How to Find Trending "Add Yours" Stickers on Instagram

Jumping on a trending "Add Yours" sticker on Instagram Stories is one of the fastest ways to get your content seen by a whole new audience. These interactive chains act like a discovery engine, pulling your Story into a stream of community-created content that anyone can view. This article gives you the exact methods for finding these trending stickers before they peak so you can join in, boost your reach, and build community.

What Are "Add Yours" Stickers and Why Should You Use Them?

The "Add Yours" sticker is an interactive feature for Instagram Stories that allows you to create a public thread of content. When a user creates a Story, they can add this sticker with a specific prompt, like "Your view right now" or "August photo dump." Anyone who sees the Story can then tap the sticker to add their own photo or video to the chain, responding to the same prompt.

But why is this so effective for growth? The real power lies in the sticker's link. When someone taps on an "Add Yours" sticker in any Story, they can see every single post that has been a part of that chain. If a trend goes viral and thousands of people participate, your single Story can be exposed to a much wider audience than just your own followers. It’s a powerful, organic way to increase your visibility and engage with a broader community around a shared theme.

• Increased Reach: Tapping into a trending chain exposes your content to potentially thousands of non-followers.
• Community Building: Participating in or creating a trend fosters a sense of shared experience and connection with your audience.
• Easy Content Ideas: On days when you feel stuck, trending prompts are a perfect source of inspiration for quick, relevant content.

How to Find Trending "Add Yours" Stickers on Instagram

Finding the right trend at the right time is part of the strategy. A week-old prompt has likely lost its momentum, while one that's just starting to take off can give you a massive boost. Here are four practical methods to find them.

Method 1: Use Instagram's Sticker Browse Feature

Instagram has a built-in tool for discovering popular and recent "Add Yours" templates, though it's a little hidden. This is the fastest and most direct way to see what prompts the platform itself recognizes as gaining traction.

Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Open Instagram Stories: Swipe right from your home feed to open the Stories camera. Take or upload the photo/video you want to use.
2. Access the Sticker Tray: Tap the sticker icon (the smiling square face) at the top of the screen.
3. Select "Add Yours": Find and tap the "Add Yours" sticker. You’ll usually see it near the top with other popular stickers like Polls and Quizzes.
4. Look for the Dice: At the bottom of the "Add Yours" prompt box, you’ll see two small dice. Tap the dice.

Tapping the dice will randomly generate a popular prompt. You can keep tapping them to shuffle through different trending or suggested prompts directly from Instagram's library. This is a great starting point if you just want a quick, relevant prompt without having to search for one manually. It prioritizes prompts that are currently popular on the platform.

Method 2: Watch Stories From Creators, Competitors, and Trendsetters

The best way to spot a trend in the wild is to simply be a part of the community and observe what others are doing. Trends bubble up organically, and if you're paying attention to the right accounts, you'll see them emerge in real time.

Who to Watch:

• Top Creators in Your Niche: Identify the biggest accounts in your industry. They often pioneer or quickly adopt trends that their large audiences then amplify. If you see multiple big creators using the same prompt, it’s a strong signal.
• Competitors: Keep an eye on what your direct competitors are posting. Seeing a sticker they’re using can give you an idea of what resonates with your shared target audience.
• Trend-Spotting Accounts: Follow accounts dedicated to social media news and trends. Accounts like @creators (Instagram's official account) often highlight viral features and challenges.

What to Do When You Spot One:

When you see an "Add Yours" sticker in someone’s Story that looks like it's taking off, joining is easy:

1. Tap on the sticker within their Story.
2. A screen will pop up showing other participants. Tap the blue "Add Yours" button at the bottom.
3. This will open your Stories camera with the sticker already populated with the correct prompt. Just add your photo or video behind it and post.

By regularly browsing Stories from relevant accounts, you’ll develop an instinct for what's about to become a major trend.

Method 3: Check Reels and the Explore Page

Trends on Instagram aren't siloed, they bleed across formats. A song blowing up on Reels will often inspire an "Add Yours" prompt for Stories. A visual theme popping up on the Explore Page can easily transition into a participatory chain.

Spend some time scrolling through the Reels tab and the Explore Page, but do it strategically. Instead of passive watching, look for patterns.

• Recurring Themes: Are you seeing a lot of "monthly recap" videos? Or "a day in my life" style edits? These themes are prime candidates for "Add Yours" prompts. If you see a viral theme but no sticker yet, you might even have an opportunity to create your own using templates.
• Trending Audio: Listen to the audio being used. Often, a song or sound will be associated with a specific challenge or prompt that can be adapted for a sticker. Tap on the audio to see how other creators are using it for more context. You can also find tips on how to find trending audio for Instagram Reels.
• Visual Styles: Sometimes a trend is an aesthetic, like vintage-style photo dumps or minimalist text overlays. These can inspire prompts like "Your most aesthetic photo" or "A pic that feels like a film still."

Method 4: Pay Attention to TikTok

Let's be honest: many Instagram trends start their life cycle on TikTok. Because of TikTok's hyper-fast trend engine, what’s viral there today often becomes an Instagram trend next week. If you want to get ahead of the curve, spending time on TikTok's "For You" page is one of the best research tactics you can use. You might even consider learning how to connect Instagram to TikTok for seamless cross-promotion.

Look for video formats and prompts that are easily transferable to a static photo or short video on Instagram Stories. These often include:

• Lists and Categories: "5 things I don't leave the house without," "Show me a photo of..."
• "Show and Tell" Prompts: "Your pet when you first got them," "The best sunset you've ever seen," "Show us your camera roll."
• Before-and-Afters: "My WFH setup a year ago vs. today."

When you see a simple, participatory trend gain momentum on TikTok, take note. It's highly likely to appear as an "Add Yours" sticker on Instagram within a few days. You can either wait for it to show up or be proactive and start a version of it yourself.

Best Practices for Creating Your Own Successful Sticker

Don't be afraid to start your own chain! The most engaging prompts are often simple, relatable, and easy to respond to. If you want to create a sticker that has a chance of catching on, follow these tips:

1. Keep it Simple and Open-Ended

A good prompt shouldn't require too much thought. People scroll quickly, so the request needs to be instantly understandable.
Examples: "Weekend recap," "A photo from last night," "Your favorite coffee spot."

2. Encourage Visual Responses

The best prompts are ones that people can answer with a photo or video already on their camera roll. "Photo dumps" or requests for specific types of pictures work exceptionally well.
Examples: "Random pic from your camera roll," "Show me your current phone wallpaper," "A selfie you love."

3. Tap Into a Common Emotion or Experience

Relatability is huge. Create prompts that tap into shared feelings, struggles, or joys.
Examples: "My chaotic desk right now," "Proof my pet is secretly a supermodel," "Something that made you happy today."

4. Make it a Niche Call-out

If you have a defined audience, create a prompt specifically for them. This builds a strong sense of community.
Examples: "Show me your plant family 🪴," "Rate my gaming setup," "Favorite book you read this year 📚."

Final Thoughts

Finding and using trending "Add Yours" stickers is a simple yet powerful strategy for boosting your Instagram reach and engagement. By using the built-in browser, monitoring creators in your space, watching Reels for emerging patterns, and keeping an eye on TikTok, you can consistently join - or start - conversations that put your brand in front of new audiences.

Finding the right trends is half the battle, the other half is having a plan to consistently create content around them. At Postbase, we designed our platform to make it simple to plan your entire social media schedule, from core feed posts to Reels and Stories. With our visual calendar, you can seamlessly integrate trending content like "Add Yours" stickers into your strategy, ensuring you never miss a beat while the rest of your content continues to publish reliably right on schedule.