The Complete Guide to Adding Feed Posts in Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories have rapidly become a daily hub for over 500 million users. The ephemeral, casual nature of Stories creates the perfect space to repurpose highlights from the highly curated main feed.
Embedding published posts into Stories as interactive stickers unlocks fresh opportunities to resurface your best content. But simply re-sharing posts likely won‘t grow your following alone.
This guide will teach you how to expertly incorporate feed post stickers in Instagram Stories to boost engagement and best practices.
Current Instagram User & Story Statistics
Before diving into specifics, let‘s ground this advice in the latest data on Instagram and Stories performance. According to Instagram‘s internal 2023 data:
- 500+ million people use Instagram Stories every day
- The average user spends 30+ minutes per day watching Stories
- 1/3 of the most-viewed Stories are created by businesses and creators
Clearly the built-in audience for Stories content is massive and highly engaged. While figures fluctuate each quarter, Stories maintain over 20% higher interaction metrics compared to feed posts.
Instagram algorithm wizard Matt Navarra also notes that repurposed feed posts tend to perform better in Stories versus sharing brand new content.
So what does this data tell us? Reposting your top-performing feed uploads as stickers in Stories essentially provides a second-chance for that content to score even more eyeballs through story views, taps, shares and saves.
Now let‘s get into the step-by-step process.
How to Add Post to Instagram Story
The functionality to embed a feed post into your Instagram Story was introduced back in 2018. Yet many users still don‘t realize how seamless it is.
You simply need access to the post itself – whether directly from your own profile or by navigating to the post on someone else‘s public profile. Then:
- Tap the paper airplane icon below the post
- Select the option: Add post to your story
- This opens the Story composer with the post rendered as a sticker
- Customize and share the Story with your followers as usual!
Check out this quick video walkthrough:
It only takes seconds to embed any feed post into your Story. But what can you actually do with these post stickers for maximum impact?
Customizing Embedded Post Stickers
One of the best perks of adding feed posts through Stories is that they appear as movable stickers. This unlock a myriad of creative editing options to make that post blend into the overall story you‘re telling.
You can customize embedded post stickers by:
Resizing the entire sticker larger or smaller as needed through pinch and zoom gestures:
[Example graphic of resizing sticker]Rotating the orientation by turning two fingers on screen to achieve unique angles:
[Example of angled sticker graphic]Tapping to cycle through alternate preset sticker color schemes and backgrounds:
[Show variations of different colored backgrounds]And like other stickers, you can layer text, drawings, geo-tags and other effects on top of or around the post sticker however you‘d like.
Think of these stickers as building blocks you can adapt to fit diferentes Story layouts. Reframe excerpts from your feed in a whole new creative way through Stories!
Up next, let‘s explore strategic reasons brands can benefit from re-sharing content this way.
Strategic Uses of Post Stickers In Stories
Simply reposting your feed uploads as is in your Story may feel like redundent content to those who follow you. But utilizing feed post sticker intentionally as part of a larger Instagram Stories strategy can yield great benefits:
Drive Traffic Back to Older Posts
Only the most recent 24 hours worth of Stories are visible to your audience. Reposting older evergreen feed content within new Stories ensures more users will discover it.
This works especially well for spotlighting help articles, list posts, special reports and other non-time-sensitive content.
According to social media consultants Later, posts drive the most profile visits and saves when reshared in Stories between 6 months to 1 year after initial publishing.
Showcase Your Greatest Hits
Instagram‘s algorithm determines reach and engagement on your main feed posts. But you have full control and visibility over what appears in your Story.
Take advantage by hand-picking your 10 all-time best or most meaningful feed updates to re-feature through Stories on a rotating basis.
These are posts you want to keep surfacing for new followers who haven‘t discovered them organically yet. Consider adding contextual details on why each #Throwback post remains relevant.
Increase Post Saves
Did you know viewers can tap your embedded feed post stickers in Stories to open and save that original post to their own private collections?
Resharing your most artistic, helpful or inspiring feed posts through Stories greatly increases the chances of followers bookmarking them to reference later.
Tiffany Mullins, Social Media Director at ClassPass, suggests occasionally asking followers questions like "Did you save this workout tip to try later?" tied to post stickers. Directly prompting post saves can boost retention.
Spotlight User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) refers to brand mentions, product reviews, store visits and other organic posts from real customers.
Keep an eye out for standout UGC that aligns with your brand identity and aesthetics. Then ask those users for permission prior to embedding their posts in your Story.
This tactic shows you listen to customers and turns them into micro-influencers to their networks. Plus it saves you from constantly generating fully original content!
Unlocking Metrics Around Shared Posts
We‘ve covered the strategic reasons for adding feed posts in Stories. But how can you actually track performance of these post sticker to see what resonates most?
The good news is Instagram builds in analytics when users engage with your embedded stickers.
Anyone watching your Story can tap on a feed post sticker preview to be taken directly to that post on your profile grid.
This allows Instagram to provide content publishers with visibility into overall Post Taps from Stories:
[Example Post Taps Metric Screenshot]While not as robust as Insights data from feed posts themselves, this quick metric gives a snapshot into relative UGC or older posts driving the most traffic from Stories.
Review Post Taps frequently to inform which stickers should be re-shared again in future Stories to continue spreading the word.
Maintaining Transparency Around Shared Content
Members of the Instagram community want assurance that any third-party content shared has been done so transparently. That‘s why Instagram automatically keeps original poster attribution intact on feed posts added to Stories.
When you incorporate someone else‘s public post through a sticker, their username appears across the bottom. Viewers can tap through to learn more about the creator or brand behind the content.
This design flows beautifully while preventing accusations around stealing or copying without credit. Kudos to Instagram product developers for enabling frictionless citations!
Brands should nevertheless ask permission from relevant creators before embedding their feed posts in your Stories. While public posts legally allow sharing, taking this extra step preserves positive community.
FAQs Around Adding Feed Posts to Stories
We‘ve covered a lot of ground explaining how to grab feed posts into your Story! To wrap up, here are answers to a few common questions:
Can I add my Instagram posts to Stories on desktop?
Unfortunately not – embedding feed posts only works natively through the Instagram mobile app, whether iOS or Android devices.
Is there a limit to how many posts I can share to my Story at once?
There‘s no defined limit, but aim to keep each Story under 20 seconds max. Add no more than 2-3 feed post stickers per Story to avoid overwhelming viewers.
Can I edit the feed photo or video itself in Stories?
No, you can only customize the sticker border/background. The embedded imagery itself remains untouched and true to the original post.
What about auto-deleting my Story with the post after 24 hours?
Your Story will disappear as usual after 24 hours, but the feed post itself you shared remains on your profile unless you manually delete it.
Do all public feed posts allow Story embedding?
To maintain control, some creators opt to disable the "Share to Story" option on their content. If a post doesn‘t show the paper plane icon, then the owner has limited sharing capabilities.
Hopefully these answers clear up some of the need-to-know details around reposting feed content directly in your Instagram Stories!
Third-Party Apps for Enhanced Embedding
While natively adding feed posts works seamlessly, some users desire even more customization for integrated Stories stickers. If Instagram‘s default options don‘t meet your needs, explore these alternative mobile apps.
Canva – Design editable graphics and visuals around your embedded post sticker with tons of templates
Splice – Effortlessly trim or crop feed videos before sharing in Stories stickers
Typorama – Add animated text effects and typography styles to feed photo stickers
The core repurposing functionality remains free through Instagram itself. But power users can unlock more possibilities pairing creative apps with the built-in integration.
Hopefully this guide has illuminated all aspects around creatively inserting feed posts directly within your Instagram Stories.
The ability to add stickers drives increased visibility to your best evergreen content, user-generated recommendations and outside creators you admire.
As you start posting feed content to Stories, carefully watch the Post Taps metric to see which repurposed updates resonate most. Let data guide your decisions to develop an intuitive cross-channel content amplification strategy between feed and Stories.
What other questions do you have around feed post stickers or Instagram Stories best practices in general? Let me know in the comments below!
