creating instagram stories
Instagram has grown to more than 800 million users as of September 2017 (statista.com). While still not the 2.2 billion active users that Facebook has developed over the past nine years, it clearly is outpacing Snapchat, which has only 187 million users. Nearly two years ago, Instagram launched Stories, and both of the aforementioned social media channels have a similar feature. If you are like me, creating stories on Instagram is still a new way to share with your followers. Here are some tips on how to do it.
>> First, stories are at the top of your Instagram feed. You can watch the stories of people you follow by clicking on their circles. If you touch one and let it automatically play, it will go from one story to the next. If you want to skip a story, just tap the screen and it will jump to the next one. Swiping left also will move you forward.
>> To create a story, click your profile picture with a blue ‘+’ sign in the Stories feed. You can either take a picture or video, or swipe up to retrieve one from your camera roll. Once you have selected your image or video, you can add text, filters and other fun features. Your story will disappear after 24 hours just like on Snapchat or Facebook.
>> If you are creating a new video, the default setting is the Normal option, seen at the bottom of your screen. Press and hold the button to record your video. There are countless options to help you create your story:
• Type allows you to create a solid background with messaging.
• Live is exactly what it says: you are going live on Instagram. I encourage you to use this with caution.
• To the right of the Normal setting is the Boomerang option, which lets you create cute, short videos shown in a loop.
• Superzoom creates a bounce effect by zooming in and out on an image.
• Rewind plays your video backwards from how you recorded it.
• Hands-free allows you to create a countdown when you push the button.
• If you want to do a selfie, there are two arrows going in a circle to change the direction of the camera.
• The smiley face with stars icon lets you create a video of yourself with crazy motion graphics and transformations. These are silly but really fun to try.
>> Once you create your story, you will be taken to a screen where you either can save it or delete it by clicking the ‘X’. At the top right, there are options to add text and additional images or create a message on the opening screen. You can share the story by clicking the ‘+’ sign in a circle (Your Story) or by sending it directly to an Instagram follower.
>> Once you play around with it, you will start to find the fun in creating stories on Instagram. I can’t promise you there will always be a story to follow on my feed, but I plan to tap into my creative side more often!
Sheila Burkett is an information technology expert and CEO of Spry Digital, an interactive design agency delivering smart digital solutions. Follow Spry Digital on Twitter (@sprydigital), Facebook (Facebook.com/sprydigital), Instagram (@sprydigital) or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/spry-digital-llc).
