Stories may no longer be Instagram's biggest growth format, but they remain one of the platform's strongest engagement tools.
Metricool's latest Instagram Study highlights several shifts every creator should know.
➡️ Fewer creators are posting Stories
The number of accounts publishing Stories dropped by 7.6% compared to last year.
Despite that, Story reach and impressions remained stable, showing that people are still actively watching Stories.
➡️ Engagement is getting stronger
The biggest change is how people interact with Stories.
• Replies increased by 88%
• Exits decreased by 6%
The data suggests that while creators are posting less often, the Stories they do publish are generating more conversations.
➡️ Interactive Stories perform best
If your goal is engagement, Instagram recommends using features that encourage people to respond:
• Polls
• Questions
• Quizzes
• Emoji sliders
• Link stickers
These formats are driving much of the increase in replies across accounts of all sizes.
➡️ Stories and Reels have different jobs
Stories are no longer the best format for reaching new audiences.
Instead, they're becoming the place to strengthen relationships with people who already follow you through behind-the-scenes content, quick updates, product launches, and community interaction.
For growth, Reels and carousels continue to outperform Stories on reach.
➡️ Don't ignore Highlights
Good Stories don't have to disappear after 24 hours.
Saving your best Stories to Highlights lets new visitors quickly find FAQs, tutorials, product information, testimonials, or other evergreen content directly from your profile.
The takeaway is simple: Stories are evolving from a reach tool into a relationship tool. If you want a more engaged community, they should still be part of your Instagram strategy.
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