How to Add a Collaborator on an Instagram Story

Collaborating on an Instagram Story lets you post a single Story that appears on both your profile and a partner's, instantly doubling its potential reach. This guide walks you through exactly how to add a collaborator, what benefits you'll gain, and new ways to use this feature for brand growth.

What is an Instagram Story Collaboration and Why Does It Matter?

Unlike a regular Story where you simply tag another account with the @mention sticker, a Story collaboration is a true co-authored post. When your collaborator accepts the invitation, the Story appears natively in their Story feed, framed by both your profile picture and theirs. This means all their followers will see it just like they see any other Story, but it will be clear that it's a joint post.

For brands, creators, and marketers, this is a significant step up from a simple mention. Instead of just hoping someone sees you tagged them and re-shares it to their story (where it often appears smaller and less prominent), this method guarantees an original, full-screen post on both profiles.

The Key Benefits of Collaborating on Stories

Integrating collaborative Stories into your social strategy offers some powerful advantages:

• Expanded Reach: This is the most obvious benefit. Your content is immediately pushed to a new, relevant audience - your collaborator's followers. It's one of the fastest ways to get more eyes on your message without paying for ads.
• Boosted Engagement: Because the Story shows up on two profiles, it gathers engagement (views, replies, poll votes, etc.) from both audiences simultaneously. This consolidated interaction can signal to the Instagram algorithm that your content is valuable, potentially increasing its visibility.
• Authentic Cross-Promotion: When you partner with another account, you're getting a strong endorsement. It tells their audience that they trust and value your brand or content. This is perfect for authentic creator partnerships, brand-on-brand collaborations, and promoting joint projects.
• Builds Social Proof: A collaboration acts as a powerful form of social proof. It signals to your audience that you are connected and respected within your industry or community, which builds trust and credibility.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a Collaborator on an Instagram Story

Ready to create your first collaborative Story? The process is simple and integrates smoothly into your existing workflow. Here’s exactly how to do it.

1. Start a New Story

Open the Instagram app. From your home feed, swipe right or tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen and select "Story." This will open the Story creation camera.

2. Create Your Content

Either capture a photo or video using the camera or swipe up to select a piece of content from your phone’s gallery. Once your content is on the screen, you can add all the usual creative elements: text, music, GIFs, filters, polls, and quiz stickers.

Pro Tip: When planning a collab, it's a good idea to create content that feels natural and valuable to both audiences. Think about what a follower of your collaborator would find interesting, not just someone who already follows you.

3. Tag People and Invite a Collaborator

This is where the collaboration magic happens. In the top-right corner of the editing screen, tap the sticker icon (the square smiley face). From there, select the @Mention sticker.

Start typing the username of the account you wish to collaborate with. Once their profile appears in the list, you'll see a button right below the search bar that says "Invite collaborator." Tap on it.

A new screen will pop up showing the option to "Invite a collaborator." Search for the user again and tap on their account. You can only invite one collaborator per Story.

Note: Alternatively, some users may see a "Tag people" icon at the bottom of the editing screen. If so, tap that and you'll find an "Invite Collaborator" button on the next screen.

4. Finalize and Share Your Story

After you’ve added your collaborator, their username will appear on the Story, similar to a regular tag. You can finish adding any other edits and then tap "Your Story" in the bottom-left corner to post it.

5. Your Collaborator Must Accept the Invitation

Once you share the Story, it's not over yet. Your potential collaborator will receive a notification and a direct message with a request to join the collaboration.

They will need to open the message and tap "Accept." As soon as they do, the Story will instantly appear on their own Story feed, visible to their entire audience. If they decline or ignore the request, the Story will remain live on your profile, but it will appear as a standard mention, not a collaboration.

Creative Ideas and Best Practices for Story Collaborations

Knowing how to use the feature is one thing, knowing when to use it is what separates a good strategy from a great one. Here are some smart ways to use Story collaborations to build your brand.

1. Announce Partnerships or Product Launches

If you're a brand launching a new product with a creator, a collaborative Story is the perfect way to make the announcement. It creates a unified message and ensures both audiences see the news at the same time directly from the source.

2. Host Giveaways and Contests

Giveaways get a massive boost with collaborations. Partner with a complementary brand and announce the contest via a joint Story. Outline the rules (e.g., "Follow both accounts and comment on our recent post to enter!") and use the shared reach to maximize entries and gain followers for both accounts.

3. Promote Events or Webinars

Are you co-hosting a live event, workshop, or webinar? Use a collaborative Story to share the registration link. Both hosts can promote the event using the same creative, making the campaign feel consistent and professional. Use a countdown sticker to build anticipation.

4. Share Testimonials or User-Generated Content

If a customer or client posts an amazing Story about your product or service and tags you, send them a DM and ask if they'd be willing to accept a collaboration request on their post. When you're invited as a collaborator to their original Story, their praise appears authentically on your profile from a real person, which is incredibly powerful social proof.

5. Behind-the-Scenes Takeovers

Instead of giving another person your login credentials for an account "takeover," you can have them post content on their Story and invite you as a collaborator. This lets them share "a day in the life" or behind-the-scenes content in their own unique style, while still having it show up natively on your brand’s profile. It’s safer and simpler for everyone.

Troubleshooting: Why Can't I Add a Collaborator to My Story?

Sometimes you might run into an issue where the feature doesn't work as expected. Here are a few common reasons and how to fix them:

• The account is private. You can only invite public accounts to collaborate on a Story. The collaborator feature requires both accounts to be public for the shared visibility to work.
• You are trying to add more than one person. Unlike feed post collaborations where you can add multiple people, Instagram Stories currently limit collaborations to just one other account.
• Your app is out of date. Social media apps are constantly updating. If you don't see the collaborator option, the first thing to check is if you're running the latest version of Instagram. Go to your app store and check for updates.
• You are trying to use an ad. You cannot add a collaborator to a Story that is being promoted as an ad. The feature is designed for organic content only.

Final Thoughts

Adding a collaborator on an Instagram Story is a simple but incredibly effective way to amplify your message, reach new audiences, and build stronger partnerships. By turning a simple mention into a co-authored post, you unlock huge potential for engagement and brand growth directly within a format your audience already loves and consumes daily.

Planning these strategic collaborations well in advance is essential for a polished social presence. For our own team, using a visual content calendar makes a world of difference. When we map out our content strategy in Postbase, we can see exactly when creator partnerships or brand collabs are scheduled to go live. This helps us plan supporting feed posts and be prepared to manage the influx of comments and DMs from both audiences in our unified inbox, keeping everything organized and efficient.