How to Collaborate on an Instagram Story

Collaborating on an Instagram Story is one of the fastest ways to cross-pollinate your audience and create content that feels genuinely new. This guide gives you a complete playbook on the three main ways to collaborate on Stories, from the official Collab sticker to co-hosting a Live interview. We'll cover step-by-step instructions for each technique and share strategies to make sure your partnerships land with maximum impact.

Why Bother with Instagram Story Collaborations?

Before getting into the how, let's quickly cover the why. A well-executed Story collaboration is more than just a shoutout, it's a strategic move that delivers clear benefits for your brand. It's one of the highest-leverage activities you can do in a small amount of time.

Reach New Eyeballs Instantly

The most obvious benefit is reach. When you collaborate with another account, you get direct exposure to their audience. These aren't just random people, they're followers who already trust your collaborator's taste and recommendations. It's like getting a warm introduction to a room full of potential new fans, customers, and community members instead of walking in cold.

Boost Engagement Signals

Collaborative content tends to feel more dynamic and signals to your audience that you're an active part of your community. This often results in more replies, reactions, and poll votes than a typical solo Story. Every one of these interactions tells the Instagram algorithm that your content is valuable, which can lead to increased visibility across the platform, even for your future non-collaborative content.

Build Social Proof and Credibility

Partnering with other respected accounts in your niche offers powerful social proof. It sends a message that you are a trusted and credible voice in your field. When your followers see you associated with other brands or creators they know and respect, it strengthens their trust in you. For new viewers discovering you through the collab, it instantly builds a foundation of credibility that would otherwise take months to establish.

The Three Main Ways to Collaborate on an Instagram Story

Instagram offers a few different tools for real-time partnership. Each serves a slightly different creative and strategic purpose. The three primary methods you should know are:

• The "Collab" Sticker: Allows you and up to three others to co-author a single Story post that appears on all your profiles simultaneously.
• The Classic Mention (@mention): The timeless method of tagging another account, which enables them to easily reshare your Story to their own audience.
• Co-Hosting an Instagram Live: An interactive, real-time collaboration that you can later share as a 24-hour Story replay.

Let's break down how to execute each one and when it's the right choice for your goals.

Method 1: Using the "Collab" Sticker on an Instagram Story

This is Instagram's official feature dedicated to Story collaborations. When you add a collaborator to a Story, that single Story will appear on both your profile and theirs as if you both posted it. The view count, replies, and reactions are shared, meaning all engagement is consolidated. It's a true partnership baked right into the feature.

When to Use This Method:

• Joint Announcements: Perfect for a new partnership, product drop, or co-hosted event where both parties want to share the exact same message at the same time.
• Giveaways & Contests: When multiple brands are sponsoring a giveaway, the Collab sticker lets everyone post the announcement efficiently, and all participants see the unified engagement.
• Featuring User-Generated Content (UGC): Sharing a customer's post and adding them as a collaborator gives them full co-author credit, making them feel truly valued.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use the Collab Sticker

1. Create Your Story: Open the Instagram Story composer by swiping right from your feed. You can either take a new photo or video, or upload an existing asset from your camera roll. Add any desired text, GIFs, or other elements first.
2. Open the Sticker Tray: Near the top of the screen, tap the sticker icon (the square smiley face).
3. Find and Select the "Collab" Sticker: Look for a sticker named "Collab." It usually has an icon of two interlocking rings. If you don't see it, you can use the search bar at the top of the sticker tray. Tap it to proceed.
4. Invite Your Collaborators: A new screen will appear prompting you to search for people to invite. Type in the username of the account you wish to collaborate with and select them from the list. You can invite up to three other accounts to co-author the Story post.
5. Position the Sticker and Post: After selecting your collaborators, a sticker with their profile pictures will appear on your Story creator. You can drag it around and resize it just like any other sticker. Once you're happy with the placement, tap "Your Story" to post it.
6. Your Partner Must Accept the Invitation: This is a critical final step. Your collaborator will receive a request in their Direct Messages and a notification. They must open the request and tap "Accept" for the Story to appear on their profile. If they ignore or decline it, your Story will only be visible on your own account.

Method 2: The Classic Mention (@mention) for Resharing

This is the tried-and-true method that has been the foundation of Story collaborations for years. You simply create a Story and tag another account in it. The tagged account will receive a notification and a prompt to "Add this to your story," allowing them to share your content with their own followers in just two taps. It's less of a co-authorship and more of a handoff, but it's incredibly effective.

When to Use This Method:

• Creator & Brand Shout-outs: When you want to highlight another creator's work or a product you love.
• Sharing Testimonials or UGC: If a customer tags you in a Story about your product, you can easily reshare it to your own Story to show social proof.
• Event Coverage: Tagging speakers, sponsors, or attendees at an event encourages them to reshare your coverage to their networks.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Tag Someone for a Reshare

1. Create Your Story: Head to the Story editor and create your content as you normally would.
2. Add a Mention: You have two primary ways to tag an account:
   • The Text Tool: Tap the "Aa" icon to add text. Type the "@" symbol, followed immediately by the username you want to tag. As you type, a list of accounts will appear below - make sure you tap the correct one to create the tag.
   • The @Mention Sticker: Open the sticker tray, select the "@MENTION" sticker, and search for the user you want to feature. This creates a more prominent, stylized tag.
3. Customize and Share: You can change the color, style, and placement of the mention tag. Once satisfied, post the content to your Story.
4. What Your Collaborator Sees: The account you tagged will get a notification. When they check their DMs from you, they'll see a preview of your Story with a prominent button that reads "Add to story." When they tap it, they're taken to their own Story editor with your piece of content ready to go. They can resize it and add their own commentary, GIFs, or questions before sharing it with their followers.

Method 3: Co-Hosting an Instagram Live and Sharing to Stories

For maximum engagement and connection, nothing beats Instagram Live. This collaboration method involves broadcasting in real-time with up to three other guests. The conversation streams simultaneously to all collaborators' audiences. After it's over, the real magic for Stories happens: you can share the entire video replay to your Story, where it remains visible for 24 hours for everyone who missed it.

When to Use This Method:

• Interviews and Q&As: Host a conversation or an "Ask Me Anything" session with an expert or another creator in your field.
• Live Tutorials or Workshops: Partner with someone to demonstrate a skill or process in real-time.
• Product Demos: Go live with a partner to unbox a new product or show off its features from different perspectives.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Host a Collaborative Live

1. Go Live: Swipe right from your feed to open the Story camera and select "LIVE" from the menu at the bottom. Tap the broadcast button to begin streaming.
2. Invite a Guest: Once your broadcast has started, look for an icon at the bottom of the screen featuring a silhouette of a person with a plus sign. Tap it.
3. Send the Invitation: You can then search for your guest's username or select them from the list of people already watching your Live. Tapping their name sends them an invitation to join your broadcast.
4. Your Guest Accepts and Joins: Once your guest accepts the request, your screen will split to feature both (or up to four) of you. You are now broadcasting to all of your combined audiences.
5. Host Your Conversation: Engage with your guest and the comments flooding in from both communities. This is your chance for a real-time, interactive performance.
6. End the Broadcast & Share to Story: When you're ready to finish, tap the "X" in the top right corner and confirm that you want to end the video. Afterward, you'll be prompted with an option to "Share." This will post the entire Live video replay to your Instagram Story, where both you and your guests can direct your audiences to watch it for the next 24 hours.

Pro Tips for a Successful Instagram Story Collaboration

Knowing the technical steps is only half the battle. Here's how to make sure your collaborations are strategic and successful.

Choose the Right Partner

Collaborate with accounts whose audience and brand values are genuinely aligned with yours. A mismatch in tone, audience demographics, or content quality can make the partnership feel forced and inauthentic. Look for partners in a similar or complementary niche, not just accounts with a high follower count.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

Get on the same page before you create anything. What is the primary goal of this collaboration? Is it to increase followers, drive traffic to a link in bio, or announce something new? A clear goal helps you define the call-to-action and measure success afterward. Discuss cross-promotion expectations, timing, and talking points beforehand.

Promote the Collaboration in Advance

Tease the collaboration a day or two ahead of time. Use the countdown sticker in your Stories, make an announcement post on your feed, or mention it in a Reel. Building anticipation ensures that you have an engaged audience ready and waiting when the collaborative content goes live.

Engage with Both Audiences During the Collab

Your job isn't done once you hit "post." When your collaborative Story is live, make an effort to reply to comments and DMs coming from your partner's audience. This is your opportunity to convert passive viewers into active followers by making them feel seen and welcomed.

Final Thoughts

Collaborating on Stories, whether through Instagram's official tools, a classic @mention, or a dynamic Live session, is a highly effective tactic for community building and audience growth. By choosing the right method for a specific goal and partnering with like-minded accounts, you can create compelling content that serves both of your audiences and grows your brands together.

Once you begin to orchestrate more of these partnerships, keeping your content schedule straight can become a real challenge. We dealt with the mess of scattered Google Docs and cluttered calendars for years, which is exactly why we designed the visual calendar right into Postbase. Being able to drag and drop scheduled posts, plan upcoming collabs, and see our entire content strategy in one clean view helps us stay ahead without the complexity of traditional tools.