Making the most of Instagram Stories

23/03/2022

Making the most of Instagram Story

What is Instagram Stories? 

The stories feature is a way to share photos and short videos with your Instagram community that stay visible for 24 hours.

Instagram stories are found on the Instagram app; tap on the circles found at the top of your home screen. You’ll see vertical photos and videos from people that you follow on Instagram. Stories are 15 seconds long, and can be a video or image.

When viewing stories, tap the screen to move to the next, or swipe across to the left to skip altogether. If you press and hold the screen, you'll be able to pause the story so that you can see more before it moves on.

 

Image: The Instagram Story feed and example of an Instagram Story from @stedscath

Making the most of Instagram Story

 

Did you say they only last for 24 hours? Yes, and you might be wondering why you should use it...

Why should your church use Instagram Stories? 

Instagram is known for quality over quantity so you may only want to share your ‘best’ photos to your feed two or three times per week. Stories is the place to share your less-than-perfect images, real-time updates and candid, behind the scenes photos or videos – and it’s what Instagram communities have come to expect and love. Perfection is out – candid is in. 

They are quick to create and simple to share, making it the ideal tool for time-poor church social media managers. 

 

Interested in setting up an Instagram account for your church? Learn how to here.

 

Image: Example of Instagram story from @stmplymouth, @stpauloldford and @holysepulchrelondon

Making the most of Instagram Story

How to post an Instagram Story 

There are two ways to share a story:

1. Take a photo or record a video

  1. Tap on the + icon at the top of your home screen and tap story, or swipe to the right to open stories
  2. Tap on the camera to open your camera to take a photo
  3. Tap the large circular button once to take a photo.
  4. Press and hold the circular button to record a video.
  5. Add extra features to your story using the guides below.
  6. When ready, tap your stories to post the photo or video to your story feed.

2. Share a photo or video saved to your camera roll 

  1. Tap on the + icon at the top of your home screen and click on story, or swipe to the right to open stories
  2. Instagram will access the photo library on your device. You'll need to give permission the first time.
  3. Scroll through your images or videos and tap on the one you’d like to share.
  4. Add extra features to your story using the guides below.
  5. When ready, tap your stories to post to your story feed.

Note: Videos are broken in 15-second clips up to one-minute long in total. A one-minute video will be shared as four clips consecutively.

 

Image: Editing an Instagram Story, showing the Text, Filter and Sticker icons

Text, filters, stickers

 

Add features to your story 

Add text, animated graphics (gif), stickers, question boxes, polls and more to your story to add your own personality and get to know your audience. 

Once you have an image or video ready to share following the guide above, use the menu found at the top of the screen in Instagram Story to add these features.

Text

Write a short caption on top of your photo or video

  1. Tap Aa text icon
  2. Start typing your caption
  3. Use the menu at the top to change the alignment of the text, text colour or add a background behind the text
  4. Use the menu at the bottom to select a different font style. Scroll through the options to change between the styles
  5. When finished, tap done
  6. Next, use your fingers to drag the text into the best position on top of the video or image.

Draw

  1. Tap the three dots at the top of the screen and select draw
  2. Change and thickness of the pen dragging the left-hand slider up or down
  3. Change the colour by tapping one of the pre-set colours or use the colour dropper tool to select a colour from your image or video
  4. Tap undo to remove any drawing you aren’t happy with
  5. When finished, tap done.

Filters 

Add a filter to your picture or video by swiping your finger left across your screen to scroll through the filters.

Filters can enhance a photo or video helping the colours to stand out or create a more muted tone – these filters are different from the ones which alter your facial features!

Gifs and stickers

Add personality to your story or video with gifs and stickers.

  1. Tap the sticker icon ( a smiley face with a corner turned up)
  2. Search for a sticker theme by tapping the search text box and typing in a search word that suits the theme of your story or video. For example, search 'Sunday' to find stickers relating to this day of the week.
  3. Tap on the one you’d like to use and, using your fingers, reposition it on top of your image or video.

Engagement stickers

Get to know your community and have fun with questions, a quiz or a poll.

  • Tap the sticker icon ( a smiley face with a corner turned up) and then tap on one of these options:
    1. Questions: Ask a question which your community can reply to.
      • Questions to ask could be: What’s your favourite Bible verse? What content would you like us to share during the week? Etc.
      • Write your question in the box and then tap done.
      • When you receive a reply, the answers are private but you can choose to share them anonymously.
      • Make sure to ask before you share personal answers.
    2. Poll:  Ask your community a question with a poll. For example, Do you read your Bible daily?
      • Write your question in the box and then tap done.
      • The poll is set to Yes or No answers. You can change the answers by tapping on yes or no and typing your preferred options.
      • As people vote in the poll you’ll see the percentages change when you view the story.
      • Share the result with your followers after a few hours so that they can see how people voted.
      • Could you get your online community to vote on a feature for the next Sunday service? Or Find out which hymn they would love to sing this week? Have fun!

 

Image: Adding a question sticker or poll to Instagram Story

Making the most of Instagram Story

 

Hashtags

Add a hashtag so your story can appear in relevant searches and to new communities on the app. Learn more about hashtags here.

  1. Tap the sticker icon (a smiley face with a corner turned up).
  2. Tap hashtag and type in a relevant word as the hashtag. The most useful hashtags for churches are geographical, so type in the name of your village, town, borough or city, to meet local people on the app.

Location tags 

Add a location tag so that those watching your story see where you are, and more people in your area see your post. Remember to use this every time!

  1. Tap the sticker icon (a smiley face with a corner turned up).
  2. Tap the location sticker and type in a location. Use your church address when inviting to a service or event taking place at the church. Or you can use your village, town, borough or city to reach a wider community on the app.

Links

Add a link to your story so that viewers can follow the link to a web page. 

  1. Tap the sticker icon in the top menu then select Link
  2. In the box, write or paste the web address for the link
  3. Tap customise link to edit the call to action as it appears on the story. For example, you could write CLICK HERE or SIGN UP
  4. Tap done
  5. Drag the link sticker into the best position on top of the image or video

How to delete a sticker or gif

If you've added a feature to your story and you want to remove it,

  1. Tap and hold on the element you want to delete
  2. Drag it into the bin that has appeared at the bottom of the screen.

 

Post the Instagram Story

When you’ve finished editing your image or video tap your story to share it to the Story feed. Your followers will see your profile picture at the top of their home screen and can tap it to see what you’ve been up to.

 

Image: Links, polls and sharing a post to Instagram Story. Examples from @peterborough_cathedral, @stpetersbrighton and @stmplymouth

Making the most of Instagram Story

 

Delete a story

If you change your mind once you’ve posted a story or perhaps you've spotted a typo, stories can be deleted once you’ve posted.

  • View your story by tapping your profile image from the app home screen
  • When viewing the story you want to delete, tap the three dots at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap delete.

 

Save your Instagram stories

Earlier, we mentioned that stories are only visible to your followers for 24-hours. However, they can be saved into a highlight on your church’s Instagram profile so that they are visible long after the 24-hours are up.

A highlight is like a photo album for your stories. You can create themes for your highlights such as Sunday’s so so that visitors to your profile can see more of the life of your church. Save relevant stories into these highlights so that visitors to your profile can see more of the life of your church.

Highlights do not expire, but you can delete them at any time, and there are no limits on how many you can create but no more than 5-6 is a good rule to stick to.

Add a story to a highlight

  • View your story by tapping your profile image from the app home screen
  • When viewing the story you want to add to a highlight tap the three dots at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap highlight.
  • Tap an existing highlight or tap new to create a new one.

Learn more about Instagram highlights.

 

Image: Creating an Instagram highlight

Making the most of Instagram Story

Tips

  1. Community comes first! What type of posts would help keep your community informed an connected, and also help visitors to feel welcome?
  2. Tell a story. Stories can be shared on their own as a singular post, or as a collection of stories with a linking narrative telling a progressive story. For example, in preparation for a holiday club you could share multiple photos of the preparation to show how the event is coming together and build anticipation for the club.
  3. Show a different point of view. Stories is a favourite feature of the Instagram community as viewers get to see and hear from places and people they’ve never seen or heard from before. How can you tap into this fascination with the new and unexpected? Are there any unseen places in your building or community such as the view from the church tower or a little known piece of history? Or wisdom to share from a long standing member who isn’t often seen at the front? Could you commit to sharing something unexplored or unexpected once a month?
  4. Experiment to find the right tone. While experimenting is fun, take time to find a tone that suits your personality and remember less is more, so stick to two or three features on your story at one time. 
  5. Get to know your community. Use your stories to ask questions to get to know your audience. Could they vote on hymns to sing this coming weekend? Use it as a way to engage the community in church life, helping new visitors to feel included before they come along.
  6. Reach out. Use hashtags and location tags on every story to help those in your local community discover you. It’s as simple as that.
  7. Give it a go! There are many more features we have not covered here, so take time in trying out the different tools. It’s best to try out these features on your own account first, and then try it from your church’s

Liz Morgan
Church Digital Champion

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