If you’re worried about your Instagram story background, then we have covered a few tips to make your stories and posts stand out and captivate your audience.
Introduced in 2016, Instagram Stories features a more casual way of sharing videos and pictures on your IG page. It is more spontaneous than your well-edited Instagram post.
Since the feature lets you share small snippets of your day with your followers, you can post as many pictures and videos as you want. They will be displayed frequently in a slide-show format, showcasing stickers and filters.
Let your creativity show by adding text and drawing tools. According to Backlinko, 2.9 billion people visit the site monthly. That is a lot of traffic. So, how can your stories stand out from all of the rest? Instagram has a broad audience.
That means that your audience would differ in taste and preferences. By customizing your stories, you can attract more people to your page and convince them to follow you.
Why should you change your Instagram story background?
Before discussing the tips for changing your story background, let's dive deep into what you need to change.
1. To make it more compelling
No one would follow a boring Instagram story.
You have mere seconds to catch the attention of your audience. In that timeframe, you need to show an engaging story, hold their attention and convince them to follow you for more. You are advertising yourself.
You are the product. One way to make you more appealing is to change your Instagram background. A carefully curated color palette and personalized letter fonts will upgrade your stories.
You are now creating brand recognition, wherein your followers immediately associate specific colors and fonts with your page. With 1.22 billion users, think of the number of people that will see your Stories. You have to start planning your following Instagram story background.
2. To suit your story better for the audience
Like any marketing strategy, you have to know your target audience. For example, 70% of Instagrammers are under 34 years old. So, what elements could appeal to a younger audience? Have a mood board. Make a palette of colors specific to your brand and the theme of your Instagram stories.
Your background should reflect your narrative, like having a jungle-themed background with your vacation story or having a bold solid background for OOTD pics. The background further enhances the experience of the viewer.
It adds depth to your story. For example, adding elements like certain drawings and stickers could portray what emotions you have had at that particular moment in time.
By customizing your Instagram story background, your followers will appreciate the effort that you put in. You'll be more relatable and connect to them more emotionally.
3. To practice your creativity
With numerous editing and drawing tools in the app, you can go crazy with customizing your Instagram stories. To make it easier, various templates are available online for you to use or draw inspiration from.
Use these elements to make your followers feel that they are interacting with you. Show your followers your creative side. They would love to see this part of yours that is distinctively yours. Express yourself with colors, art drawings, and even animations.
Experiment with themes and colors you are hesitant with. See what elements work for you and what best enhances your Instagram story background. Have fun customizing. Show who you are. Try it right now.
Here are the steps on how to change the background on Instagram stories.
Step 1: Use a Design Tool
Besides the drawing and editing tools available on the app itself, there are numerous tools that you can use online. Most of them are user-friendly and free to use. Some more in-depth tools are also available for a reasonable price. Here are some examples;
1. Canva
Source: Canva
One reason Canva became a go-to design tool for most is that its design was tailored explicitly for non-designers. It is very user-friendly and very intuitive for first-time users. It has hundreds of templates ready for you to customize your Stories with.
In addition, it has a library of free stock photos and images for you to use. You can also upload your pictures to add to your Template. Canva also offers tutorials on changing the background on Instagram Story that could be helpful to you.
2. Fotor
Another popular design tool is Fotor. It is an online photo editing software that is good for beginners. You don't need extensive knowledge in digital photo editing to use this software, as it streamlines all the processes for ease of use.
You can easily resize, crop, adjust color, and enhance and add text to your photo. For example, use a background remover to have a black slate to start with. Only some people can take the perfect photo. However, you can transform your amateur effort into a masterpiece with some digital editing.
Fotor offers essential image editing and special tools, such as AI photo effects, HDR, and RGB. These tools allow you to showcase professional-grade images on your Stories.
3. Photoroom: This is an excellent choice for marketers and designers seeking more control over their content. It enhances Instagram’s capabilities, enabling you to better align your visuals with your brand identity.
Photoroom provides extensive pre-designed templates, background options, and generative AI tools to edit and elevate your photos for Instagram Stories efficiently.
Step 2: Choose an Instagram Story Template
There are hundreds of websites offering free Instagram Story Templates. Choose which are to your liking and which will suit your aesthetic or theme.
Source: Bwillcreative
Here's an example using Canva. A detailed guide is available on their page.
1. Log in to Canva: Open the Canva website or app and log in to your account. If you don’t have one, sign up for free.
2. Search for Instagram Story Templates:
Use the search bar at the top of Canva’s homepage and type "Instagram Story." Press Enter to view the available templates.
3. Browse Templates:
Explore the vast library of professionally designed Instagram Story templates. You can filter templates by theme, style, or color to find the one that best suits your needs.
4. Select a Template:
Click on the template you like to open it in the Canva editor.
5. Customize the Template:
Modify text, images, colors, and elements to match your brand or story. You can upload your own images or choose from Canva’s stock library.
6. Save and Download:
Once you're satisfied with your design, click the "Share" or "Download" button to save the story to your device in the desired format (e.g., PNG or JPEG).
6. Upload to Instagram:
Open Instagram, navigate to the Stories section and upload your customized design directly from your device.
With these steps, you can easily create stunning Instagram Stories using Canva!
Here are steps to steps to Use Photoroom:
1. Upload Your Image:
Open the Photoroom app on your mobile or desktop and upload your photo.
2. Automatic Background Removal:
The app will automatically remove the background, allowing you to replace it with a pre-made template or use generative AI to design a brand-new background.
3. Choose Your Background:
Select “Instant Backgrounds” to explore a variety of pre-designed and AI-generated templates, or opt for a solid color to keep it simple.
5. Resize for Instagram Stories:
Use the “Image Resizer” tool to adjust your image for Instagram Story dimensions. Photoroom will ensure it perfectly fits Instagram’s requirements.
Step 3: Change the Background Color of your Story
There is a whole psychology of color. To simplify it, studies show color is a determining factor in one's judgment about a particular object, environment, etc. This is why companies focus on using colors in their product marketing.
Instagram could determine whether your Stories would be more appealing to your audience.
In Fotor, here's how to change the background on an Instagram story.
Open the Fotor App, click Create a Design, and select the template of the Instagram story in the Recommendation section to get started. Add the Template you want in the toolbar, and drag and drop your images into the Template. Add filter, sticker and text; change the background color or a photo background; change Download and then share.
Another tool you can use is Removal.AI as a background remover. This is useful if you need a photo background change. This is a great help in removing the existing background of your current image to a clean slate.
In addition, it makes adding new backgrounds or using photos in collages easier.
Step 4: Upload and Share
Before you share your Instagram Story, a point to consider is to ensure that all the elements work together to create a sort of "branding." Your color palettes, typeface, animation, etc., should represent what your Instagram Page is all about.
Remember you are trying to retain viewership, and having an appealing and engaging Instagram Story will fulfill that.
What Background Should You Use for Your Instagram Story?
Did you know that 70% of Instagram users watch Stories every day, with over 500 million users engaging with Instagram Stories daily? Smaller brands with under 10,000 followers have experienced a significant 35% increase in Instagram Story reach rates, indicating enhanced visibility and engagement opportunities.
You have to get the attention of your audience the first instance that they see your story.
A vibrant background could do that for you.
1. Gradient Backgrounds
Source: Mashable
Gradient backgrounds let you transition from one color to another color, creating a beautiful effect in your Instagram Story.
This type of background helps make your text or image pop. It is visually stimulating and deafening. Using bright colors makes your story more eye-catching and gives the feeling of friendliness and playfulness.
If you want to use this background against text, make sure your typeface is bold and plain. This is for your text to be legible and not cause eye fatigue.
Plain doesn't always mean boring. It's how you maximize its effects that counts. In your Stories, using plain solid colors is also an excellent option. Colors evoke certain emotions in people.
Using the right color it adds a layer of depth to your post.
Using colors in the same family or shade creates continuity in your Instagram Story background. In addition, you can use a background remover to easily edit your images and maximize the full effect of the solid colors.
3. Artistic Backgrounds
Changing colors and gradients are not the only limitations for your Instagram background. With the various drawing and editing tools, the sky's the limit for your creativity.
Create amazing patterns for your background. Colorful stickers and filters will brighten your story more. Use gifs, emojis, or animations to add commentary to your story.
There are a lot of available templates online that you can include in your story. You can edit these templates to suit your style or aesthetics further. Be inspired by them. Use a background remover to edit your images easily. You can also utilize a photo background change. It's also a way to show your followers that you appreciate them by giving them ample time to ensure that even your stories are well-crafted and well-thought-of for their entertainment.
Conclusion
Instagram offers numerous aspects worth discussing. One notable one is its emphasis on visuals and Instagram stories. But, then again, one will argue that visuals are the element most people gravitate towards.
With billions of images available on the app, it takes a lot of creativity to make the perfect image for an Instagram story background that will appeal to a broad audience.
But, you have to think of it this way. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, how much more can we explore regarding an Instagram Story?
Yen Pedrajas is an ecommerce and digital marketing enthusiast who loves to share and write new insights and perspectives about marketing and growth hacking for startup business. Currently, she works as full-time Lead Editor at Removal.AI - an AI tool used for image background removal and processing photos ideally for ecommerce, web and app development and all other related industry that needs photo editing services.