Stories

STORIES

Stories are uploaded highest up in the app and disappear after 24 hours. In Stories, you talk about things for the day, for the moment, and here you can be more playful and personal – less polished and more "genuine". This is a format that at the time of writing (spring 2018) is growing rapidly.

You can upload multiple photos/videos.
It’s easy to shoot/film directly in the function, for example, when you are out on location.
The audience can send DM to you.
An immediate photo/video (maximum of 15 seconds per video clip) that will arouse emotions and engage the audience.
If your account is verified (has a blue tick), you can add a link (to be used in moderation).
You can add captions. Be aware of the contrast and make sure that it is not too long.
Instagram Stories are autoplayed but the audience can point to go forwards, backwards and to pause the clip.
It is possible to prerecord and edit material before uploading it to Instagram Stories, but audience-generated material uploaded directly from a smartphone to the app is often more personal and may be perceived as more “genuine”.

24-HOUR RULE
Your photos/videos are only publicly visible for one day.

The Stories function has this name because it’s best for storytelling, directly in photos and videos. For example, you can report a news item in several photos with text in the picture or take your audience on a tour of the location you are reporting from.
The Stories feed is based on an algorithm, and means that if you don’t make Instagram Stories that engage the audience (that is, stories that they look at) you run the risk that they

BOOM BOOM BOOMERANG - AND OTHER CHOICES

Choose the type of post you want to make. Swipe to the right or left to select in the menu at the bottom of the screen. Experiment with the different functions for private use, but for journalism content, normal and live are the best choices. (Of course there will also be occasions when the others work well too, for example if you want to play around a bit with an interviewed artist. Sense your audience and your purpose).

TYPE
LIVE
NORMAL
BOOMERANG
SUPERZOOM (use this one with moderation)
REWIND
HANDS-FREE
STOP-MOTION

If you want to shoot a video directly in the app, hold down your finger on the screen (provided you are not using hands-free). You can also upload a video you have made in advance.

In fact you can be very creative with Instagram Stories. Above, P3 Nyheter (newsroom for a younger audience) has uploaded a video, which combined with the stop and start function in Stories, has created a kind of animation. Remember to frame the material: you don’t necessarily need to add a caption to video posts in Stories, but it’s a good idea to briefly write what it’s about.

You can add different layers in your Stories posts:

TAGS: geotag, hashtag
TYPE MODE: Text in different fonts, colours and font sizes.
STICKERS
HIGHLIGHT: Add a highlights collection
In Stories, you can add up to ten hashtags per post (but consider that too many in a photo is not always going to look very good – even if you make them smaller).
Write your hashtags as text and format them however you want or make the hashtags into a sticker by swiping up to Sticker view.
If you use a hashtag in a Story, the tagged post may end up in the collective Story for the tag and thus reach a wider audience. Which posts end up there depends on the quality of, and audience engagement with, the photo or video.
Be transparent! You can hide hashtags by pushing them out of the photo or changing their colour to the background colour (use the colour selection tool) but we don’t recommend that you do this.
A geotag links the story or the photo to a location and can mean that your post ends up under Stories for the location. You can only use one location per post.
In Stories, the location can only be added with a sticker, not with text. You can add a hashtag with the name of the location but it will only link to the hashtag, not the geotag.
It’s worth noting that the geotag can appear in Stories for the city or town, the region and the country.

ZOOM IN A VIDEO

STICKERS

You can add elements such as location, emojis, selfies, stickers, hashtags and links to other accounts.

LOCATION – tag a location
TEMPERATURE
TIME
GIF – add a moving image
SELFIE – Insert a selfie in the photo
HASHTAG
POLL – do a survey
PHOTOS

Want to zoom while filming in the app? Hold your finger down and drag it to the point you want to zoom in on!

NAVIGATING IN STORIES

Hold your finger down on the screen to pause and read texts in Stories for example, and tap on the left or right side of the screen to jump between posts. Swipe in one direction or the other to jump between the account’s posts.

NEW VERSUS OLD

If you add an old picture or video taken with the same device, Instagram automatically adds a date sticker on top of the post. Like any sticker anywhere, you can remove this by dragging the text down to the recycle bin at the bottom centre of the screen.

SWIPE UP

Some accounts (verified, and accounts with a large number of followers/engagement) are able to link out from Stories by letting the audience swipe up. This is a way of ‘herding’ the audience towards a post, for example, but should be used with caution so that it does not appear too ‘spammy’ and because it might be better to give your audience the whole thing on Instagram, instead of asking the audience to read about it elsewhere.

Stories tips from Sara Sundberg, social media editor on Ekot (SR's main newsroom):

Do not add any info or logo at the top or the bottom of the photo (because other things are in the way there).
Do you usually add a link to your article? If so, you can alert your audience to this in your Stories.
Simple and straightforward works best! For example, film a reporter on site in which he or she tells the whole story.
Use different photos or backgrounds to create variety.
Use dramaturgy in your Instagram Story so that the audience is more likely to continue to the next photo.
Resolution (if you edit in Photoshop or Premier) should be 1080*1920 pixels.

LIVE

Instagram Stories also has the option to broadcast live. Your followers can then receive a notification that you are live and during the broadcast they can comment and see who else is following the broadcast. Afterwards, you can choose to post your broadcast in your Instagram Stories, where it will remain up for 24 hours.

You have the option of filming yourself with your smartphone camera or filming in front of you. It’s a great idea to ask those viewing the broadcast questions – and to answer any questions that come in.
Remember to film with the camera in portrait orientation.
Use a microphone or stand close to the person talking to you. The sound should be GOOD.