Do you want to learn how to use Instagram story templates?
Instagram is forever adding new features and tools for you to be more successful on the platform and offer your followers and viewers a wide array of content types.
With features like IGTV, Instagram stories, reels, and more, what else can you do to set yourself apart?
Even though these features are available to everyone on Instagram, you can still help your content stand out by adding visuals to your content that other users still haven’t decided to use.
While there’s so much content out there and many things have been done before, that doesn’t mean you can’t help your content be more professional and tailored by using things like Instagram story stickers and templates.
In fact, using Instagram templates can help exponentially in driving engagement on your content, helping it to get noticed by more people and create a cohesive and snazzy brand image.
In today’s article we’re going to examine Instagram templates in detail and why you might want to get started using them ASAP! Let’s get started.
What Are Instagram Story Templates?
Instagram templates are far from new, and you’ve probably seen and even engaged with a couple of them without even knowing it!
Even still, it’s surprising at how many people are missing out on a big opportunity to implement them on the platform. They can be a huge grab for engagement and get people more connected to your Instagram content.
Do you remember the days of Myspace quizzes and Facebook status facts about yourself? These are a type of template, and Instagram has taken them to the next level.
The idea of Instagram story templates is simple: you take a topic, write a few questions, leave some blank spaces for people to fill in, and you’ve got a go-to engagement booster that helps also create user-generated content.
You can create a huge array of different content templates, including but not limited to checklists, Q&As, lists of faves, GIFs that capture your personality or mood, and even ones that are simply meant to boost the visual aesthetics of your profile and frame your content.
After you finish creating or adjusting your template, you’ll be able to post it to your Instagram story or even content feed with your username and/or watermark.
That way, people can repost it and people will know where it came from.
Why Do You Need Instagram Story Templates?
Ultimately, not only will you be getting more actions taken on your Instagram stories like people re-viewing your story as well as even screenshotting it, you’ll gain more exposure as people will begin to visit your profile.
When people want to find the templates that were posted on their friends’ accounts, they’ll have to navigate back to your profile to find the blank template, getting you more views and profile visits. This is a huge driver of traffic and new engagement.
You can then gain more new followers from the new users that are checking out your profile. If you are able to drive engagement and traffic through Instagram templates, you have a viable strategy that makes your profile look professional as well as fun.
After posting Instagram templates in your stories, you can create Instagram story highlight albums that store them all directly on your profile for those that want to check them out later.
What type of Instagram growth can you expect when you implement Instagram templates? It can be pretty substantial.
Some influencers that have implemented Instagram story templates and gone viral with them have increased by hundreds of thousands of followers in the matter of days or weeks. No joke!
That’s some great exposure if we’ve ever heard of it.
Why Are Instagram Story Templates a Hot New Trend for Brands and Businesses?
Because users on Instagram are often looking for fun ways to pass the time or to share snippets about themselves with their followers, Instagram story templates are the perfect way to intertwine that desire with exposure for your brand.
It’s an awesome way for you and your followers or viewers to connect and feel that you’re getting to know each other.
These story templates create a two-way window and you can learn a lot about your follower base and your target audience.
Not only that, you can feel connected and like you’re building a bond with your audience, and this is invaluable when there is so much competition out there. It’s easy to feel like Instagram is one-sided and that professional accounts never really see you.
There’s no doubt that you’ve seen an Instagram story template live on Instagram before, and we’ve all found one or two that are just perfect for what we want to share with our followers! It’s a really fun, personal, and creative way to engage on Instagram.
Why Are Instagram Story Templates Better Than Other Story Features?
There are plenty of other ways you can engage with your story viewers on Instagram, including polls, sliders, questions, quizzes, and more, but they really don’t increase outreach at the end of the day.
It’s likely that you’ll only be engaging with your story viewers, which are almost always your own followers. You want to reach even further beyond your own followers, and Instagram story templates are an easy way to do that.
You will initially reach your own followers, who will then reach theirs, and it continues to grow from there. You can funnel so much more traffic back to your Instagram through story templates than through regular story engagement features.
Why Are Instagram Templates Popular for Instagram Stories?
You can post Instagram templates into your content feed as well, but Instagram stories are without a doubt the best way to catch your audience’s attention in the here and now. Many users are fixated on tapping through instagram stories.
Some users have forsaken the Instagram feed altogether and spend most of their time browsing stories as opposed to scrolling through the news feed.
Stories are also more personal because they usually show people on a day-to-day basis.
Instagram content feed photos are often tailored to a particular brand image, but on IG stories you can show a bit more personality as well as some behind-the-scenes stuff that can truly captivate your audience on a day to day basis.
That’s why templates are perfect for stories— users can give their own followers a passing glance at who they are and what they love through a cute template that they can use themselves! And it won’t stick around permanently on their profile.
How Can an Instagram Story Template Help Build Your Brand?
You’re able to create your own Instagram templates which means that you can tailor them to your specific brand image and aesthetic. The fact that these templates are branded only help you to gain even more exposure and attention.
When you make beautiful and professional Instagram story templates, people will want to continue to view your content and will even take part in your particular niche, especially if they’re targeted to your particular audience.
You can use Instagram story templates in any niche at all—- get creative and find the best interactive ways to engage your target audience!
How Can an Instagram Story Template Help You Get to Know Your Audience?
One of the coolest things about Instagram story temples is that your users are going to create one that reflects who they are as a person.
Yes, you’ll be getting more traffic but you’ll also be getting to know something very important about your niche— your target audience.
You can learn directly from your viewers about your target audience and find out what they love, what they don’t, and what type of content they may prefer based on their responses and what they engage with.
You may not capture this through a poll or a slider, but you get much more fun, personalized information through Instagram templates, and for your followers, it feels like it’s all for fun.
Your participants see a fun opportunity to express themselves; you see more profile visits, engagement, and a type of market research that they didn’t even know they were participating in.
You can take this information and use it when designing future templates as well as when you design your content for all the different features of Instagram. It’s a great experience for all involved.
How to Use Instagram Story Templates
In order to stand out and nail your Instagram templates strategy, we’ve put together a list of 5 how-to’s that can help you ensure that you offer top-quality Instagram templates that gets users engaged and visiting your profile more often.
Let’s take a look.
How to Make Your Instagram Story Template Unique
While all templates are going to have the same basic premise, you’ve got to make sure that your templates look different from others you might find on the platform.
Remember, you can find templates for any niche, so how can you make them your own?
Brand them to your own look and make sure that you don’t just copy them from someone else. Connect them to your own color schemes and keep them topical in terms of your niche.
For instance, if your account primarily focuses on lifestyle and home decor, you probably aren’t going to create a template asking people to share their favorite video game characters. Know your audience and give them something they’d be motivated to participate in.
You can then use this content to share on your own profile; when people get featured, they’re more likely to feel special and continue to participate.
When you tailor your template to your niche and give it your own personal aesthetics, you’ve got something that people are going to want to be a part of.
Don’t forget that hashtags are the bread and butter of discoverability on Instagram. This is true for any social media network, in fact, so you shouldn’t forget to use them on your Instagram templates.
When you post a template story, you can include hashtags on the story itself.
Or, you can even design them right into the template. You could potentially create a hashtag that you always use for your templates and thus expand your reach even further asking users to tag the hashtag on their story or in their feed.
How can you decide which hashtags are right for your niche?
If you want to take the guesswork out of hashtagging on Instagram, use a hashtag generator.
You can find out all of the best hashtags that are targeted for your niche and you can even discover performance metrics to ensure that you’ll get the best results.
How to Use an App to Create an Instagram Story Template
If you are a bit wary about how to create your own story template, fear not— there are plenty of apps out there that can help you with the snap of a finger.
Most design apps out there are built for customization and you can easily create eye-catching templates.
The best Instagram photo editing app out there for doing so is Canva.
Canva is a free graphic design software that has so many different templates to use from, and the best thing is that they’re specifically for Instagram stories.
You can then design the Instagram story template to your liking right on the app, which is available for tablets, mobile devices, as well as available on desktop, making it super flexible and convenient.
Another tool that you can check out is Easil; they offer a variety of different templates as well as cost-effective monthly plans alongside their monthly free trial so you can check out what they have to offer.
How to Size Your Instagram Story Template
Instagram stories are best at 1080 x 1920; if you don’t have the correct template size, it won’t look good on IG stories.
If you want to have top-quality Instagram story templates that look professional and well created, keep it at optimal size so that it’s fun and pretty when your audience fills it out!
How to Get Started with Your First Instagram Story Template
Now that you’ve got some different ideas and tips about creating your story templates, it’s time to decide which tool will work best for you. If you’re not sure about Canva or Easil, there are other tools available that might work better for those who are more experienced.
Tools like Photoshop, PicMonkey, Procreate, Gimp, and so many more are available for you and your particular device to help you feel comfortable making your own story templates.
You can even use paint, if you’re oldschool like that and know your way around the app!
The goal is that you keep it on-brand and consistent with the content you have on your Instagram.
Final Thoughts: How to Use Instagram Story Templates
After you’ve designed and styled your template to your liking, you’ve simply got to post it and voila!
You’re on your way to more exposure and engagement through Instagram story templates.
Don’t forget to encourage your users to tag you and share their responses; even if you don’t share them, keep them noted so that you can learn from your findings.
Regardless of the niche that your account falls into, Instagram story templates can be an awesome way to reach more people and get your account out there in the public eye.
It can also show off how creative and professional your brand is, building relationships with your followers and offering them fun content that they can share with their friends and followers.
Now that you know how to use Instagram story templates, nothing can stop you from reaching your objective.
