How to use Story stickers for engagement

Story stickers are the parts of a Story that people can tap, answer or join. The most useful way to choose one is by the action you want: a one-tap vote, a typed answer, a public reply, a reminder, a click or a message to you. Each sticker is built for one of those, so a sticker that fits your goal gets more responses than one picked because it looks nice.

To add one, take or upload a photo or video, then open the sticker tray from the smiley icon in the top toolbar, according to Instagram’s own Stories guide. Instagram says stories last 24 hours, after which they leave your profile and your followers’ feeds and go to your private Archive. Menus and icons change from version to version, so if you can’t see something, look in the tray’s search box.

Instagram describes the poll sticker as a question with two answer options: friends tap to vote and you watch the results update in real time. The quiz sticker works the same way, but you add four answer choices and mark one as correct. Both ask for one tap, which is why they collect more responses than anything that needs typing.

Use polls for decisions that are real. A baker choosing between two flavours for the weekend, a photographer asking which of two edits goes in the portfolio, a shop asking whether a colour should be restocked: each is a genuine choice, so the answers are useful and people can tell. A poll with an obvious answer (“Do you like weekends?”) trains your audience to ignore them.

Use quizzes to teach. A personal trainer can ask which of four exercises works the glutes, then explain the answer in the next Story. A café can ask where a bean was grown. The point is that the answer gives the viewer something, so the next Story, which explains it, is worth watching too.

Tip: Follow every poll with a Story that says what you decided. People vote again when they see their vote counted.

Instagram introduced the Questions sticker in July 2018. You add it from the sticker tray, type a prompt and share. When followers view the Story, they tap the sticker to reply, and Instagram says they can reply as many times as they want. You can see who sent each answer in your viewers list.

To answer, tap a question to start a new Story where it appears for context. Instagram says your friend’s photo and username are not shown when you share a reply, so people can ask something a little awkward without being named. That is also a reason to be careful: the reply is anonymous to the public, not to you.

Give a specific prompt, not “ask me anything”. A skincare brand asking “What is your morning routine and where does it go wrong?” gets answers that become product ideas. A freelance designer asking “What would you want to know before hiring a designer?” gets the questions to answer in a post. Specific prompts get specific, usable replies. Vague ones get “hi”.

Instagram says the Add Yours sticker lets anyone contribute to a public Story thread that you create. When someone sees one, they tap the sticker to add their own Story to the responses. Instagram’s own examples are prompts like #OOTD, pets being cute or the oldest picture on your camera roll.

Instagram has also added Add Yours templates: you can add GIFs, text or images that become a template for responses, from the sticker tray or by tapping the dice for ideas. In May 2024 it added Add Yours Music, in which you share a song and friends answer with their own.

The prompt decides everything. “Show your desk” works because it is easy and the answer looks good in a Story. “Show your best work” asks people to be proud and is harder to post quickly. For a business, a prompt tied to your product (“Show how you wear it”, “Your first ride of spring”) brings back content that is yours to share, if people agree to it.

The Countdown sticker is for dates. You set a date and time and name it, and friends can subscribe to get a notification when time is up. It suits a launch, a sale, a class, a restock or a trip. One Countdown for one date works better than three at once.

The Link sticker, according to Instagram, points friends to a website, article, product or any URL outside Instagram, and you can edit its wording with phrases such as “shop the look”. Make the label say what is on the other side.

The Reveal sticker, launched in May 2024, hides a Story behind a hint. Instagram says the only way for followers to see the content is to send you a DM. It is the most direct way to get messages started, and it is worth planning what you will say to each one.

That last point matters most. A Reveal, a Question or a plain reply to your Story each puts someone in your inbox, and a reply that comes hours later wastes the moment. If you use an Instagram auto-reply tool that handles Story replies, such as DMFast, set a short message that answers the thing they replied to and invites the next step. Story replies and mentions work for Instagram only, not Facebook.

Here is one way to spread stickers across a week for a small shop that sells plants. It is an example, not a rule. Swap the content for yours.

• Monday: a poll between two pots for the new shipment. Tuesday: a Story showing the winner and why.
• Wednesday: a quiz on which of four plants survives low light. Thursday: the answer, with care notes.
• Friday: a Questions sticker asking what has been killing people’s plants. Weekend: answer five of them in Stories.
• Sunday: a Countdown to Monday’s restock, with a Link sticker saying where to see the range.

Notice the pattern: ask, then answer. Each interactive sticker is followed by a Story that uses the replies. That rhythm tells people their responses are read.

• Using three stickers on one Story. Each competes with the others, so people tap none. One interactive sticker per Story is enough.
• Hiding the sticker under text or at the screen’s edge, where taps are hard to land.
• Asking and never answering. People respond once or twice without a reply, then stop.
• Polls with a loaded or obvious answer.
• Ignoring replies that arrive in your DMs. Answer the ones that matter promptly.

Instagram’s official pages say nothing about a number of stickers you should or shouldn’t use, so the advice above is based on how the stickers work, not on a published rule. Test with your own audience and keep what gets answers.