How to Put Something on Your Story on Instagram

Putting something on your Instagram Story is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience in a quick, authentic, and engaging way. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything, starting with the absolute basics of posting a photo or video and then showing you how to use a range of creative features to make your content pop. You'll learn how to add music, run polls, ask questions, share feed posts, and create Story Highlights that last forever.

Why Instagram Stories Are a Game-Changer for Your Brand

Before we get into the "how," let's talk about the "why." Instagram Stories aren't just a secondary feature, for many brands and creators, they are the main event. Stories are ephemeral - they disappear after 24 hours - which creates a sense of urgency and encourages followers to check in frequently. They appear at the very top of the app, giving them prime real estate. Because they are often less polished than feed posts, they provide a fantastic opportunity to show the human side of your brand, build community, and drive direct engagement in a low-pressure environment. They are the perfect place for behind-the-scenes content, quick updates, audience Q&As, and promoting your latest feed posts without cluttering up your grid.

The Basics: Posting Your First Instagram Story

Let's start from square one. The process of posting a Story is simple and intuitive once you know where to look. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown.

1. Access the Story Camera

You have a few ways to get to the Story creation screen:

• Swipe Right: From your home feed (where you scroll through posts), simply swipe your finger to the right. This is the fastest way to open the Story camera.
• Tap Your Profile Picture: On your home feed, tap the plus sign (+) on your profile picture in the top-left corner.
• Tap the Plus Icon: Tap the square plus (+) icon at the bottom center of your screen, then select "Story" from the options at the bottom.

All three methods will take you to the same camera interface, ready for you to create.

2. Create or Upload Your Content

Now that you're in the Story camera, you can either capture new content or upload something you've already made.

• To Take a Photo: Tap the large white circle button at the bottom of the screen.
• To Record a Video: Press and hold the same white circle button. You can record up to 60 seconds of video per segment. If you record longer, Instagram will automatically chop it into 60-second clips for you.
• To Upload from Your Gallery: Instead of using the camera, you can also swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the little square icon in the bottom-left corner. This will open your phone’s photo library, allowing you to select a photo or video you've already taken. You can also select multiple items to create a sequence of Stories at once.

3. Share Your Masterpiece

Once you’ve captured or selected your content and added any desired effects (which we’ll cover next), it’s time to share. In the bottom-left corner, you'll see a button that says "Your Story". Tapping this button will instantly publish the content to all of your followers. You also have the option to share it with a smaller group using the "Close Friends" button if you've set up a list.

Level Up: Adding Creative and Interactive Elements

Posting a plain photo or video is fine, but the real power of Instagram Stories lies in the wide array of creative tools you can use to customize your content. These tools allow you to add personality, context, and opportunities for your audience to engage directly.

After you take a photo or upload media, you'll see a row of icons at the top of the editing screen. Let's break down what each of them does.

Text and Drawing Tools

Located at the top of the editor, you'll find the text ("Aa") and drawing (squiggly line) tools.

• Text: Tap the "Aa" icon to add text. You can type your message, then change the font style, alignment, color, and add a background highlight for emphasis. Pinch and drag to resize and reposition the text anywhere you like. This is perfect for adding context, asking questions, or overlaying captions.
• Drawing: Tap the pencil icon to open the drawing tools. You can choose from different pen styles (marker, highlighter, neon) and select any color to draw or write freehand on your Story. This is great for adding arrows, circling important elements, or just adding a personal, hand-drawn touch.

Stickers: Your Engagement Powerhouse

The sticker icon (a square smiley face) at the top of the screen opens up a treasure trove of interactive features. These are the tools that transform your Story from a broadcast into a two-way conversation.

• Location Sticker: Add a location tag to your Story. When users tap it, they'll see other posts from that same location. This is amazing for discoverability, especially for local businesses wanting to attract foot traffic.
• Mention Sticker (@): Tag another Instagram account in your Story. The person or brand you tag will receive a notification, and they can repost your Story to their own audience with just a couple of taps. It's a fantastic way to collaborate and give shout-outs.
• Hashtag Sticker (#): Add a clickable hashtag to your Story. Just like on feed posts, this makes your Story discoverable to users who follow or search for that hashtag. You can add up to 10 hashtags, but for a cleaner look, stick to one visible hashtag sticker and hide others by shrinking them down and placing another sticker over them.
• Questions Sticker: Easily my favorite engagement tool, this allows you to pose a prompt like "Ask me anything" or "What do you want to learn next?" and lets your followers submit answers. You can then share their questions and reply to them publicly in later Stories, creating an interactive Q&A session.
• Poll / Quiz / Slider Stickers: These are simple, low-effort ways for your audience to engage. Use a Poll sticker for binary choices ("Yes/No," "This or That"), a Quiz for a multiple-choice question with a correct answer, or an emoji Slider to gauge sentiment on a scale. They are all great for getting quick feedback or just having some fun.
• Music Sticker: Add a snippet of a popular song to your Story. You can choose the exact part of the song you want to play and choose how the sticker appears, whether it's just the album art or lyrics that appear on the screen. Music adds mood and dramatically increases the production value of your content.
• Link Sticker: This is a massive tool for driving traffic. Once only available to accounts with a certain follower count, the link sticker is now available to everyone. It allows you to add a clickable link that sends viewers directly to your website, blog post, product page, or YouTube video.

Sharing Other Content to Your Story

Beyond creating original content, one of the most common uses for Stories is to amplify existing content from the feed. This is an essential skill for cross-promoting your work and driving traffic to an important post.

Sharing Feed Posts (Yours or Others')

If you see a post in your feed (whether it's your own or someone else's) that you want to share with your Story audience, just follow these steps:

1. Tap the paper airplane icon underneath the feed post.
2. In the menu that pops up, select "Add post to your story."
3. This will open the Story editor with the feed post embedded as a sticker. You can tap the sticker to switch between two different visual styles.
4. Resize and rotate the post sticker, change the background color, and add your own text, GIFs, or mention stickers to provide context and encourage people to tap through to the full post.
5. Share it to "Your Story."

This is the number-one way to announce a new post on your grid and make sure your followers don't miss it in the algorithm.

Sharing Reels to Your Story

The process for sharing a Reel is identical to sharing a feed post. Tap the paper airplane icon on the Reel you want to share, select "Add reel to your story,” and customize as you see fit. Because Reels often rely on audio, it’s a good practice to add a "Sound On" sticker to encourage viewers to tap for the full experience. Pro tip: when you share a Reel this way, it will often play a small preview silently in the story, which can entice people to click through to see it in its entirety.

Best Practices for Stories That Get Views

Now that you know how all the tools work, here are a few pro tips to make your Stories more effective and engaging.

• Tell a Cohesive Narrative: Don't just post one random clip. Think of your Stories as a sequence that tells a small narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Guide your viewer through an experience or an idea.
• Mix Up Content Formats: Keep your audience engaged by varying your content. Alternate between videos that have sound, static images with text, Boomerangs, interactive polls, and user-generated content you've been tagged in.
• Show the Behind-the-Scenes: Stories are the perfect home for the unpolished, authentic content that builds trust. Show your workspace, introduce members of your team, or walk through the process of creating your product. It makes your brand more relatable.
• Always Use Captions on Video: A huge percentage of people watch Stories with the sound off. Always use the built-in "Captions" sticker to automatically transcribe your speech on video. This makes your content accessible and ensures your message gets across even when muted.
• Respect the Safe Zones: Remember that Instagram overlays interface elements on top of your content, like your profile picture at the top-left and the reply bar at the bottom. Keep your important text and stickers away from the extreme edges of the screen to make sure they aren’t cut off.

Saving Your Best Work with Story Highlights

What do you do with your best-performing Stories once their 24-hour lifespan is over? You save them to your Highlights! Highlights are collections of Stories that live permanently on your profile, right below your bio. They act like a curated menu for new visitors, giving them a snapshot of what your brand is all about.

To create a highlight:

1. Go to your profile page and tap the "+" icon labeled "New".
2. This will open your Story archive, showing all the Stories you've posted in the past. Select the ones you want to include in this Highlight.
3. Give your Highlight a descriptive title (e.g., "FAQs," "About Us," "Tutorials," "Reviews").
4. Choose or upload a custom cover image to keep your profile looking clean and branded.
5. Tap "Add," and the Highlight will appear on your profile.

Use Highlights strategically to answer common questions, showcase your products in action, feature customer testimonials, and make it easy for new followers to get oriented.

Final Thoughts

Mastering Instagram Stories is far more than just knowing where to tap. It's about combining visuals, text, and interactive elements to build a genuine connection with your audience. By moving from simple posts to layered, engaging content, you can transform your Stories from a fleeting update into an indispensable part of your brand strategy.

A consistent Story strategy requires planning, and seeing your content laid out in a visual calendar is a huge advantage. When we designed Postbase, we prioritized a clean, simple interface that makes visualizing and scheduling all your social media content - especially video-first formats like Stories and Reels - feel intuitive, not complicated. It's built to keep you organized and ensure your best content goes live exactly when it’s supposed to, without any friction.