How to Add Multiple Stories on Instagram

Thinking about posting more than one photo or video to your Instagram Story? You're not alone. Whether you want to share a play-by-play of an event or create a beautiful collage, a single story slide often isn’t enough. This guide will show you exactly how to add multiple stories on Instagram, from the simple multi-select method to more creative ways to combine your images into a single, eye-catching post.

The Simplest Method: Uploading Multiple Photos and Videos at Once

Instagram has a built-in feature designed for this exact purpose: posting multiple stories in a sequence. This is the fastest way to share a collection of moments from your camera roll, like a concert, a day trip, or a behind-the-scenes look at a project. The platform allows you to select up to 10 photos and videos at once, which will then appear as individual, tappable story slides.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Multi-Select Feature

Following this process is straightforward and only takes a minute to set up. Here's a quick walkthrough:

1. Open the Story Camera: Launch the Instagram app and swipe right from your feed to open the Story creation screen. Alternatively, you can tap the plus (+) icon at the top of the screen and select "Story."
2. Access Your Gallery: In the bottom-left corner, tap the square thumbnail that shows a preview of your camera roll. This will open your photo library.
3. Activate Multi-Select Mode: Look for the "SELECT" icon in the top-right corner of your gallery view. Tapping this will allow you to choose more than one piece of media.
4. Choose Your Content: Tap on the photos and videos you want to include. A numbered circle will appear on each thumbnail, indicating the order it will be posted in. You can select up to 10 items. To change the order, simply deselect them and re-select them in the correct sequence.
5. Review and Edit: Once you've made your selections, tap "Next." You'll now see all your chosen photos and videos laid out at the bottom of the screen. You can tap each one to edit it individually, adding text, stickers, GIFs, or music just as you would with a single story. This is a great chance to make sure each slide flows nicely into the next.
6. Share Your Story: After you're done editing, tap "Next" again. From here, you can share it directly to "Your Story." Instagram will automatically publish them in the order you selected.

Why This Method Works So Well

The beauty of the multi-select feature is its efficiency for sequential storytelling. It's purpose-built for sharing narratives that unfold over several moments. Think of it as creating a mini-slideshow for your followers.

• Event Recaps: Perfect for sharing highlights from a party, wedding, or conference. Each slide can capture a different memory.
• Step-by-Step Tutorials: Show a process from start to finish. A baker can show each step of a recipe, or a fitness influencer can demonstrate a workout routine, one exercise per slide.
• Behind-the-Scenes Tours: Give your audience a glimpse into your workspace, a project's development, or a "day in the life" sequence.
• Product Showcases: Highlight various features, angles, or uses of a single product to give customers a complete view.

Creative Power-Up: Adding Multiple Photos to a Single Story Slide

Sometimes, putting several photos on one single story slide creates a bigger visual impact. This collage or scrapbook style is fantastic for showing off a collection of related images, creating mood boards, or designing a more aesthetically rich post. Instagram offers a couple of excellent built-in tools for this.

Method 1: Using the "Add from Camera Roll" Sticker

This is arguably the most flexible way to build a custom collage. It allows you to freely place, resize, and layer images on top of any background you choose.

How to Use It:

1. Start with a background. You can snap a photo, upload an image from your camera roll, or use the "Create" mode (Aa icon) to select a solid color or gradient background.
2. Tap the sticker icon (the smiley face) at the top of the screen to open the sticker tray.
3. Scroll down until you find the "Add from Camera Roll" sticker, which usually looks like a photo icon with a plus sign, or a stack of photos.
4. Select your first image. It will appear on your screen, ready to be customized.
5. Now, the fun begins. You can pinch with two fingers to resize it, drag it to move it anywhere on the screen, and tap on the sticker to cycle through different shapes like circles, squares, stars, and hearts.
6. Repeat the process. Tap the sticker icon again, select another photo, and position it. You can add several photos, layering them however you like to create your desired look.

Method 2: Using the Built-In "Layout" Mode

If you prefer a more organized, grid-based collage, Instagram's "Layout" mode is your best friend. It instantly creates a neat, structured look without any guesswork.

How to Use It:

1. On the main Story creation screen, look at the vertical toolbar on the left side. Tap the "Layout" icon, which looks like a window pane or a grid.
2. You'll notice formats appear, allowing you to split your screen into two, three, four, or even six sections. Tap the "Change Grid" icon to cycle through the different layout options.
3. With your grid selected, you can fill each section. Either tap a section to take a live photo or tap the gallery icon in the bottom-left corner to add photos from your camera roll.
4. Once you've filled every section of the grid, tap the checkmark icon. This finalizes the collage, and you can now treat it like a single image, adding text, GIFs, or music over the entire layout.

Beyond Uploading: Strategies for Engaging Multi-Part Stories

Technically knowing how to upload multiple stories is only half the battle. To truly capture and hold your audience's attention, you need to be strategic about how you present your content. A series of random photos is forgettable, a well-crafted visual story is impactful. To truly master this, understanding how to increase Instagram Story views is key.

Tell a Cohesive Narrative

Don't just dump media onto your story. Think like a storyteller with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The goal is to make your viewer want to tap forward to see what happens next.

• The Hook (First Slide): Your first story slide is the most important. It needs to grab attention and set expectations. Pose a question with a sticker ("Guess what we've been working on?"), show an intriguing close-up shot, or use bold text to make a surprising statement.
• The Build-Up (Middle Slides): This is where you deliver the core content. For a tutorial, this would be the steps. For a travel recap, it’s the main highlights. For a product launch, it’s showing the product in action and highlighting key features.
• The Payoff (Final Slide): End with a strong conclusion and, ideally, a call-to-action. This could be the full reveal of a project, the finished dish from a recipe, a link to your website, or a poll asking for feedback. A strong ending leaves a lasting impression.

Use Interactive Stickers to Keep People Tapping

Interactive stickers are the glue that holds a multi-part story together. They turn passive viewing into a two-way conversation and give your audience a reason to keep engaging with each slide.

• Polls &, Quizzes: Ask questions along the way. If you're showing trip photos, a poll could be "Beach or mountains?" For a behind-the-scenes sequence, a quiz like "How long do you think this took to make?" can boost engagement.
• Question Stickers: Invite curiosity. A sticker saying "Ask me anything about our new collection!" on the final slide encourages direct communication and provides valuable customer insight.
• "Add Yours" Template: A fantastic way to create a chain reaction. For example, a pet brand could create a multi-part story showing off their pets and end with an "Add Yours" sticker prompting followers to share photos of their own animals.

Don't Create "Story Fatigue"

Just because Instagram allows up to 10 media uploads at once (and up to 100 total stories in a 24-hour period), doesn't mean you should always max it out. When viewers see a dense row of tiny dashes at the top of their screen, it can feel daunting. This "story fatigue" often leads them to swipe away before they've seen it all.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your main narratives to around 3-7 slides. This is long enough to tell a complete story but short enough to retain attention. If you have more content to share from a long event or trip, consider breaking it up. Post a "Part 1" in the morning and a "Part 2" in the evening to give your content room to breathe and keep your followers from feeling overwhelmed.

Final Thoughts

Mastering how to add multiple stories - whether by uploading a sequence of moments or creatively building a beautiful collage - opens up a more dynamic way to communicate on Instagram. It allows you to move beyond single, static updates and start telling richer, more compelling narratives that captivate your audience and keep them tapping for more.

Planning these multi-part story arcs, especially when you’re also managing Reels, posts, and other social platforms, can feel complicated. That’s precisely why we built Postbase. After spending years wrestling with legacy tools that never truly supported modern content like Stories and short-form video, we wanted something better. With our visual calendar, we make it easy to plan out your entire story sequence, drag and drop content, and see how it all fits with your scheduled Reels and posts in one clean, unified view.