How to Answer Questions on Instagram Story

The Instagram Questions sticker is one of the most powerful tools you have for building a community, not just an audience. It transforms your Story from a one-way broadcast into a two-way conversation, inviting direct engagement from the people who matter most. This guide will walk you through exactly how to set it up, how to answer questions effectively, and how to use it strategically to spark meaningful connections with your followers.

Setting Up Your Instagram Questions Sticker: The Walkthrough

Before you can host a compelling Q&A, you need to know how to get the sticker up and running. It's a quick process that gives you a surprising amount of creative control.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Open Instagram Stories: Tap the "+" icon at the top of your screen and select "Story," or simply swipe right from your main feed.
2. Create Your Background: Take a photo, record a short video, upload an image from your camera roll, or choose the "Create" mode (Aa) for a simple gradient background. This visual will sit behind your question box, so make it relevant or visually appealing. A simple selfie or a shot of your workspace often works great to add a personal touch.
3. Access the Sticker Tray: Tap the smiley face sticker icon at the top of your screen. This will open up all of Instagram's interactive features.
4. Select the "Questions" Sticker: Find the sticker labeled "QUESTIONS" and tap it. It will appear on your screen with the default prompt, "Ask me a question."
5. Customize Your Prompt (This is Important!): Don't just stick with the default text. This is your chance to guide the conversation. Tap the text to edit it. Instead of a generic "Ask me anything," try something more specific to get better responses.
6. Change the Color: Want the sticker to match your brand aesthetic? Tap the color wheel icon at the top of the screen to cycle through different background colors for the sticker itself.
7. Position and Resize: Drag the sticker to position it on your Story. Use two fingers to pinch and zoom, making it larger or smaller so it's clearly visible but doesn't obstruct the most important parts of your background image or video.
8. Share to Your Story: Once you're happy with it, tap "Your Story" in the bottom left corner to post it. Now, it's time to wait for the questions to roll in.

Where to Find Your Questions and How to Respond

Once your Story is live, your followers can tap the sticker and submit their questions. You'll start receiving notifications as the responses come in. Here’s how to find them and share your answers.

Locating the Responses

The questions your followers submit are private and only visible to you. To access them, open the Story where you posted the sticker. At the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see "Activity" with a few profile pictures of people who have viewed it. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

This will open the viewer list for that Story. At the top of this screen, you’ll see a dedicated section for your Questions sticker responses. You can scroll through all the submissions anyone has sent.

How to Answer a Question

This is where the magic happens. Turning a follower's question into new content is simple. From your responses screen, just tap on the question you want to answer.

When you tap a question, you’ll see an option that says "Share Response." Tapping this will automatically open a brand new Story draft. The original question will be displayed as a sticker that you can move and resize. Your follower's username and photo are kept private - no one will see who asked the question unless you specifically type out their handle to tag them.

From here, you have two creative options for your answer:

• Answer with a new photo or video: This is the most engaging method. You can record a video of yourself answering the question directly, take a new photo that helps illustrate your answer, or upload an existing image or video from your camera roll.
• Answer with a solid background: For a quick text-based answer, you can tap the "Create" mode (Aa) again or use the draw tool to create a solid color background, then type out your response with the text tool.

Once you’ve crafted your response around the question sticker, just post it to your Story as you normally would. You can answer as many questions as you like from the original sticker until it expires after 24 hours.

Strategic Ways to Use the Questions Sticker to Boost Engagement

Leaving the prompt as "Ask me anything" is fine, but you can get much higher-quality engagement by guiding the conversation with a more focused prompt. Think about what you want to achieve with your session.

Host an 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA)

The classic AMA is a fantastic way to build trust and show the human side of your brand. It gives founders, creators, or team members a chance to connect directly with your audience.
Examples: "It's just me today! Ask me anything about starting a small business." or "Our lead designer is taking over the account. Ask her about her creative process!"

Collect Feedback and User-Generated Content (UGC)

Treat the Questions sticker as your personal market research tool. It’s an invaluable way to get honest feedback and ideas directly from the people who know your brand best: your followers.
Examples: "What's one thing you want to see more of on this account in 2024?" "What's your biggest struggle with [your industry/niche]?," or even "Describe our brand in three words."

Demystify Your Industry or Niche

Position yourself as a thought leader by busting common myths or answering frequently asked questions about your area of expertise. This builds authority and provides genuine value.
Examples: "Let's bust some myths! What’s the worst advice you've heard about social media marketing?" or "Q&A time: What do you want to know about ethical sourcing?"

Drive Conversation with Your Audience

You don't always need to be the one answering. Use the sticker to ask your audience questions and feature their best answers. This is a brilliant way to create a feeling of community and make your followers feel heard and valued.
Examples: "Tell us about a big win you had this week!" or "What’s your favorite local spot for great coffee? We'll share our favorite answers!"

Let Your Audience Guide Your Content Strategy

Feeling stuck in a content rut? Let your followers tell you what they want. Their questions and suggestions provide a direct roadmap for your content calendar.
Examples: "If you could ask us to make a video tutorial about anything, what would it be?" or "We're planning new blog posts. What topics do you want us to cover?"

Best Practices for Answering Questions on Instagram Stories

How you answer is just as important as what you ask. Replying thoughtfully makes your followers feel seen and encourages more people to participate next time. Here are a few tips to make your Q&A a massive success.

1. Answer a Variety of Questions

Don’t just cherry-pick the easy questions or the ones that sing your praises. Answer the slightly tougher, more specific, or even the silly ones. This shows transparency and makes the session feel more authentic. It’s okay to skip inappropriate or overly personal questions, but showing a range proves you're genuinely listening.

2. Let Your Personality Show

This is not the time for robotic, formal replies. Whether you answer via video or text, use your distinct brand voice. Are you funny? Educational? Empathetic? Let that come through. Video responses are particularly powerful for creating a personal connection.

3. Spread Your Answers Out

Instead of posting 20 answers in a single hour and overwhelming your followers, spread your replies throughout the day. This keeps your Story at the front of the feed and gives people more chances to see your Q&A in progress and join in. Your goal is a slow, steady stream of conversation, not a quick content dump.

4. Use Visuals to Your Advantage

Don't just post answers on plain backgrounds every time. Pair your answer with a relevant photo, GIF, or a short video clip. For example, if someone asks about your favorite product, show a picture of it. If they ask about your morning routine, show a quick clip of your coffee maker. This makes each answer a visually engaging piece of content on its own.

5. Repurpose Your Best Content

Did a particular question generate a fantastic, detailed answer? Don’t let it disappear after 24 hours.

• Create a "Q&A" or "FAQ" Story Highlight: Save your best answers to a Highlight on your profile so new followers can benefit from them later.
• Turn a question into a new post: If a follower's question is one you get all the time, expand on your answer and turn it into a dedicated Reel, carousel post, or even a blog article. Chances are if one person asked, many more are thinking it.

Final Thoughts

Using the Instagram Stories Questions sticker is one of the most effective and direct ways to build a real relationship with your followers. By moving beyond generic prompts and focusing on providing genuine value, you can turn a simple feature into a cornerstone of your community engagement strategy.

A successful Q&A can generate a ton of conversations in comments and DMs, which is amazing for building connections. The only challenge is keeping up. At Postbase, we wanted to fix the chaos of juggling multiple inboxes, so we built a single, unified inbox for all your platforms. Instead of jumping between apps, we give you one place to manage all your comments and DMs, so you never miss another opportunity to connect with your community.