Alexis Kestler
Instagram Stories have quickly become one of the most popular ways for businesses to connect with their audience. The interactive, ephemeral nature of Stories makes them highly engaging for viewers. And Instagram has packed Stories full of creative tools to make them even more dynamic – one of the best being custom stickers.
Stickers allow businesses to enhance their Stories in playful, informative ways. You can add polls, questions, quizzes, locations, mentions, countdowns, GIFs, music and more. Followers love interacting with stickers as it makes them feel included. For businesses, this drives up important engagement metrics.
In this post, we‘ll explore the top Instagram Story sticker options for businesses looking to boost their marketing efforts. I‘ll share plenty of tips, tricks and best practices for making the most of stickers. Let‘s dive in!
Emoji Slider Sticker
The emoji slider sticker is a fun way to gauge followers‘ reactions to your content. It places a slider over your Story that followers can move across 5 custom emojis you select. Where followers leave the slider indicates their reaction – from love to laughter to surprise.
This sticker is perfect for:
- Getting instant feedback on new products, content or announcements
- Engaging followers in a low-pressure way
- Adding an interactive element to Stories
Pro tip: Choose emojis that relate to what your followers are reacting to. For example, pick a heart eyes emoji if you want to see how much they love something.
Question Sticker
The question sticker does exactly what is sounds like – it lets you ask your followers a direct question. Followers can respond with text or photo/video replies that you can re-share as Stories or posts.
Smart ways businesses can use the question sticker include:
- Ask for suggestions on new products, flavors, scents, etc.
- Gather customer feedback about current offerings
- Let followers submit user-generated content featuring your brand
- Host giveaways by having followers answer a question for a chance to win
Pro tip: Engage followers in brainstorming by asking open-ended questions starting with "where" "when" "what" or "how".
Quiz Sticker
With the quiz sticker, you can test your followers‘ knowledge by posting multiple choice questions and check the percentage who get it right. The interactive nature makes it super engaging.
Put the quiz sticker to work by:
- Educating followers about key brand information
- Promoting contests to see who can answer trivia correctly
- Driving followers to your Instagram profile or website to learn the answers
- Offering rewards to top-scoring quiz takers
Pro tip: Use the quiz sticker before product launches or events so followers learn something new about what you have coming up.
Countdown Sticker
The countdown sticker is the perfect tool for building anticipation and excitement around an upcoming product release, sale event, store opening or any major moment for your business.
You choose the exact date and time to count down to – then followers who see your Story can set a reminder to come back when your countdown ends.
Use this sticker wisely by:
- Creating a series of Stories with daily countdown updates leading up to your big day
- Offering special perks for followers who set your countdown reminder
- Cross-promoting through other channels when your countdown Stories go live
Pro tip: Time your countdown Stories right when your audience is most likely to see them – don‘t start too soon or you risk losing momentum.
Music Sticker
Music is incredibly powerful when it comes to engaging audiences. The music sticker in Instagram Stories lets you add popular songs to your content. Followers can then see the track details, listen to a preview and visit the artist‘s Instagram profile.
Inject music into your Stories to:
- Set the mood for product reveals, styling clips or brand imagery
- Create dynamic audio/visual content
- Reach music-loving followers who may discover your brand
- Increase chances of going viral – music is extremely shareable!
Pro tip: Browse Instagram‘s music library to find songs that authentically align with your brand identity, campaign or initiative.
GIF Sticker
GIF stickers add animated imagery into your Stories, infusing it with energy and personality. Instagram offers an enormous library of GIFs spanning categories like Reactions, Entertainment, Sports and Stickers.
Make your Stories shine with well-placed GIFs that can:
- Spotlight new collections with flashy graphics
- Announce sales or special offers with celebratory animations
- Show off your playful brand character
- Respond to followers‘ messages with funny reactions
Pro tip: Keep branding top of mind even with GIF stickers. Look for ones with color schemes, messaging or imagery that complements your aesthetic.
Mention Sticker
Social media collaborations are hugely popular. The mention sticker makes it easy to partner up by allowing you to tag other profiles directly in your Stories. Their handle and an image of their profile pic appears.
Smart ways to utilize mention stickers include:
- Giving shoutouts to loyal customers
- Tagging brand ambassadors or influencers you partner with
- Promoting contest collaborations by mentioning co-hosts
- thanking other businesses that help yours find success
Pro tip: Only mention brands and people who authentically support you to avoid coming across as inauthentic or spammy.
Location Sticker
The location sticker identifies where a Story was captured. This extra context resonates with followers who feel connected to certain places. It also helps amplify your content – Instagram‘s algorithm favors geotagged Stories in Stories trays of audiences nearby.
Help your Stories shine by adding locations when:
- Posting product shots, styled outfits or other content at your stores
- Featuring sponsor shops, restaurants or venues that host your pop-up events
- Sharing must-see views from trade shows or conferences you attend
Pro tip: Enable location access on your mobile device so Instagram can automatically pull locations as you capture and post Stories on-the-go.
Poll Sticker
Research shows Instagram polls have up to a 95% response rate, making them invaluable for gaining quick insights. With the poll sticker, followers tap to vote between two options you define. Results appear in real-time as votes come in.
Ways to utilize polls include:
- Gauging interest in possible new products or features
- Getting opinions to guide upcoming content
- Determining which logo, design or name followers prefer
- Crowdsourcing ideas for contests or initiatives
Pro tip: Phrase poll options clearly and concisely so followers grasp what each one means as they glance at your Story.
Camera Sticker
Instagram‘s camera sticker opens the Stories camera so followers can snap and share their own content which you then feature. This user-generated content shows your products, services or campaigns in real-life use cases.
Put the camera sticker to work by:
- Having followers share selfies enjoying your products or spotting your marketing
- Featuring user photos showing authentic ways they interact with your brand
- Giving shoutouts to top photos driving engagement back to their profiles
Pro tip: Incentivize high-quality user submissions by promising to re-share the best photos on your main feed or in Stories highlights.
DM Me Sticker
The DM Me sticker presents a clickable invitation for followers to slide into your direct messages. Use it when you want to open one-on-one dialogues to gather feedback, connect more deeply or provide customer support.
Strategically share the DM Me sticker when you want to:
- Hear what followers think about new offerings before launch
- Collect questions you can feature in an upcoming FAQ or tutorial
- Offer exclusive discounts or perks for loyal followers
Pro tip: Respond to DMs promptly and thoughtfully. This level of personal connection sticks with followers.
Put Instagram‘s Stickers to Work!
As you can see, Instagram stickers present limitless opportunities for imaginative, interactive Storytelling. Brands that make stickers part of their social media repertoire set themselves up for higher reach, engagement and conversions.
Start brainstorming how you can put these tips into play across your own Instagram presence. Soon you‘ll be a sticker pro!
What stickers does your brand use most in Instagram Stories? I‘d love to hear what tactics have worked well in driving real results. Share your success stories in the comments below!
