If you‘re an avid Instagram user, you‘ve likely noticed the colorful circles that sometimes appear around people‘s profile pictures. Far from just a design quirk, these eye-catching rings are actually a key feature of the platform‘s wildly popular Stories tool. Launched in 2016 as a response to Snapchat, Instagram Stories have exploded in popularity, with over 500 million daily users consuming and creating these ephemeral photo and video montages.
But what exactly do those mystifying color rings signify? How can you make one appear on your own profile? And most importantly, how can you leverage them to get more views and engagement on your Instagram content? In this ultimate guide, we‘ll dive into the nitty gritty of Instagram Stories circles and reveal all you need to know to master this essential feature.
Decoding the Colorful Circles: What Do They Mean?
In the simplest terms, when you see a vibrant color ring around someone‘s Instagram profile pic, that means they have recently posted a new Story for their followers to check out. Stories are short-form pieces of content, either a photo or a video up to 15 seconds long, that appear in a bar at the top of your Instagram feed. Unlike regular feed posts, Stories disappear after just 24 hours, making them feel more casual, off-the-cuff, and low pressure to create.
When a user posts a new Story, their profile pic gets encircled in a bright orange or pink ring, alerting followers that fresh content awaits them with a single tap. The color of the circle may also change depending on factors like special events, seasonal themes, or branded stickers and filters the user has added (more on that later).
After someone views a Story, the color ring will change to reflect how much of the Story they watched. A pie-chart-like light/dark split indicates the viewer is partway through the Story, while a fully dark gray circle means they viewed the entire thing from start to finish. The gray ring will stick around for 24 hours until that batch of Stories expires or the user posts new ones, which reverts it back to color status.
It‘s worth noting that a color circle alone does not guarantee the Story content is going to blow your mind. Since Stories are so quick and simple to fire off, users tend to post more frequently and with less curation than they would on their main feed. So view Story circles as a hint of new content to check out, but don‘t be surprised if it‘s just a shot of someone‘s latte art or commute traffic.
Crazy Easy Steps to Get Your Own Color Ring
Itching to get your own profile radiating color like a beacon in the night? You‘ll be happy to know it couldn‘t be easier. All it takes is posting a Story of your own and voilà, you‘re officially part of the vibrant circle club. Here‘s how to do it:
- From your main feed, either tap on your profile pic in the upper left corner or swipe right to open the Stories camera.
- Snap a new photo with the shutter button or hold it down to record a video. Alternatively, swipe up to browse your camera roll and add existing media.
- Jazz up your masterpiece with text, drawings, stickers, filters, or AR effects if desired using the editing options at the top of the screen.
- When you‘re ready to unleash your creation into the world, tap the "Your Story" button at the bottom left of the screen and your profile pic will instantly gain a fetching color ring.
You can keep posting multiple Story segments and they will play in succession for your followers, with your color ring sticking around for the full 24 hour lifespan. Once the clock runs out, poof, your Story and your noble color badge will vanish until your next posting spree.
While you‘re free to share Stories as frequently as you wish, it‘s smart not to overload your followers with too many back to back posts. Think of Stories as a tasty garnish to compliment your regular feed, not the whole dang entrée. A study by brand marketing platform Klear found that accounts shared an average of 7.9 Stories per month in 2020, which comes out to about once every 3 days. As a general rule, aim to keep your Story count between 1-7 per day with ~3 being the sweet spot.
Harnessing the Power of Story Circles to Skyrocket Engagement
Now that you‘re up to speed on what those colorful circles mean and how to attain one for yourself, let‘s talk strategy. For brands, businesses, and influencers angling to carve out their slice of the Instagram pie, Stories hold major untapped potential for growth when leveraged effectively.
Consider this: 50% of Instagram users say they have visited a website to buy a product or service after seeing it in Stories (Facebook, 2019). Combine that with Stories‘ coveted placement at the very top of the app and their blink-and-you‘ll-miss-it expiring nature and you‘ve got the perfect recipe to hook your audience and spur them to take action before the clock runs out.
To wring the most value out of your Stories and compel more people to start tapping your color ring, try implementing these pro tips:
• Design thumb-stopping first frames. Since Stories auto-advance after 15 seconds, you need an instantly gripping cover shot to stand out in the sea of circles and stop serial tappers in their tracks. Think colorful backgrounds, striking text, and intriguing visuals.
• Keep it snackable. In a survey of US Instagram users, 53% said they preferred Stories that were 1-3 segments long (Facebook, 2019). Steer clear of posting a 20 part novella and focus on punchy, digestible nuggets of content instead.
• Bake in interactivity. Stories come with a full suite of stickers and features to boost engagement and make your content a two-way conversation. Slap on a poll, quiz, question box, or emoji slider to gather instant feedback and make your audience feel involved.
• Tease exclusive content. Give your followers a compelling reason to tap your circle by previewing content they can‘t get anywhere else like a product sneak peek, special promo code, or insider info. A little FOMO goes a long way.
• Cross-pollinate your feed. Use Stories to drive traffic back to your permanent profile by posting about a recent feed image and encouraging people to check it out. 34% of people say they have tapped to a brand‘s website from their Stories to learn more (Facebook, 2019).
• Show your face. People love putting a human to the handle, especially for businesses and brands. Hop on camera periodically to introduce yourself and forge a more personal bond. A study found that 53% of consumers said they were more likely to buy from brands that shared Stories with a face than those that only posted product shots (VidMob, 2019).
• Be consistent yet considerate. Regularly posting Stories should be a key part of your Instagram strategy, but don‘t spam people with pointless content. Make an effort to plan out your Story narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end just like any good story.
Case Study: How MeUndies Nailed Their Story Strategy
Cheeky underwear brand MeUndies are masters at using Stories to excite fans and seamlessly shepherd them down the path to purchase. Their Stories run the full gamut from interactive polls and countdowns to influencer takeovers and exclusive product drops. Weaving in their signature quirky tone and colorful imagery, MeUndies‘ Stories feel more like hanging out with a playful BFF who occasionally tempts you with cute undies than a soulless sales pitch.
Most notably, MeUndies has found enormous success with their ‘secret stash‘ series, which transforms their Story circle into a golden ticket for snagging limited edition prints. Followers must stay glued to MeUndies‘ Stories for the chance to pounce on the new products the instant they drop and relish the thrill of scoring something scarce. Case in point: When MeUndies announced a ‘secret stash‘ collaboration with Colourpop via Stories, they sold five figures worth of product in under an hour.
By dreaming up a recurring Stories franchise that makes fans feel like VIP insiders, MeUndies cultivated a passionate community that actively looks forward to tapping their color ring on the regular. That‘s the power of a well-executed Story strategy.
Decoding the Special Edition Story Rings
While the classic Instagram Story ring is nothing to scoff at, every so often you may spy some extra snazzy circle creations making the rounds. From the famous rainbow ring that pops up every June for Pride to the black and white ‘Stay Home‘ ring that dominated feeds during lockdown, Instagram loves rolling out the red carpet for special causes and cultural moments with custom Story flair.
These limited-time rings often correlate with a specially designed sticker that users can plaster on their Story to trigger the animated circle effect. While they may seem like pure fun, make no mistake, those stickers and rings are a powerful tool for driving awareness and rallying the community around important issues.
For instance, in the lead up to the 2020 US election, Instagram released a ‘Vote Early‘ sticker and coordinating Story ring to empower users to spread the word with their followers. According to Instagram, posts and Stories that used the sticker generated over 6 million likes, comments, shares, and reactions. By making civic engagement colorful and shareable, Instagram and its users made a real world impact.
So next time you spot a fresh sticker in your tray, don‘t be afraid to join the cause and rock that specialty ring loud and proud. Not only will you be bringing visibility to a worthy movement, but you‘ll also show your followers a glimpse of your values and spark meaningful conversations that go beyond double taps.
The Dark Side of Fake Story Rings
By now you may have spotted some sneaky profiles that seem to boast perpetually colorful rings despite never posting new content. What gives? It‘s likely these users have resorted to using a third-party app or site to add a faux pre-made ring to their profile pic, giving the appearance that they have a fresh Story waiting even when they don‘t.
While this trick might seem like clever way to game the system and score more Story views, it‘s not a tactic we recommend. For starters, it‘s against Instagram‘s terms of service to use third party apps to modify the platform‘s functionality or appearance. But beyond the legal risk, it‘s simply a spammy bait and switch move that will erode your audience‘s trust over time.
When someone excitedly taps your colorful ring expecting a new Story only to discover a weeks old post or worse, zero new content, it‘s a surefire way to annoy and disappoint them. Tricking people into viewing your profile with fake urgency and scarcity will inevitably tarnish your brand‘s reputation.
Our advice? Take the high road and use Stories the way they were intended, as an authentic peek behind the curtain of your day-to-day life or business. Focus on crafting innovative, compelling Story content that provides real value and you won‘t need to resort to manipulative ploys for attention.
The Future of Instagram Stories
In just four short years, Stories have grown from a Snapchat-copycat side hustle to the crown jewel of Instagram‘s ecosystem. As of 2020, nearly a billion accounts use Stories every single day and 58% of users say they have become more interested in a brand/product after seeing it in a Story.
Looking ahead, Instagram shows no signs of stopping their Stories momentum any time soon. In fact, they‘ve already begun phasing in the next generation of Stories features like AR filters, interactive stickers, and creator tools to make the medium even stickier.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking new Stories frontier is Instagram‘s recent launch of in-app Story ads and shopping capabilities. Now businesses can connect product tags and ‘swipe up to buy‘ CTAs directly to their Stories, making the journey from inspiration to purchase more seamless than ever.
As Instagram continues to roll out more robust Story commerce options and refine its recommendation algorithm, experts predict Stories will eclipse the main feed as the app‘s primary engagement driver in the not too distant future.
Key Takeaways
Well there you have it, the complete unabridged guide to Instagram Story rings and the juicy insider info lurking behind those colorful circles. Let‘s recap the main points:
• A multi-color gradient ring around a profile pic means that user has posted a new Story
• Posting a photo or video to your own Story will instantly garner you a color ring
• For brands and creators, regularly posting Stories is essential for audience growth and engagement
• Bonus tip: Draw more attention with special edition stickers and animated rings tied to cultural events
• Avoid using fake third-party color rings as they violate Instagram‘s terms and will backfire in the long run
• Stories are on track to dominate the future of Instagram with a boom in interactive and shoppable features
Now that you‘re armed with all the key facts and strategic know-how, it‘s time to put this Story-telling wisdom to the test. Craft a week‘s worth of show-stopping Stories that educate, entertain, and inspire your followers to get tapping.
Pay attention to which Story elements and formats yield the most views and engagement and incorporate more of them moving forward. But most importantly, have fun with it! The beauty of Stories is their informal, ephemeral nature, so don‘t be afraid to let your creative freak flag fly and take risks. Your color ring will thank you.
