Stories
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Quick definition
Stories are short-lived photo and video posts that disappear after 24 hours, displayed separately from a profile’s main feed. The format originated on Snapchat and is now standard across Instagram, Facebook, and other social platforms.
What Are Stories?
Stories are temporary posts, photos or short video clips, that live outside a profile’s permanent feed and disappear after 24 hours unless manually saved. They appear at the top of a platform’s home screen in a row of circular profile icons, rather than mixed in among regular posts.
The format isn’t unique to one platform. Instagram Stories popularized the format for most brands and creators, but the same basic structure exists on Facebook, Snapchat (where it originated), and in similar forms elsewhere: a temporary, tappable sequence of content separate from the main scrollable feed.
How Stories Work
A Story is posted as an image or short video clip, and multiple clips posted within the same window stack into one continuous sequence that viewers tap or swipe through. Viewers can react, reply directly in a message, or tap through to the next Story in line.
Once 24 hours pass, the content disappears from public view automatically. On Instagram, the poster has the option to save it as a Highlight, which is a permanent, curated collection that lives on the profile separately from the expiring Stories feed.
Story Formats Brands Use
Common formats include behind-the-scenes clips, polls and question stickers for engagement, countdown stickers for launches, link stickers driving traffic off-platform, and quick product teasers meant to feel more casual and immediate than a polished feed post.
Stories vs. Reels and Posts
Each format serves a different purpose. Feed posts are permanent, discoverable through hashtags and search, and built for content meant to represent a profile long-term. Reels are also permanent and built for reach, since the algorithm actively pushes them to non-followers through recommendation feeds.
Stories are temporary, shown primarily to existing followers, and generally treated as more casual and immediate, less polished, more in-the-moment than either a feed post or a Reel. That temporary, lower-pressure nature is also what makes Stories useful for content that doesn’t need to last: a quick poll, a limited-time offer, a casual product mention that would feel out of place as a permanent feed post.
Why Brands Use Stories
Stories give brands a way to post more frequently without cluttering a profile’s permanent feed or diluting its aesthetic, since the content disappears on its own. Interactive features such as polls, questions, and quizzes make Stories one of the more direct ways to prompt engagement rather than passive viewing.
The format is also commonly used for time-sensitive content, flash sales, event countdowns, behind-the-scenes moments, where permanence isn’t the point and urgency is.
Scale Your Content with SideShift
On SideShift, you can ask for Stories alongside feed posts and Reels, so creators deliver the quick, casual content that tests a message before you commit to a polished post. Then compare how each format performs in the same campaign.
Frequently asked questions
What is the point of Instagram Stories?
Stories give accounts a way to post casual, temporary content, behind-the-scenes clips, polls, quick updates, without it staying permanently on their profile, making the format well-suited to time-sensitive or lower-pressure posts.
What is the difference between Stories and posts?
Posts are permanent and live in a profile’s main feed, discoverable through search and hashtags. Stories disappear after 24 hours and are shown separately, primarily to existing followers, unless saved as a Highlight.
Why do people post Stories instead of posts?
Stories feel lower-stakes since they’re temporary, which makes them a natural fit for casual updates, polls, or quick content that doesn’t need to represent a profile long-term the way a permanent feed post does.