Understanding Instagram Posts vs. Stories for Small Business Owners

Understanding best Instagram practices is like trying to remember everyone’s name or leaving Macy’s in New York City through the revolving front doors. The platform is constantly changing. There are updates weekly. New tools, features, metrics, and filters. You ask yourself, am I doing enough? Am I doing this right? How do I stay informed about what’s best for promoting my small business??

If you’re reading this, you’re likely trying to decide how to use Instagram Posts vs. Stories for promoting your small business—or maybe you’re just figuring out what type of content works best for stories and posts. We’re here to make that choice clearer.

With over 2 billion users on Instagram, it’s important to remember that not everyone scrolls up and down while viewing posts on their feed. Stories offer a horizontal viewing experience, perfect for users who enjoy quickly tapping through to catch up on the latest updates from people they follow over the past 24 hours.

Other facts you might not know about Stories:?

• 15% to 25% of people swipe the links in branded Stories.
• Over 500 million Instagram users use Instagram Stories every day.
• 70% of Instagram users watch stories daily.
• 86.6% of Instagram users post Stories.
• Instagram Stories are used by 36% of businesses to promote their products.
• 49% of Gen Z consumers use stories to find products and services.
• 70% of Instagram Stories are watched with the sound on.
• The average reach rate for brands with large followings is 12% for posts and 2% for Stories.

*Read more stats here: https://twicsy.com/blog/instagram-stories-statistics

What Sets Instagram Posts and Stories Apart?

Instagram Posts live on your profile for good (unless you delete or archive them) and represent a lasting impression of your brand. Consider Instagram posts as the main course of your multi-course meal. Posts can be up to 2,200 characters and ideally contain 138-150 characters for storytelling in your caption, along with carefully chosen hashtags to boost reach.

Posts are where you focus on high-quality, curated content that speaks directly to your brand values or product. Strategic planning allows these posts to reach new audiences and leave a lasting impact. One post can include up to 20 images.?

Instagram Stories are the lighter, more in-the-moment side of Instagram. Think of Stories as the appetizer of your meal, offering just a taste of what’s to come once you’ve followed along. With a 24-hour lifespan, they’re designed for quick engagement. Their vertical format and interactive features like polls, questions, and stickers make them an excellent space for showing up authentically and sharing real-time updates. Stories are perfect for a more relaxed, behind-the-scenes look at your brand.

When to Use Instagram Stories vs. Posts

Opt for Instagram Posts When:

• You have evergreen content that truly represents your brand.?
• The content is informative, emotional, or humorous.?
• Your visuals are high-quality and consistent with your brand’s style and voice.
• Remember, Instagram does not allow clickable links in Instagram Post captions… But good news, Stories do.?

Use Instagram Stories When:

• You’re sharing content that’s casual, fun, or timely.
• You want to engage your audience directly with interactive elements like polls, questions, countdowns to product launches, or links.?
• Stories are not meant to be perfect. They’re meant to be authentic.
• Examples of Stories you can post: You just got a larger order, and you’re shipping it off. Team members unintentionally wore matching shirts on the same day. You’re picking paint colors for a new home and want your audiences’ feedback.?

How Do You Determine the Success of a Story?

Instagram Stories come with some helpful engagement tools that give you insight into how viewers interact with each Story you post. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Taps Forward – This shows how often people tap right to skip to the next Story. It’s great for seeing which parts might not be holding viewers attention.
• Taps Backward – This tracks how many users tapped left to rewatch the previous Story. It can indicate when content really captures attention.
• Exits – This measures how often viewers swipe down to exit your Stories altogether. If exits are high, it could mean they’re losing interest. Usually, people drop off around 3 story views.
• Replies – This metric shows how often people swipe up to reply to your Story or access a linked website, showing how engaging your content is.

Beyond these, there are two other key metrics to keep an eye on:

• Reach – This is the number of unique accounts that viewed your Story, helping you gauge your brand’s exposure.Pro Tip: Tagging locations in your Stories helps boost Reach by creating a geotag to that specific location. Your content will show in a geotagged location along with all other posts tagged in that same location. Posts with location tags are 79% more likely to be seen and receive engagement than posts without tags.
• Impressions – This is the total number of views, including replays, giving insight into how often viewers return to watch again.

Keeping track of these can help you understand what’s resonating with your audience and what might need a little tweak.

General Takeaways

• Pull a Nike and Just Do It: You’re not going to go viral with every post, but you are practicing consistency, perfecting your flow, and learning what works and what doesn’t.?
• Challenge yourself: Some people put too much pressure on themselves when it comes to challenging themselves. Instead, set a realistic goal for yourself. Does 10 posts a week cause you to panic? Then, only challenge yourself to 5 posts weekly or once daily.?
• Engage with other accounts: You follow other accounts for a specific reason. You like their content. Let them know you appreciate them with a DM or comment. Kindness on the internet goes a long way.

When used together, Posts and Stories can complement each other—each format providing an opportunity to connect with and inform your audience, converting your followers to customers.