For many of us, Instagram is an inextricable part of our day-to-day lives. We use it to share updates, post photos, and even record moments of our lives in Stories. But have you ever wondered what the longest time you can have in an Instagram Story is? This article will delve into the details of this question, so you can get the most out of your Instagram Stories.
I. Introduction to Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is one of the most popular features of the Instagram app, and for good reason. It allows users to share photos, videos, and even written notes with their friends and followers. Each Story post is visible for 24 hours, and once it’s gone it’s gone forever.
Using this feature, you can engage with your followers, share spontaneous and creative content, and get a little creative with the way you display your posts. Here are some of the main features and benefits of using Instagram Stories:
- Temporary Content – Stories will automatically disappear after 24 hours, which reduces the need to curate the content that you post.
- Interactive – With options like polls and questions, you can engage with your followers in real-time.
- Content Variety – From photos, videos, Boomerangs, and GIFs, you can add variety and creativity to your posts.
With these features, it’s easy to see why Instagram Stories is a great way to keep your followers interested and engaged on your profile. Now let’s dive in and explore how to post and use Stories to their fullest potential.
II. The Length of Instagram Stories
Instagram stories can be as short or as long as you need them to be. Every story can hold up to 15 seconds of video or images, and you can add a maximum of 200 images or clips to a story.
Editing Stories
- Lengthy stories can be edited through the ‘trim’ option whereby trimming a clip can make or remove 5 seconds at a time.
- When editing, you can also pinch and pull to zoom into your images or videos.
- You can also add background music, gifs, polls, drawing features and stickers.
Memory Requirements
- Instagram stories often require a lot more space than other video-related formats.
- As a general rule, every story requires about 53MB per minute on average.
- So if you have a 15-second story, the file size would be about 117MB, and for a 30-second story, the file size would be around 233MB.
III. Benefits of Posting Longer Instagram Stories
Reach More People
Due to its longer length, a longer Instagram Story can reach more people than shorter stories. This is because people are more likely to watch a story through to its end if they are invested in it and longer Instagram stories give viewers a reason to stay engaged.
Doubling the Content
Longer Instagram stories give creators double the content to share. This can be great for influencers, businesses and brands who want to send out multiple messages without bombarding their followers with too many stories in a row.
Higher Engagement
Longer stories can also create higher engagement with viewers by giving creators the opportunity to do things like asking questions, posing interactive stories and allowing their followers to get to know them better. Here are some features you can use to make longer stories more interactive for your followers:
- Polls
- Quizzes
- Countdown clocks
- Sliders
- GIFs
IV. How to Post Longer Instagram Stories
Using a Video
- The most common way to post longer stories on Instagram is to use a video.
- You can create your video with a mobile video editing app or a computer video editor.
- After you have edited your video, upload it to Instagram.
- The video can be up to 60 seconds of content.
- You can also use Instagram’s built-in video editing features to trim and enhance your video before you post it.
Break Up the Story with Highlights
- Highlights are great for breaking up long stories into multiple postable parts.
- Create a new highlight for each segment of your story.
- Each highlight can contain multiple posts, up to a maximum of 10 posts.
- You can add a feature image to each highlight to make it more attractive.
- Users can also view all your highlights in one place.
Hashtags
- Hashtags are a great way to reach more people and help organize your stories.
- Create a new hashtag for each segment of the story.
- This will help to keep track of your story and make it easy for people to find it.
- Make sure to use relevant hashtags to get more people to view your story.
- You can also use the same hashtag for all your highlights.
V. Maximizing Impact With Longer Instagram Stories
Increase Your Reach
Instagram stories can be up to 15 seconds long. If you want to amplify their impact, it is possible to create stories that are much longer. Longer stories give you the opportunity to engage your viewers longer, and create a bigger impact. This has proven to be an effective method of increasing your reach and engagement with customers.
Include Call-To-Actions
Take advantage of the longer duration and interact with your viewers more. Include thoughtful call-to-actions that are relevant to what you are talking about. Some ideas to consider:
– Ask questions to your viewers
– Ask them to comment their feedback
– Invite them to swipe up for more information
Split Longer Stories into Bite Sized Pieces
If you have a long story, splitting it into parts or chapters is a great way to keep it interesting and engaging. Instead of having one long, boring story, break it up into several pieces under 10 seconds each. This will keep viewers hooked and, if the story is engaging enough, they will want to keep watching until the end. In the end, it’s clear that Instagram Stories can last up to 24 hours – without you having to do anything special. So go out and post some content – it’s now a more viable option if you want to create something with longer-lasting effects.
