Instagram stories is legit one of the best ways to have a direct connection with your followers and have a relationship with them. The more your readers feel like they know you, the more they will be invested in your blog or brand. While Instagram photos are just a small snapshot of your daily life, Instagram stories have the ability of showing everything. From your Behind-The-Scenes to your happy, goofy side and even your personal life.
Instagram stories can be a lot of fun, while everyone knows about the usual Instagram tools that are already available on Instagram, like Gifs, Stickers, Use of Hashtags and mentions – there are some Instagram apps that could help you up your Instagram game.
I use them regularly and have many DM’s asking me about which app did I use to create that particular story. In this post, not only will i be talking about the best apps for Instagram stories, but also i’ll be talking about how to use the existing Instagram tools to make your stories look fascinating. But first, here are the best apps for Instagram stories:
1. HypeType:
This is an iOS app that helps you add text overlays, add any song you want and convert your usual photo into a video!
When you open the app, the camera automatically opens. To use any of your previous photos or videos, just swipe up like you do in Instagram stories to show your gallery. Then choose any photo and by using the Text Icon, add whatever text you want. You can even change the fonts. If you want to add a random quote to your image, just double tap the text option and the app will insert a quote for you! When you press the slider bars, there will also be an option to Add Music. Just select that, search for any song you want and that’s it. Voila! Your Hyped Story is done. Now just share and create magic. Download here:
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2. Unfold:
Have you seen the latest minimalistic designs I have been uploading on my stories, with the white border? That’s all unfolds magic!
This is one of the best apps for Instagram stories and let’s you create beautiful and engaging stories for Instagram, all the while retaining them in clean and modern templates.
When you open Unfold, you will see a Plus button at the bottom, just click on that and give a title to your story. Next, tap on the plus sign again and from the bottom choose one of the templates you would want. Depending on the number of photos or videos you would like to share, just choose a particular template. Add your photos in the template and write some text. And that’s it! Your amazing new Instagram story is done. Download here
3. Canva:
This is definitely one of my best kept secrets. Not only does Canva give you pre-loaded amazing looking templates, but the editing on the app is really easy.
Just click on the template, “Insta Story” from above, choose a template and add your own photos and texts to the images. You can even add logos, graphics and much more. If you want to edit the background colours, then just tap on the background and change the colours from the colour grid shown below. There’s a plus sign on the right hand side, with which you can add your own texts, images as well. Download here.
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4. InShot:
This app is available for both Android and iPhone. This app is great for adding music, texts, stickers and special effects as well.
However, make sure you use the right canvas ratio before editing. Use the 9:16 ratio. You can play with the background as well. Use solid colours, make it blurry or use another photo. You can make photo collages, edit videos, and also adjust the speed of the video. You can simply use this app to create videos as well. This is a great app for editing videos made via phone. It’s one of the best apps for Instagram stories. Download here.
5. 8mm:
If you love vintage looking videos and photos, then this is the app for you! Film those cool rose-tinted and grainy videos and upload them on Insta story straight away. There are many vintage camera styles to choose from, so you will always have more options as well. This is pretty easy to use too. Download here.
Now that we have covered some of the best apps for Instagram stories, I will also tell you how to use the options available in Instagram to create lovely engaging stories.
- Create a solid background : Have you seen photos where there’s just a single colour on the back and text written on it? Just click a random photo of anything. Select the pen tool on top and long press on the colour background that you want. That’s it!
- Add a drop shadow: Yup, it’s possible! Just write any text you want in white on top of the solid background. Now take a grey colour in the text and write the same word in grey and put it behind the original white text. And yay, now there’s a drop shadow on your text!
- Do Stop-Motion videos: Yes, now you can create stop-motion videos from the app itself. Open Insta stories option, swipe left til the time you see the “Stop Motion” option. Add multiple images and keep clicking till you’re done. After that click on done and you will see that you have created a Stop motion video!
- How to upload a video longer than 15 seconds: You know the annoying thing Insta stories does when it cuts off your really cool video! It just seems like an abrupt ending most of the time. To avoid that, just download CutStory. This app cuts your videos into 15 seconds videos so that you don’t have to manually trim and keep uploading the videos yourself! Yup, it’s that easy.
That’s it guys, these were some of the tricks I usually use in my Insta stories. These apps really changed my Insta game and connect with my audience. Showcase your personality, make videos and just talk to your followers and let the conversation flow!
