Instagram Stories are a great way to self-express and to share updates with your followers. But, you may wonder if and how non-followers can view your Instagram stories. In this article, we explore the possibilities of how non-followers can see your Instagram Stories and how to be aware of who is and isn’t viewing your content.
1. What is an Instagram Story?
An Overview of Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a feature of the popular social media platform Instagram which enables users to share temporary stories in the form of videos and photos to other users. Instagram Stories can be viewed multiple times by your followers, and they will disappear within 24 hours.
The stories appear as bubbles over the user’s profile page, and can include personalized captions, GIFs, hashtag options and emoji. They can also include location tags and polls, as well as video music.
When viewing Instagram Stories, users have the option to respond with an emoji, follow an account, comment and send a message. This way users can connect, engage and get their messages heard without needing to have a conversation over a back and forth messaging exchange.
By using stories, users can share snippets of their lives in real time and keep their followers up to date on what they’re doing. Stories can also be used to boost a business profile’s engagement, by providing followers with valuable content that can’t be found in their permanent posts.
2. How Do Non Followers See My Instagram Story?
Non Followers: Watchers, Viewers, and Lurkers
People who don’t follow your account and have never interacted with your profile, known as “non-followers,” can still view, watch, and interact with your stories. A seemingly mysterious pool of lurkers and viewers, non-followers scroll through Feeds, explore hashtags, and view stories on Explore pages.
Are Non-Followers Visible To You?
No, you won’t be able to see the non-followers who watch your stories. That being said, you’ll still be able to see who interacts with them (taps, swipes, and replies). You’ll also notice when the views for your story spike up according to your analytics.
Increasing Your Reach to Non-Followers
You can increase your reach to non-followers by:
- Including hashtags: Searchable hashtags can help bring your story in front of non-followers.
- Adding location tags: Geographic tags can help boost your story’s visibility.
- Interacting with non-followers: Use Q&As, polls and fun content to spark conversations with them.
While these tactics can help reach more viewers, they won’t show you exactly who is watching your story. This can be frustrating, but by focusing on quality content and actively engaging with viewers, your stories will be noticed.
3. Tactics to Enhance Your Instagram Story
Instagram stories give businesses a great way to engage with their audiences. Here are some tactics to enhance your company’s Instagram stories to make sure they get noticed.
Create a Signature Story
Creating a signature Instagram story helps to make your profile recognizable. It is a great idea to use a specific filter, transition or GIF for all the stories you post. You can also add signature elements such as branded hashtags or logos. Before long, people will become familiar with this signature.
Schedule Regular Stories
By scheduling your stories, you can make sure that regular, fresh content is posted to your profile. This will help keep your followers engaged and make your profile stand out. You can use a calendar to plan out each week’s stories, including topics and visuals. Then, use a scheduling app to make sure that all stories are regularly posted.
Use Interactivity
Interaction is key to driving engagement. Use questions, surveys, and polls to engage viewers and learn more about them. Ask the audience to participate in your stories to get the conversation flowing. Augmenting the stories with visuals will help to keep people’s attention. This could include images, GIFs, and videos.
4. Key Considerations When Sharing Your Instagram Story
Quality of Content: When creating content for your Instagram story, it is important that your images and videos are of good quality. This will ensure that your story will be visible and engaging for potential viewers. Additionally, consider that some images and videos may require additional text or captions in order to be found and interpreted more easily.
Content Relevance: When sharing content in your story, it is important to think about the relevance of that content to your account and to your audience. Does the content fit within your overall theme and content strategy? How will it be perceived by your followers? Consider how the content may be seen by your followers and if it will be appropriate and interesting.
Privacy Settings: Additionally, it is important to consider your privacy settings when adding content to your Instagram story. Determine who should be able to view the content and, depending on your account size, you may want to limit the viewability to just your followers.
- Ensure that your images and videos are of high quality.
- Consider the relevance of content to your account.
- Choose the correct privacy settings for your account.
5. Tips to Increase Your Reach on Instagram Story
Instagram Stories provide a great way to connect with your followers, reach a wider audience and get better engagement. Here are 5 tips to help increase your reach on Instagram Story:
1. Get creative with your stories: Use creative techniques such as polls, quizzes, GIFs and filters to make your stories entertaining and interactive. This will help you to increase your engagement and reach.
2. Leverage hashtags: Use relevant hashtags in your stories and tap into trending hashtags for a wider reach. You can use up to 10 hashtags in each story.
3. Promote your stories: Use your other social media channels to promote your stories and encourage your followers to watch them. You can use swipe-up links to link to your website or blog.
4. Tag other accounts: Tag other relevant accounts in your stories – this will help to get more people attention and if they repost your story, your reach will increase further.
5. Utilize highlights: Utilize Instagram Story highlights to help increase your reach. Use highlights to feature key stories, such as interviews and product launches. This will help your followers find your best stories and will increase engagement.
To conclude, understanding how non followers can see your Instagram story is a necessary part of managing your presence on Instagram. Because this feature is publicly visible, it can be seen by almost any user who is using Instagram. Knowing this, it’s important to be mindful of the content you post on your stories and how it reflects on you.
