Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Instagram stories

When Instagram first rolled out their Stories feature (aka snaps 2.0), I think I can speak for all of us when I say I was a tiny bit skeptical. Mostly I was seriously overwhelmed by the idea of having to create even more content to keep up on all of the social platforms. I never really got into Snapchat for personal use because my everyday business is so social media heavy that I didn’t want another thing to think about outside of that.

Once I tried out an IG stories or two and realized I could share with even more of you within the same platform I loved the most, I dropped Snapchat like a hot rock. Do you all still use it often, or just for personal messages with friends?! I know a lot of you really loved the Snapchat content, so I’m super curious about what you think of us only on IG stories! Do you use both, or prefer one over the other? Let me know!

In the meantime, our team has become pretty obsessed with dreaming up tips, tricks, and hacks for Instagram stories. Not only did we compile some not-so-well-known tricks of the trade, but we broke it down into some simple design inspirations for jazzing things up on the fly. Did I mention we even put together a video version for you to see them in action?!…

It’s been really fun to think of new ways to creatively show our content – plus, we’re always super inspired by other creatives. Some of our favorites to follow are @alilabelle, @mattcrump, @peytonperry, @shopbando, @imakestagram, @topher, @designlovefest, @aimeemazzenga, @brightbazaar, @jeffreydgerson & @glossier!

What do ya think? Did you learn anything new? Are there any major tricks we missed? Would love to hear your tips, ideas, and favorites to follow too!…

Kayla Haykin

Besides being the operations and marketing manager for Sugar & Cloth, Kayla Haykin also dabbles in online shopping – a job she finds very important.

You can find her around the studio sourcing inspiration for the next big trends and Sugar & Cloth favorites..

Sugar & Cloth

Check out these other awesome posts!

Comments

Joanna

04.19.17

This is sharing!
Thank you

Ashley said:

So glad you like the tips! xo

Jennifer Perkins

04.19.17

Thanks this is really helpful. I never really got into Snapchat either and I see the possibilities of Instagram stories (@jenniferperkins) but have not totally harnessed it yet. Pinned, shared and trying some tricks out today.

Ashley said:

Really glad you found it helpful – we’re loving finding new ways to be creative! xo

carmen

04.19.17

I felt the same way about IG stories! but now I love them!
I do use snap chat for personal messages with friends. I think I prefer IG stories its just all in one.
I am trying to step up my game with IG stories (@ChampagneConfettiCo)and one I never thought of was the Fog. CLEVER!!!
Thanks Ashley For sharing!!

Ashley said:

Yay! Can’t wait to see what you post :)

Samantha Lee

04.19.17

Wow, you guys have found so many hacks! I was skeptical about Insta-Stories at first too (I rarely ever used Snapchat), but now I love it! I’ve been having so much fun experimenting with the different features too. :)

http://www.wonderlandsam.com

Ashley said:

Us too! Until we realized how many little tricks we can try. So glad you like the hacks!

Esmeralda

04.19.17

Omg! I learned a lot reading this!! Never new about the color pallet & expanding that orange was gold! So creative.
I agree. It’s so hard to keep up with yet another social media platform. I now use Snapchat for personal use like friends & family. I use IG stories aloooot more.

Ashley said:

I know, it seems like there is always a new channel we have to add to our plate! So glad that you liked the tips :)

Laressa

04.19.17

I find that most of the bloggers I follow who use Insta Stories do it WAY TOO MUCH!! As in quantity over quality. I don’t even watch them anymore.

Ashley said:

Completely agree with quality over quantity!

Amy | Delineate Your Dwelling

04.19.17

Mind blown. Can’t wait to up my game!

Ashley said:

Can’t wait to follow along! xo

Leah

04.19.17

Can’t wait to try these!

Ashley said:

So glad you liked the tips, Leah! xo

Captyring Joy with Kristen duke

04.19.17

I’m so excited about these tips! I had just barely started to promote Snapchat and enjoy it when Instagram stories came around, but I dropped it like a hot rock as you said… And I’m all over the stories now!!

Ashley said:

Hahah, glad we’re not alone in this! xo

M.E.

04.19.17

This is BLOWING MY MIND! I can’t believe there’s been an entire color wheel hidden this whole time! And the color fog is genius!! Thanks for the amazing tips!

Ashley said:

So so glad you enjoyed them! xo

Orianne

04.20.17

I actually still love snapchat and I am quite disappointed that most of the blogger I followed there dropped it. I actually still like it better than instar stories because I fill like it is more intimiste. Insta is so much not about the instant anymore, all pictures are so neat which is nice but I feel like it’s a little bit the same with the stories. And I feel like Snap is more casual and fun.
Thanks for the tips :)

Ashley said:

Glad you liked the tips — totally see where you are coming from!

Sylvia

04.20.17

Thank you, I learned a lot and I love your instafeed! Just one more question: I can’t figure out how to share multiple photo’s in IG stories?

Ashley said:

Hi Sylvia! Not quite sure what you mean – email hello@sugarandcloth.com and we’d be happy to give any advice we have :)

Brandy Dykes

04.22.17

Thanks for the tips! I love a good quick & easy tutorial video 😁 I will say, however, that after trying the “live picture to boomerang” hack many times and failing… I realized it’s only for iPhone 7 users 😩 I’ll catch up one day. 💛

Ashley said:

Hi Brandy, our team tried it on a 6 and it worked – how weird! Do you have an iPhone 5 by chance?

Julia

04.24.17

I was so thrilled when they came out with stories! I had just been thinking about creating an snapchat for my blog but didn’t know how to easily do it and wasn’t really ready to convert my personal one for blog use… doing everything in one place is so much easier. Love the tips!

Julia – http://bunnybaubles.com

Ashley said:

So glad you like them, Julia! xo

Celeste

04.25.17

This is so cool! Thanks for sharing all these tips and tricks lovely :) Also, do you if there’s any way to write with a stylus instead of your finger on stories?

Ashley said:

Hi Celeste! Thanks for the kind words. We haven’t found a way to write with a stylus yet — we
‘ll keep our eye out! xo

Merrissa

04.25.17

These are freakin’ amazing tips + tricks. Always upping the ante. xx

Ashley said:

Thank you, Merrissa! xo

Crissy

04.25.17

I’m curious how you did the fog the color of the emoji?

Ashley said:

Hi Crissy! We chose an emoji color that we liked and then expanded it until it was a fog! The video shows the process :)

Bunny

04.25.17

Talk about K-I-L-L-I-N’ it! You all are geniuses, I mean come on, that enlarged bow gradient?! *faints*

These are too good to have disappear in a day, but sooo fun. I loved the video! Way to go team!

Ashley said:

So so glad you liked the bow trick – we had so much fun making this! xo

Danie

05.02.17

I”m struggling a little with the video to boomerang feature- how did you do that?

Ashley said:

Hi Danie! If you watch the video, we show a step by step tutorial of how to use this feature :)
danie said:

I guess I was a little unclear on how to do it from the video! Or maybe the feature looks different on my android?
- Ashley said:
  
  Hi Danie – I think the issue may be that you don’t have an iPhone. “Force touch” is a feature that the iPhone offers, when you hold a photo down with a lot of pressure quickly. When you “force touch” a live photo (another feature on the iPhone) it becomes a boomerang/ starts to move.

Rachel

05.10.17

Oh my gosh, this is so amazingly helpful. I sometimes feel like I am so behind in the tech/Instagram world, but this will make me all caught up! My insta stories will have new life now! Thank you so much!

Ashley said:

Thank you for the kind words, Rachel! Makes our day! xo

Alexis

05.10.17

The boomarang tip is a game changer! Love it!

Ashley said:

So glad it was helpful! xo

Annie

05.11.17

Wow these are amazing tips! I could definitely use these to better at using Insta Stories!

http://www.apuravidaproject.com

Ashley said:

We’re so happy you enjoyed it! xo

Armenyl

05.14.17

Woah! Genius! I am so pumped to use these hacks on Instagram stories this week. Thanks for sharing..
Definitely adding this link to my favorites this week <3

carol

05.14.17

it’s is complete rip off snapchat stories but i still love them as i am not on snapchat :)

Ashley said:

haha, glad we’re not in this alone! xo

Como cuidar de orquideas

05.24.17

What a beautiful text, I really liked it.

ANNa

06.04.17

This post is so extremely helpful!!! I’ve been wondering how to do so many of these things! Thank you for sharing!

Ashley said:

Happy to! Glad we’re in this together :)

Jessica

06.04.17

CRAZY useful tips! Thanks so much!!

Ashley said:

So glad you found the video helpful, Jessica! xo

Allyson

06.05.17

This post is gold!

I waited to get into snapchat for far too long, so felt like I was always playing catch up / always felt like a grandma trying to figure it out. I jumped on Insta Stories as soon as I saw both how beautiful and how easy it was! I’m in love.