Scared to use Instagram Stories? Here’s how to conquer your fear.

Instagram Stories are a great way to stay top of mind for your followers. Every time you share a story from your account, it sits at the top of the feed for all of your followers.

For many, this is the first place they go to consume content on the platform. Why? Stories are engaging and easy to consume.

Plus, it’s the perfect way to take your account from faceless and impersonal to an engaging community.

But, you might be scared to take the plunge. That’s ok.

In this blog post, I’ll talk about overcoming the fear of Insta Stories and walk you through a few ideas to help you get started. 

So, if you’re ready to take the plunge and overcome your fear, keep reading.

You CAN do Instagram Stories

Before we dive into the ideas and the how-tos, I need you to know something.

You are in the perfect place to start adding Instagram stories to your strategy and I believe wholeheartedly that you can do it like a pro. 

I know marketing can feel super overwhelming and trying something new can make you want to puke from fear. I tried something way out of my comfort zone last week and I was shaking the whole time.

But I got through it. And I’m so glad that I did it!

Trying new things to marketing your blog is part of the personal growth that we all signed up for when we started blogging!

You can do this. Your people want to see every day you. They want to know that when they do business or hang out with you on the internet that they are hanging out with a real-life human.

You can do this.

Related: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Instagram for Bloggers

Where to start with Instagram Stories

I’m going share a bunch of ideas with you with varying levels of commitment as far as showing your face goes. I’ll start with ideas that don’t require to show your face at all, then pictures of you, and then videos.

If you’re still super new and scared by stories, start with the first group of ideas for a couple of weeks or a month. Then move onto the second category for a month and then start integrating videos of you.

#1: Story ideas that don’t require you to show your face

In this style of story, you never have to show your face. Your hands and the environment (your house, the coffee shop) will start to give your followers a good sense of who you are and what you like. Here are a few ideas:

• Day in the Life: Go about your day and every so often, take a photo of your environment and share what you are doing.
• Share a post: Have a post that did particularly well a few months ago? Share it in your feed again!
• Share some of your favorite accounts (like your blogging friends): This is a great way to start making friends on the ‘gram. I like adding this to a strategy every few weeks just to show appreciation for the people that you love that you think your avatar would love, too.
• Your morning routine: Take pictures of your morning routine as you go. People are super intrigued by the morning routine of others, so this one is a total win. Plus, you could do this every day and people wouldn’t get tired of it!
• Take a blog post and reformat it for stories: You already have SO much content written, why not use it? Break down one of your more popular blog posts into a few stories using Canva and then share it! Bonus points if you can get more than one day out of it!
• The pour: Do you have a cup of tea every morning? Share yourself pouring the boiling water into your mug every morning.

#2: Instagram Story ideas that use you in the photo

These are similar to the ideas in section #1, but you start using pictures of you in these! Of course, you can integrate your photo into the ideas above, too.

• Tell your story: You started your blog for a reason. Use the features of stories, along with a few pictures of you, to share why you started your blog and what your blog is all about.
• Share a step-by-step tutorial for a blog post. This one is great for crafters!
• Ask a question: Use the story sticker to ask your audience a question
• Go somewhere fun? Share a picture of yourself while you’re there and tell your audience what you’re doing.
• Behind the scenes: Take a picture or two of you while you work on your blog and share it. People love your content already, they should see how much hard work goes on behind the scenes!

#3: Ideas that use video

This one is going to feel like a big leap for some. But, if gone through the previous two sections and gotten comfortable with using stories and seeing yourself show up in them, I promise this is something you can do!

• Tell your story: Turn on the camera and share why you started your blog with your audience.
• Mini Training: Do a short training with your audience! Walk them through a concept or process in stories and then ask them their biggest takeaway or what they learned at the end.
• Take a field trip: If you plan to go somewhere (even if it’s just a Target run!) take your audience along for the ride. This gives them a peek into your life.