my insta stories lately. This was perfect to read! I’ll have to try out these apps too!

  24. Jocelynne Flor says

    I’ve been figuring out how to add music to videos for such a long time! Thank you for this. A tip that I have is to always take photos with your phone camera and not the actual in-story camera; the quality is always better!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Ooooh that’s a good one! I used to do that but the phone camera takes photos smaller than the full screen for me — have you figured out a way around this aside from resizing?

  30. mary says

    These are great tips!I love using Insta stories, but need to up my game. I have seen other bloggers using Hype Type so I am checking it out!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      I’ve gotten great feedback from my followers; it’s such a fun way to connect!