Sharing your audience’s responses to the Instagram Questions sticker is one of the best ways to foster a real conversation with your followers. It turns a one-way broadcast into a dynamic back-and-forth, showing that you’re listening and value their input. This guide breaks down exactly how to find and share those responses, along with creative strategies to use this feature to build a stronger community on Instagram.
Why the Instagram Questions Sticker is So Effective
Before getting into the step-by-step, it's worth understanding why this little sticker is such a powerful tool for brands, creators, and marketers. It’s more than just a fun feature, it’s a direct line to your audience that can unlock genuine engagement.
- It Boosts Engagement Rates: Every time someone submits a question, it counts as an interaction. Instagram’s algorithm notices this activity, signaling that your content is valuable and potentially showing it to more people.
- It Humanizes Your Brand: Answering questions directly gives your brand a voice and personality. It shows there’s a real person behind the account, building trust and a stronger connection with your audience.
- It Provides Free Market Research: Want to know what your customers are struggling with, what products they love, or what content they want to see next? Just ask. The responses are unfiltered, honest feedback you can use to refine your strategy.
- It Creates Easy, High-Value Content: Answering questions is a simple way to generate a stream of user-generated content. You’re not just posting for your audience, you’re posting with them, making them part of the conversation.
Part 1: How to Post a 'Questions' Sticker in Your Instagram Story
First things first, you need to ask for the questions. Placing the sticker on your Story is a straightforward process that takes just a few seconds. Here’s how to do it.
- Open the Instagram Story Creator: Launch the Instagram app and either tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom and select "Story," or simply swipe right from your main feed.
- Create Your Background: You can take a new photo, record a short video, or select an existing one from your camera roll. A simple, branded background image or a solid color often works best, as it keeps the focus on the question sticker itself.
- Access the Sticker Tray: Once your background is ready, tap the sticker icon (it looks like a square smiley face) located in the top menu of your screen.
- Select the 'Questions' Sticker: In the sticker tray, you'll see a variety of interactive options. Find and tap the one labeled “Questions.”
- Write Your Prompt: The sticker will default to "Ask me a question," but you should customize this to match your goal. Make it specific and inviting. Good prompts include:
- "AMA about my journey as an entrepreneur."
- "What do you want to know about our new product release?"
- "Myth vs. Fact: What have you heard about [your industry]?"
- "Hit me with your best productivity hacks!”
- Position and Post: Drag the sticker to where you want it on your screen. You can pinch to resize it or tap it to change the color. Once you’re happy with how it looks, tap “Your Story” at the bottom to share it with your followers.
Part 2: How to Find and Share Audience Responses to Your Story
Once your Story is live, the questions will start rolling in. Now for the main event: finding those responses and sharing them with an answer. The process is seamless and built directly into the Story interface.
Step-by-Step Guide to Sharing Responses
- View Your Live Story: Go to your Instagram profile and tap your profile picture to open the Story that contains your question sticker.
- Swipe Up to See Viewers and Responses: With your Story open, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. This is the same screen where you see who has viewed your Story.
- Browse Your Responses: At the top of the viewer list, you will see a "Responses" section. All the submitted questions from your followers will appear here in chronological order. Note: Only you can see the submissions, they are private until you choose to share one.
- Select a Response to Answer: Scroll through the list and tap on the question you want to answer.
- Tap 'Share Response': When you tap on a question, you'll see a few options. Tap the button that says “Share Response.”
- Create Your Answer Story: This action will automatically create a new Story for you. The original question a follower submitted will appear as a sticker, ready for your answer. Very importantly, the username of the person who asked the question is automatically hidden, making it anonymous to the public.
- Design Your Response: Now it’s time to be creative. You can answer in several ways:
- Text: Tap anywhere on the screen to open the text tool and type out your response.
- Photo/Video: Tap the camera icon at the bottom left to take a new picture or record a video. This is great for showing instead of telling. For example, if someone asks about your office setup, you can record a quick video tour.
- Existing Media: You can also swipe up from the camera view to select an existing photo or video from your camera roll.
- Customize and Share: Before posting, give your response some personality. Change the background color by tapping the color wheel at the top. Add GIFs, stickers, or music to match your tone. When you're ready, tap “Your Story” to publish your answer. Repeat this process for all the questions you want to address.
Creative Strategies for Using Question Responses to Grow Your Brand
Simply knowing how to share responses is just the beginning. The real magic comes from using the feature thoughtfully to entertain, educate, and engage your community. Here are some strategies you can try today.
1. Host an 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA) for Human Connection
An AMA is a classic for a reason. It offers transparency and lets your audience get to know the person or people behind the brand. A founder can run an AMA about the challenges of starting a business, a designer can talk about their creative process, or a key team member can answer questions about what it's like to work at your company. The key is to be genuine and open in your answers.
2. Gather User-Generated Content (UGC) and Testimonials
Flip the Q&,A on its head and use it to get content from your followers. For example:
- A coffee brand could ask: “What's your favorite way to enjoy our beans?” and then share the most poetic or creative responses as social proof.
- A fitness app could ask: “What's the best piece of advice you’ve received on your wellness journey?”
This approach makes your community feel heard and valued, while also giving you a library of great content to use across your marketing channels.
3. Educate Your Audience &, Debunk Myths
Position yourself as an authority by answering common questions in your niche. You can run sessions like "Answering your questions about skincare," "Demystifying SEO one question at a time," or simply "What's one thing you find confusing about our services?" Sharing the answers helps establish your expertise and provides utility to your followers, keeping them coming back for more.
4. Get Direct Feedback on Products or Content
Wondering what to create next? Let your audience tell you. Use the question sticker to source ideas:
- "What topic should we cover on the blog next week?"
- "What flavor do you wish we would launch next?"
- "What feature would you love to see in our app?"
By sharing and responding to their ideas, you show that you are building your business with them, not just for them. This creates a powerful feedback loop and a loyal customer base.
Best Practices to Keep in Mind
To maximize the impact of your Q&,A sessions, follow these simple tips:
- Keep Your Answers Concise: People tap through Stories fast. Get to the point quickly, whether you’re using text or video.
- Brand Your Response Stories: Use your brand colors for the background, stick to a consistent font, and maintain a similar aesthetic for all your answer slides. This creates a cohesive, professional look.
- Use Video When Possible: A video answer feels much more personal and conversational than a block of text. Showing your face and speaking directly to the camera builds a stronger rapport.
- Space Out Your Responses: Avoid overwhelming your followers by publishing 20 response Stories in a row. Share a few at a time over several hours or a day.
- Create a "Q&,A" Highlight: Save your best responses to an Instagram Story Highlight on your profile. This gives your answers a permanent home, allowing new visitors to benefit from them long after the original Story has expired.
Final Thoughts
Sharing question responses on your Instagram Story is a deceptively simple tactic with incredible power. It bridges the gap between creator and follower, transforming passive viewing into active participation and fostering a community that feels truly connected to your brand.
Answering individualized questions in DMs and comments is just as important in building those one-on-one relationships, but keeping track of them all - especially across different platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X - can quickly become overwhelming. This is why at Postbase, we built our unified inbox to gather every comment and DM from all your accounts into one organized feed. Instead of jumping between apps, you can manage your community and keep the conversation going from a single, calm space, ensuring no interaction goes unanswered.
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Spencer's spent a decade building products at companies like Buffer, UserTesting, and Bump Health. He's spent years in the weeds of social media management—scheduling posts, analyzing performance, coordinating teams. At Postbase, he's building tools to automate the busywork so you can focus on creating great content.