How to Get Instagram Story Preview Tiles

Ever visited an Instagram profile and seen a slick 3x1 grid of their recent Stories sitting right above their main feed? Those are Instagram Story Preview Tiles, and they’re one of the most effective ways to grab attention. This guide will walk you through what these tiles are, why they matter, and the actionable steps you can take to increase your chances of getting them on your own profile.

What Are Instagram Story Preview Tiles, Anyway?

Instagram Story Preview Tiles are a dynamic grid feature that displays your three most recent, active Stories directly on your profile page. This preview sits in a prime location: just below your bio and Story Highlights, but directly above your main photo or Reels grid. Instead of just seeing the standard circle around your profile picture, visitors see a vibrant, tappable snapshot of what’s happening in your Stories right now.

Think of it as a movie trailer for your Stories. It gives visitors a compelling reason to tap in and watch, turning a passive profile view into an active engagement. The catch? It’s not a standard feature you can just switch on in your settings. Instagram rolls it out to users based on various factors, making it a bit of a sought-after addition for brands and creators.

Why This Feature Is a Game-Changer for Your Profile

At first glance, it might seem like a small visual tweak, but having Story preview tiles can significantly impact your engagement and audience growth. Here’s why it’s worth aiming for:

• Boosts Story Views Instantly: The biggest benefit is visibility. Many users scroll past the small Story circle at the top of their feed or don’t think to tap on a profile’s picture. Placing your Stories front-and-center on your profile makes them nearly impossible to ignore, driving more traffic directly to your content.
• Increases Engagement Rates: More views naturally lead to more interactions. When people see an interesting poll, a captivating video snippet, or an intriguing question in the preview tile, they’re more likely to tap through and participate. More poll votes, quiz answers, and DM replies signal to the algorithm that your content is valuable.
• Creates a Dynamic, "Live" Feeling: A static feed can feel, well, static. Story preview tiles show that your account is active and updated in real-time. It communicates that there’s always something new and fresh to see, encouraging followers to check back more often.
• Turns Profile Visitors into Engaged Viewers: Someone might land on your profile from a Reel, a tagged photo, or a search. The preview tiles can be the hook that converts that curious visitor from someone who just glances at your grid into someone who actively watches your Stories and engages with your brand.

The Honest Truth: Can You Just Turn It On?

Let’s get this out of the way first: No, you cannot manually enable Instagram Story Preview Tiles. There isn't a secret button in your settings or a trick to flip a switch. This is an algorithmic feature that Instagram controls entirely.

Instagram often tests new features with smaller groups of users to see how they perform before deciding whether to roll them out more broadly. The preview tiles fall into this category. Whether your account gets them depends on Instagram’s internal criteria, which can include your account type, activity level, engagement rates, and even your location or app version.

But don't be discouraged. While you can't force the feature to appear, you can take specific actions that make your account a prime candidate for the algorithm to select. The rest of this guide is about optimizing your account and behaving like the kind of user Instagram wants to reward with its latest features.

How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Story Preview Tiles

If you want the algorithm to notice you and grant you the coveted preview tiles, you need to show that you're an active, engaged, and valuable user. The name of the game is consistency and quality. Here are the strategies that can get you there:

Strategy 1: Become a Story Power User

This is the most important step. If you want Instagram to display previews of your Stories, you need to have Stories worth previewing - and lots of them. The algorithm favors accounts that consistently use the feature as intended.

• Post Daily: Make posting to your Story a non-negotiable daily habit. Aim for at least 3-5 Story frames per day. An active account is a healthy account in the eyes of the algorithm. If you go days without posting a Story, you’re signaling that the feature isn’t a priority for you.
• Spread Them Out: Instead of posting five frames all at once, try staggering them throughout the day. This keeps your profile icon at the front of your followers' Story queue and maintains a constant "live" feel on your profile, which is exactly what the preview tiles are designed to showcase.

Strategy 2: Use a Wide Variety of Interactive Stickers

Instagram wants you to use the tools they build. Going beyond simple photos and videos shows that you’re creating content that is interactive and community-focused. The more you use native features, the more you signal to the platform that you're a high-value creator.

Incorporate these into your daily Stories:

• Polls & Quizzes: These are low-friction ways for your audience to engage. Ask simple questions related to your niche, your products, or just fun, general topics.
• Q&A Stickers: Invite your audience to ask you anything. This builds a strong sense of community and gives you a mountain of content ideas.
• Sliders: The emoji slider is a quick, visual way to gauge sentiment on a topic. It’s easy for users to interact with and requires almost no effort.
• Add Yours: This sticker is designed to create viral, user-generated content chains. Participating in trends or starting your own shows you’re on the cutting edge of how the platform is being used.
• Music & GIFs: Add personality and context to your Stories. Utilizing Instagram’s extensive music and GIF library makes your content more dynamic and culturally relevant.

Strategy 3: Prioritize High-Quality, Engaging Content

It's not just about posting, it's about posting content that people actually want to watch. The algorithm tracks viewer behavior closely. Metrics like tap-forwards, back-taps, replies, and watch time are huge indicators of content quality.

Ideas for Sticky Story Content:

• Behind-the-Scenes (BTS): Show your process, your workspace, or a day in the life. People love feeling like they have insider access.
• Mini-Tutorials or How-Tos: Provide quick, valuable information. Break down a complex topic into a few simple steps. This positions you as an expert and encourages people to tap back to re-watch.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Always reshare when customers or followers tag you. It’s social proof and builds a loyal community around your brand.
• Before-and-After Transformations: Visual transformations are incredibly effective at stopping the tap-through. Whether it’s a design project, a fitness journey, or a product demo, the reveal is highly satisfying.
• Tell a Cohesive Story: Don’t just post random, disconnected images. Use your Story frames to build a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. This encourages viewers to watch all the way through to see what happens next.

Strategy 4: Maintain a Healthy and Active Overall Presence

Your Instagram account isn’t just your Stories. The algorithm looks at your activity across the entire platform. An account that is healthy and active in its feed, Reels, and DMs is more likely to be selected for beta features.

• Post Consistently to Your Feed and Reels: Don’t neglect your main grid. A steady cadence of high-quality feed posts and Reels shows that you’re fully invested in the ecosystem.
• Reply to Comments and DMs: Engagement is a two-way street. When users interact with you, interact back promptly. Responding to comments and DMs sends strong positive signals to the algorithm.

Strategy 5: Check the Boring (But Necessary) Stuff

Sometimes the solution is simpler than you think. Make sure your account fundamentals are in order.

• Keep Your App Updated: New and experimental features are pushed through app updates. If you’re running an outdated version of Instagram, you might not be eligible for the latest rollouts. Go to the App Store or Google Play and make sure you’re on the most recent version.
• Switch to a Professional Account: If you’re still using a personal account, switch to a Business or Creator profile. Instagram often pushes features to professional accounts first, as they are the ones monetizing the platform and driving a significant portion of its traffic and content.

You Got the Tiles! Now What?

Congratulations! If the feature appears on your profile, your first instinct should be to figure out how to keep it. Since it’s algorithmically controlled, it can disappear just as mysteriously as it arrived. The key is to double down on the behaviors that likely earned it for you in the first place.

Continue posting high-quality, interactive Stories every single day. Keep using a mix of stickers, engaging videos, and community-focused content. Don't let your consistency slip!

Also, start thinking of your first three Stories as a cohesive visual unit. Since those are the ones people see on your profile, make them count. Use a visually striking image, a video with intriguing movement, or a bold text poll to maximize your chances of getting that tap.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, getting Instagram Story Preview Tiles isn't about finding a hack, it's about being the type of creator or brand that Instagram wants to promote. By focusing on consistent, high-quality, and interactive content across all of the platform’s features, you dramatically increase the likelihood that the algorithm will reward you with exclusive features like story tiles.

We know that staying consistent with engaging, modern content like Stories and Reels is the hardest part of social media management. It’s why we built Postbase from the ground up for today's visual, video-first world. We provide a beautiful, intuitive calendar to help you plan your entire content strategy at a glance, so you’ll never miss a day. Our scheduling is rock-solid and designed specifically for formats like Stories and Reels, ensuring your content goes out exactly when you intend, without the glitches or connection issues that plague older tools.