8 Instagram Stories Design Tips For 2023
If you’ve ever wondered how in the world to make Instagram stories more on-brand, this one’s for you.
Or, maybe you have never thought about this concept and you’re wondering what I’m even talking about… this one is also (especially?) for you.
As a brand designer of over a decade and social media manager for almost as long, I’ve got some tried and true tips for designing your stories on Instagram…
Because there’s nothing more disappointing than seeing a brand NOT use their style guide when they post.
Okay, there are worse things… BUT, when ways to brand your stories exist (and they do!), it’s my opinion that everyone should be doing it, because Instagram and branded templates make it pretty easy!
Whether you’re designing a story in the app or you’re using a template and just uploading the story, these tips will cover all the bases to get your story designs in top shape and matching your brand.
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#1. Be Aware Of Margins
When you’re creating a story, either in the Instagram app or in a template, you want to make sure you are staying inside the margins.
This is the area that you’ll want any important graphics or images or text to stay within, so that they can be seen. For example, these are the “margins” for an Instagram story, where your bio and photo are shown at the top:
Ideally you want to set all of your graphics, text and images inside those margins so that your design isn’t cut off by the app itself, and people can still see your photo and handle. It’s just a small thing that makes a difference when designing an instagram story or story template!
#2. Add Auto-Captions Or Text
A lot of times, Instagram users do not have their sound on! It’s pretty common for people to “read” stories rather than listen to them.
Not only does adding text make your stories more accessible to more people, but statistics show that stories that have captions or text get more/longer views.
There are a few ways you can go about adding captions or text to your Instagram stories:
First, you could just add auto-captions to the video, and it will show on the screen as you’re talking.
The second option is to add text that summarizes what you’re talking about (if you’re talking in the video), or just add text over the video or photo to summarize what’s going on, bring people in, and get them to stick around.
#3. Make Text Readable
Since we know that users do not always have their sound on, and that it’s typical to “read” a story, you want to also keep in mind the size of your text or captions when adding them to your stories.
Make it large enough to read, and spread the text out over multiple stories if you can.
If you need to say a lot on just one story slide, then tell the reader to “tap to hold and read” so that they are prompted to tap and hold.
I actually do this quite often as a user. Even if the text is small on someone’s story, I know that I can tap and hold to read it, so the size of the text doesn’t really bother me. However, I know this is a kind of a peeve for some, so again it’s a great idea to either increase your text size and spread it out over multiple stories, or, if it is smaller, give people a CTA (call-to-action) to “tap and hold” to read it.
#4. Incorporate Your Own Branded Graphics
If you haven’t noticed, I am a HUGE fan of branding anything and everything.
Applying your brand to all that walks out your door leads to more cohesivity, and ultimately leads to an overall consistent brand.
To give your stories your own brand flare within the app itself, grab png’s of your branded elements and put them on your phone’s camera roll. Then, when you create your stories, you can add your graphics to “brand” your stories:
#5. Brand Your CTA’s
If you’re adding a CTA (call-to-action), you want to make sure that is branded as well. Of course this means using your brand fonts and brand colors, but if you’re being super intentional, you’d style your CTA according to your brand style guide.
For example, I include a style guide with every brand I design. Within the style guide are your brand’s colors, and each color is assigned to categories. One of those categories is a “CTA color”.
This is the color you’d use more sparingly, but when you do, it’s for a call-to-action, like if you want someone to do something like “download your freebie” or “shop now”.
I talk more about your CTA color in this post, but for a quick example:
(See what I mean? The green is the CTA color in this instance.)
To style your CTA on your stories, the key is to make sure that it’s in your CTA color so that it’s consistent with the rest of your brand.
When people go to your website or download a freebie, they’ll see your CTA color as the same, and, whether consciously or not, they’ll recognize that color as your brand color.
If you can achieve strategic subtlety with your branding, that’s how you know it’s done well.
#6. ALWAYS use your brand colors
Just like we should always use our CTA color for a call-to-action, we should also always use our brand colors when we design stories in the app or in a template.
It’s one of those things that may not seem to matter that much, but the more consistent you are throughout all of your content, website, products, etc., the more brand awareness you’re going to have.
Instagram makes it SO EASY to do this, that you should NEVER not use your brand colors – unless you’re just being lazy, which, raising my hand, I’ve been there.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to use your brand colors in Instagram stories:
#7. If you use gifs or stickers…
Like I mentioned in the tutorial video above, if you’re going to use gifs or stickers, my recommendation is to use ones that are close to your brand colors, or use neutral ones like white or black.
It’s not that using gifs in different colors from your brand is necessarily wrong, I mean, a lot of people do it! But, in my opinion, it is another way to solidify your brand through social media.
If you’re looking to stay super consistent with your brand, then find those gifs that pair well with your brand, and stay away from those that don’t.
It’s all about the little decisions you can make that add up to creating a consistent brand you love, and one that your audience can’t forget.
#8. Use Your Brand Fonts
If you’re making your story in the Instagram app, then as of right now (it pains me to say), you won’t be able to use your exact brand fonts. However, what you can do is choose a font that matches closest to one of your brand fonts.
For example, I always lean towards the clean-cut serif option, because that most closely matches one of my brand fonts.
There’s not a wrong way to do this, especially with limited options, but it is a tip that will help you further solidify your brand for your audience, and allow you to pick something and stick with it.
Now, if you’re using your own branded stories templates (in an app like Adobe Express or Canva), then you should ALWAYS use your brand fonts, because those apps make it super easy to do so. We’ll talk more about templates in tip #9.
#9. Use Your Branded Templates
I do like creating stories in the Instagram app itself, because it’s easy and convenient. However, there are times when I just want to post stories that look like my brand and are cohesive, which is where templates really come in handy!
Templates make your life 1000% easier, and they are super easy to either buy or make. Once you have them up and running, they are there and ready for you to simply edit text and input photos or whatever it is you need.
Using templates for things like pins, carousels, reels covers, and stories, makes it super easy to stick with your brand look and KNOW that you’re always on brand.
If you want to learn more about templates, here are 7 things you can’t overlook when it comes to your social media strategy (templates being one of them!)
What Other Stories Tips Do You Have?
Are there any other tried-and-true design tips for Instagram stories you’d like to share? Let me know on Insta!
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