Our guide to mastering Instagram Stories in 2024 begins with a bold in our opinion front and center. Why? Simple: there’s no magic formula that works for everyone. While there are plenty of effective strategies out there, we at NJL encourage you to roll up your sleeves and run some tests to find out what truly works for your goals.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty: here are the strategies and potential risks to consider when publishing stories on Instagram.

If you’re still figuring out how to make stories a part of your strategy, if that know-it-all guru told you they’re useless, or if you’re wondering what on earth that little circled + is for, then this guide is exactly what you need.

Get ready, it’s going to be one captivating story. 😏

Why are Instagram stories so important?

Since they were launched in August 2016, IG stories have proven to be a powerful tool to strengthen your bond with your community and boost engagement.

Not only that: stories are probably the most loved and shared format on Instagram. According to Earth Web, a whopping 87% of active Instagram users love sharing them every day. That’s quite a stat!

Despite lasting only 24 hours, stories allow you to quickly reach your followers, and they’ve rapidly become the ideal way to share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your world, gather instant feedback, and exchange opinions – all those off-the-cuff things you’d hesitate to post in the feed.

Let’s zoom in on this.: as you might have realized, stories provide a more direct and personal connection with your audience compared to the feed. And you may have noticed that they’re not really about reaching new users but about nurturing relationships with the ones you already have.

Here’s the missing piece: in 2024, posting a story might actually work better than a post!

A couple of years ago, this would have seemed crazy, but today we can say it with confidence.

4 things to know before posting

About to publish a story? Hold on a sec: here’s a quick checklist to keep in mind.

1. A single story can have greater reach than a single post.
2. Stickers are useful but can reduce story reach – gotta love how Instagram offers features that might actually end up backfiring! 😅
3. Links in stories can also lower reach – and it’s easy to see why: Instagram wants to keep users on the platform as long as possible. So if you’re encouraging them to exit… bam!
4. A single story typically performs better than a series of stories – the completion rate speaks for itself, but remember, this advice always depends on the goals of your strategy.

Ignoring these tips could, at worst, leave you with average results. But things can go seriously wrong and even damage your relationship with your community. 👇

What NOT to do with Instagram stories

The best stories start with a classic Once upon a time, but these mistakes won’t lead to an happy ending for you or your profile.

These are common traps that are easy to fall into, so here’s our advice: keep this list handy like a cheat sheet.

• Don’t use stories just for selling.
• Stop sharing every single moment of your day with an endless string of stories.
• Avoid posting content only to drive traffic to external platforms.
• Don’t turn stories into a catalog of your products or services.

You were about to do it, weren’t you? Cut that link, trust us NJL.

5 tips for using Instagram stories

Now that we’ve covered the dos and don’ts, let’s get into some tried-and-true strategies that we at Not Just Analytics use ourselves – because they truly deliver results.

1. Connect with your community

Stories reach mainly your existing followers, and that’s an advantage. Use them to strengthen the bond with those who are already following you.

If your main goal is selling, keep this in mind: those who buy from you are often people who have been following you for a while. Nurturing your community increases loyalty, boosts repeat purchases, and raises CLV – your customer lifetime value.

So, skip the constant sales pitches. Instead, offer authentic content, show behind-the-scenes glimpses, and share exclusive updates to make your followers feel special. Better yet, give your community the spotlight in your stories—they’ll love it, and so will you!

2. Sell, but in moderation

Yes, you can use stories for promotional purposes, but don’t go overboard. If you’re planning to do it, here’s a tip: find a unique angle for sharing your offer, different from your organic content or ads. Then, adjust the tone to be more intimate, exclusive, and open.

Here’s another key advantage: sharing special offers and limited-time promotions might just make your followers check your Stories regularly, hoping for that irresistible deal. The trick? Find the sweet spot so you don’t come across as too pushy.

3. Tell without overdoing It

How many times have you rolled your eyes at an endless stream of stories? Too much content in one go just battles (and loses) against the limited attention span on Instagram. Plus, it doesn’t help your Retention Rate.

If you feel like sharing your day or taking your audience behind the scenes, stories are an amazing way to do it. Just ask yourself:

• Does it align with your communication style?
• Does it add real value to your followers?
• Are 13 Stories in a row really necessary?

In short, share only what you think will genuinely interest and engage your community. Cut the rest.

4. Be Engaging

If you can boost interactions, you’re golden, and nothing heats up engagement in stories like the stickers Instagram offers. As The Mask would say, you’ve got to be smokin’!

Remember our checklist, though? Stickers can reduce reach if they don’t get interactions.

This happens when stickers are ignored and no one taps on them – the opposite effect of what we want. The solution? Use them wisely, only add them when it makes sense, and keep it fresh: with polls, questions, and “Add yours” you’ve got plenty of options.

5. Listen to your audience

As you’ve seen, stories are perfect for engaging your community, and engagement means creating a space where your followers can express themselves. Effective communication starts with listening, and that’s exactly the approach you should take to get the most out of stories.

So:

• use polls to ask your audience what they’d like to see from you
• encourage followers to DM you to share their opinions
• ask for feedback and validate any ideas you’re working on

This won’t just help you build trust, it’ll also give you qualitative data to improve your social strategy.

Use NJL to analyze your stories

Now that we’ve tackled the essentials of what to do (and skip), it’s time for the fun part: posting, right? Not so fast… because monitoring your results is essential to gauge your strategy’s effectiveness and, if needed, fine-tune your approach.

So, open Instagram Insights and get to work… kidding! 😎

For an in-depth analysis of the main metrics, here’s what to do. Log into NJL:

1. select the profile you want to analyze
2. go to the Stories tab
3. choose between viewing data in Boomer mode – simpler and more concise – or Nerd mode – super advanced, yet clear

You’ll see a dashboard filled with data ready to analyze.

First up, the key metrics, giving you an instant check-up on your stories’ performance:

• the average views on your first story
• the Open Rate, which is the percentage of followers viewing your stories
• and the Retention Rate, showing how many people watch until the end

Think of these insights as your compass for understanding if your strategy is on the right track. As you dive deeper into your story analytics, a series of graphs awaits, combining quantitative and qualitative info that can help answer any lingering questions you might have.

For example, you can:

• identify the best times to post—and here’s a little secret: we calculate the optimal time for visibility not only at posting but over the following three hours
• track your top-performing stories to find the topics your community cares about most
• review your lowest-performing stories to see which topics to avoid going forward
• pinpoint the content that led to the most follower loss 🥲
• monitor the overall view trend of your stories over time

Add your own intuition to this data, and an IG story will no longer be a mystery!

📣 Advanced Story analysis is available with all subscription plans and allows you to optimize your strategy with accurate data, turning stories into an even more effective tool for growing on Instagram.

Conclusion: are stories still relevant?

Absolutely! Even though Instagram’s algorithm makes it harder to reach new users (and even existing followers) through organic posts, stories remain an effective tool for engaging followers and building authentic connections.

These best practices might not fit every scenario, but use them as a starting point for your strategy and experiment! Keep in mind what your community expects from you and the unique, fleeting nature of this format.

After all, some stories may disappear in 24 hours, but your relationship with your followers can become a never-ending story.