5 Video Ideas for Instagram Stories

Did you know that over 500 million people are using Instagram Stories on a daily basis? With such a huge potential audience, Instagram Stories are a great opportunity for brands. And if you’re not already using them, it’s time to start. Of course, that begs the question… what type of content should you use on Instagram Stories? As is so often the case in today’s social media landscape, we recommend trying video content.

Video content is effective on Instagram Stories for a couple of reasons. For one, video content can stay up on the screen longer than a static image. When you post a video on Instagram Stories, it can stay on the screen for up to 15 seconds (compared to the 5 seconds that a simple image stays up). Plus, users prefer video content. According to studies, videos on Instagram Stories have a lower rate of exit than stories with images.

So where do you start? And how do you know what types of videos perform well? We’ve got some video ideas for Instagram Stories to get you started. 

5 Video Ideas for Instagram Stories

1. Provide a BTS peek

Instagram Stories are a great place to promote company culture, offer a glimpse of a new project, or give your followers a peek into your workspace. The whole vibe of Instagram Stories is more casual, which makes it ideal for sharing videos that aren’t polished or overly produced. Whether you’re in a buzzing workspace, on location, or alone in your home office, just pull out your phone and film a quick video that provides your followers with a BTS (Behind-the-Scenes)  glimpse into your world.

2. Do a Q&A

With Instagram Stories, you have the opportunity to post more of yourself than you might typically do on your grid. That’s why Q&A videos are always a good idea. Your followers have questions. And you can answer them in a FAQ section on your website or in giant blocks of text on your Instagram Stories. But there’s no format better than letting your followers see your face and speaking directly to them. Before you film a Q&A video for Instagram Stories, you can either round up frequently asked questions or collect questions from your followers by creating a Story with a Question box.

3. Offer a teaser

Do you have something big coming? Maybe it’s a brand-new product, an upcoming launch, a project that you’ve been working hard on. Use a video on Instagram Stories to offer a teaser to your audience! Videos on Instagram Stories can be short and simple, so there’s no pressure to give an in-depth look at something that you’re not ready to fully reveal. A teaser video is something you can whip up in seconds — and building anticipation is always good for a brand.

4. Demonstrate your product/service

This may seem like a simple video idea for Instagram Stories, but it can be easy to forget to use purely promotional content. Just like your grid, it’s important to use Instagram Stories to build brand awareness and increase your sales. And creating product/service videos is a great way to do that. Your video doesn’t have to be anything flashy, but it’s more effective to use video than images (since video will stay on the screen longer and typically result in a lower exit rate). Plus, video allows you to more effectively demonstrate your product or service than you can with a simple image.

5. Give reminders

You can also use videos on Instagram Stories to give your audience reminders about anything exciting that you have coming up. Whether it’s an upcoming sale, an event, or even just a planned Instagram Live, putting a short video on Instagram to remind your followers can be hugely effective. Especially if you combine your video with Instagram’s Countdown sticker. When you select that sticker and input the time left until your event begins, your followers can actually tap that button to subscribe to your event. Then, when the countdown is over, anyone who tapped the button will get a reminder straight to their inbox.

What are your favorite video ideas for Instagram Stories? Tell us in the comments! 

And don’t forget — if you want to add captions to your video Instagram Stories with Zubtitle, you can sign up for a free account today and start creating!