12 Ways To Use Instagram Stories Like A Pro
Stories or still photos? That’s become an increasingly common question since Instagram introduced its Snapchat-imitating video feature. The ephemeral mobile viewing experience has grown rapidly since then–surpassing 250 million daily active users earlier this summer.
One result is that the number of badly shot mobile videos is proliferating, making it even harder to stand out and get noticed in feeds. Here are some of the things I have learned about effectively using Instagram Stories since it launched in 2016. These are tips and tricks I used while covering the nine-month battle for Mosul in Iraq for the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Policy, among others. Some of this material is from presentations I’ve given at Instagram and Facebook as well.
There are countless ways to use the Instagram app, and my hope is that these 12 ideas will either help get you started or spark some creativity if you’re already using it.
A woman uses her mobile phone to record a protest march down Broad Street on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People watching a protest walk by during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 18, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Women wearing press passes watch a protest during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 18, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People using mobile phones to record. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People using mobile phones to record. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Men share live video during a Kurdish Newroz celebration in northeastern Iraq on March 21, 2017. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Men share live video during a Kurdish Newroz celebration in northeastern Iraq on March 21, 2017. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People using mobile phones to record. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Allan Stansbery, a 38-year-old member of the West Ohio Minutemen from Lima, Ohio, takes a picture on his cell phone in downtown Cleveland. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Angel Nguyen and her children watch protesters walk down Broad Street on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Lamar Beamer and Charlie Murphy record pro-Bernie Sanders protesters in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
A woman uses her mobile phone to record a protest march down Broad Street on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
Two women use their mobile phone to record a protest march down Broad Street on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
A man films while a woman narrates as a protest passes on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
A protester uses her cell phone to capture the protest marching down Broad Street on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People watch an inflated joint float outside City Hall on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2017. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
People use their phones to record fireworks during a brief rain at Kurdish Newroz celebrations in Akre, Iraq, on March 20, 2017. [Photo: Cengiz Yar]
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