Today, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, boasting upwards of 1 Billion active users. It is an invaluable tool for businesses and individuals alike, as it can be used to share photos and videos with followers. However, many people are unsure of how many stories they are able to post on Instagram, which is an important factor for any account. The following article will provide an overview of the various limits and guidelines around the number of stories users can post on Instagram.
1. Overview of Instagram Story Restrictions
Post Content
Instagram Stories are a great way to showcase your brand, interact with your audience and offer creative content to your followers. With that said, there are some restrictions around the kind of content you can post. Instagram Story Restrictions include:
- Copyrighted Material: Stories must not contain any copyrighted material, such as film clips, audio recordings, videos, music, photos, illustrations, or texts. If someone else created the material, you will need their permission to use it.
- Advertising: You are not permitted to advertise products or services in your stories.
- Sexual Content: The content you share in your Stories must not be sexual, explicit, or pornographic in nature.
- Violence: Stories must not contain any violent content, including brutality, weapons, or violence.
- Hate Speech: Stories must not contain any hate speech, including any language that encourages hatred, discrimination, or violence.
To ensure the content you post is compliant with the above restrictions, review Instagram’s Community Guidelines before sharing stories. Remembering to stick to the guidelines and rules provided by Instagram will help you to keep your audience engaged and your account safe.
2. Understanding Instagram Story Limits
What Are the Length and Time Limits?
Instagram Stories have an 15 second maximum clip length limit. You can post as many clips back to back as you want, but no Clip can be longer than 15 seconds. The total maximum length of an Instagram Story is 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Instagram also limits how often someone can post a Story. Users are limited to a combined total of two minutes of video or 20 pictures per day.
Are There Any Other Story Limits?
The other significant story limit is that Instagram can only accept videos that are in the MP4 format. They must also be 3,240 x 2,160 pixels or 1080 x 1920 pixels. Other than that, the size limit of a story is 4GB.
Additional restrictions include:
- Minimum of 320 x 320 pixels for Image Stories
- Minimum of 600 x 1067 pixels for Video Stories
- Maximum frame rate of 30fps
What About Third-Party Apps?
There are a number of mobile apps, such as Unfold, Mosaic, and Over, that let you create stories with the same size constraints as Instagram Stories. They also have their own restrictions, so it’s important to check the size and length limits of each app.
Most of these apps don’t have any length limits, but they do have file size limits and will compress your videos if they are too large. So if you’re creating a video that’s longer than 2 minutes, it’s best to use a dedicated video editing app.
3. Factors Affecting Instagram Story Length
Engagement Rates
The length of your Instagram Story relies heavily on your level of engagement. If viewership is low, the amount of time you should devote to your stories will be shorter. When viewership is higher, you can expand the length in an effort to increase viewership. For example, posts that specifically target recent trends on the platform tend to be received well and generate higher engagement rates.
Brand Identity
Your brand identity plays heavily into how much time viewers spend on your stories. If you have a fun and engaging brand identity, you should strive to create stories that are attention-grabbing and shareable to increase their longevity. It may be beneficial to create story series that will engage viewers and hold up against the competition.
Social Media Habits
The platform usage of your target audience also contributes to the optimal length of an Instagram Story. If you target audience is generally attentive to Instagram, longer stories should be explored. If you are targeting a busy audience, then you should focus more on shorter, more concise stories. Additionally, understanding platform usage will help ensure the stories are reaching your intended audience at the right time in order to generate more engagement.
4. Exploring Ways to Increase Your Story Limit
Utilise the Help of Writing Software
Writing software helps to identify potential storylines, create new material and polish existing works to their fullest potential. Most writing software, like Scrivener, offer an unlimited capability of writing which allows the author to express their story ideas fully without the worry of hitting their writing limit. Furthermore, some software provide the user with structure and formatting of the writing. These tools are especially beneficial for authors who may have a lot to say but have difficulty structuring their ideas in a cohesive manner.
Advanced Writing Tools
Using advanced writing tools offers many advantages in terms of increasing your story limit. Some products offer dedicated writing spaces to help break down topics into various categories, allowing for more fluid and conversational writing. Additionally, there are plenty of tools available that help with proofreading and editing. Grammarly is one example of a tool which highlights mistakes and errors, leaving the author with an improved end product.
Seek External Guidance
Getting external feedback and guidance can be an invaluable tool for enhancing one’s writing. Sharing your work with friends, beta readers and industry professionals can help identify potential flaws, identify areas of growth and provide objective feedback. Moreover, some external stakeholders may be able to provide additional story ideas. Finally, feedback from kind strangers on platforms like Reddit can help to identify areas of improvement and provide constructive critiques.
5. Benefits of Taking Advantage of Instagram Stories
1. Reach a Wider Audience
Instagram stories offer a great way to reach a wide and diverse audience with your content. With the ability to repost stories, you can reach an audience that might not have originated from your own account or influencer network. In addition to maximizing reach, stories are easily accessible from the main page of the app, giving you greater exposure.
2. Connect with Your Audience
Instagram stories are a great platform for connecting with your followers. You can use stories to tell stories and display your brand’s personality in ways that other platforms may not allow. This makes you more approachable and allows your followers to get to know more about you and your company.
3. Engagement Opportunities
Stories are a great way to allow your followers to engage with your content. You can post polls, ask questions and use the quiz stickers to get insights into your followers. You can also use a forwarding link to redirect your readers to a website, blog post or another story. This can be a great way to increase your website traffic and promote your products or services.
- Get creative with interactive content
- Gain valuable insights from polls and quizzes
- Drive website traffic with forwarding links
Knowing the limits for the number of stories allowed can help Instagram users maximize their story-telling capabilities and ensure they are getting the most out of their Instagram experience. From being aware of how many stories you can post at once to knowing when to post them, users can keep their friends and followers up-to-date on their daily lives. With these guidelines in mind, users can relish in telling their stories on the platform.
