Instagram Stories is a quick and easy way to share content. Unlike the classic Instagram grid for which you have to consider what to curate and how to sustain a theme, Stories allow you to be more spontaneous. This infographic is a nice guide to Instagram Stories for business.

Given that, here’s how you can use Stories to your advantage:

Be prepared

You can upload photos or videos that are 24 hours old at most. Because of this constraint, make a plan of the story you want to tell, especially if it will stretch across several days.

Catch viewers

Weekdays from 7-9 pm are the best times to post because it’s when user engagement levels are highest. Avoid the afternoon hump; people are either too busy or sleepy to check Instagram around that time.

Engage immediately

People leave uninteresting stories after only four seconds, so make those seconds count. Deliver your pitch or hook right from the start to sustain people’s attention spans.

Shoot vertically

Only 6% of smartphone users hold their devices horizontally. The remaining 94% go for vertical. Thus, your Stories should be best viewed vertically.

Use geotags

To catch local audiences, add a geotagged location to your Stories. This simple move can increase engagement by a whopping 79%.

These are just five things you can do to make the most out of Instagram Stories. Another tool to consider is the ig stories downloader to quickly download your Stories.

Thanks to the folks at Headwaycapital.com for this helpful infographic.