Instagram Stories
Full-screen posts that last 24 hours: keep it quick, keep it casual and leave room for the app’s controls.
Stories reach the people who already follow you and appear at the top of their app for 24 hours. They reward frequency and authenticity more than polish.
At a glance
| Spec | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,080 × 1,920 px (9:16) |
| Safe zone (approx.) | 950×1330 px |
| Length | 3 s – 60 s |
| Max file size | Image 8 MB · video 100 MB |
| Account | Instagram Business account |
Safe zone
The top of a story holds the progress bar and your name; the bottom holds the reply field. Keep text away from both, and away from the side edges where people tap to skip.
Platforms don’t publish exact overlay sizes, and their apps move buttons between versions. These insets are deliberately conservative: preview on a phone before you post.
Hook
- Make the first frame count. People tap through stories fast; say what it’s about straight away.
- Keep each story short. One message per story, readable in a couple of seconds.
- Show the behind-the-scenes. Stories are where casual, real-time content belongs.
Design and edit
- Fill the 9:16 screen. Full-bleed vertical images and video look native; small images with borders don’t.
- Use large, high-contrast text. Add a background shape if the image is busy.
- Leave space for stickers. If you’ll add a poll or link sticker in the app later, keep an area free.
- Stay on-brand, lightly. A consistent font and color makes a series feel connected.
Caption and copy
- Put the words on the image. Stories have no caption, so the text you design is the copy.
- Invite a reply. A simple question encourages direct messages.
Timing and cadence
- Post a few stories a day. A short series performs better than one story every few days.
- Space them out. Scheduling stories through the day keeps you at the front of the stories bar.
What to measure
Impressions and reach show how many followers saw the story; shares show which ones they passed on. Story insights expire after 24 hours, so Octapost captures them while the story is live.
How Octapost reports these metrics
Do it in Octapost
- Choose the Stories post type in the composer and use the Reels / Story preset (1080 × 1920).
- Schedule a series ahead of time; each story is published at its own time.
- Story publishing needs an Instagram Business account.
Creating posts in the composer
Checklist
- The story is 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 and fills the screen.
- Nothing important sits in the top or bottom bands.
- The message reads in two seconds.
- Videos run between 3 and 60 seconds.
- There’s a reason to reply, tap or keep watching.
Sources
Platform guidance changes often. These are the official pages we check this guide against.