Upgrade your Instagram stories

The first time Instagram introduced stories, I was rather skeptical. Here they were, stealing ideas from Snapchat, and coming up with nothing original. For a very long time, I did not use the Instagram Stories feature, but Snapchat either; until I started slowly to give it a try and realizing that I can reach more people through the stories than through Snapchat. I would reach to people that already follow me and would not have to switch apps to stay updated about my posts.

I started to love Instagram Stories because they allow me to connect with my audience on a more personal level. Through polls and questions, I can get instant feedback and learn more about my followers. I recently learnt in a Facebook group that Instagram is pushing more and more for video & live content. While I am extremely shy and not daring to ever do a live, I am trying to keep my stories always fresh with video content. This will allow my profile to stay relevant and tell Instagram that I am active, even if I am not posting daily.

I have to admit that Instagram has really improved a lot the options they offer in the stories – they have introduced various fonts, filters, polls, and more recently – gifs. Even if you are not using a special app, you can make your Instagram stories pop. But who doesn’t love something extra special? Check out the 5 apps that I regularly use for to take my Instagram stories to the next level.

Upgrade your Instagram Stories

Desygner

I use Desygner to create Instagram stories and pins whenever I have a new blog post. I also use it for story templates and story highlights covers. I love this app because you have a lot of choices and you can create posts for all social media. Compared to most apps, you can also access it on your laptop.

InShot

I usually use Inshot to create stories to advertise my latest photos. I usually opt as background for the same photo but very blurry. You can also add text, stickers and even music

Unfold

I am not using Unfold as much as I would like to, but I love that you can incorporate videos, images and/or text in the same story.

Snow

You guys, when I discovered Snow, it was like I discovered the Holy Grail. Snow has an insane amount of adorable filters with a bunch of new ones popping in every other day. My most favorite feature is the fact that I can film with K-pop as background music. There are also several sparkly filters, so for until now I did not need to use Kira Kira+ app. This is by far the most used app for my Instagram Stories.

Meitu

I recently discovered Meitu. It is similar to Snow – in that it has a lot of cute selfie filters – but you can also use it to edit your photos. Just like InShot and Snow, you can also add music to your videos . Compared to Snow, in Meitu the music is added after you film the video and there aren’t any popular songs to choose from.

What do you think of Instagram Stories? Do you use them? What are your favorite apps?