7 Unique Background Ideas For Your Facebook and Instagram Stories
Facebook and Instagram come with their own backgrounds for creators to use, but that doesn't mean you should stick with them. As a business, branding is important, and it is more than likely that your brand doesn't align with either Facebook's or Instagram's. Not to mention, everyone is using Facebook's and Instagram's backgrounds, so you won't exactly stand out.
Once we realized this, we thought: wait - this is a good blog idea!
Not only do we want to provide you with the important tip to create your own backgrounds, but we also want to show you unique ideas that you can use and also walk you through how to use them.
But first, let's get into the benefits!
The Benefits Of Creating Your Own Backgrounds
There are many reasons why you should create your own backgrounds for your Stories.
First: it will help you stand out from the crowd. With so many people using Instagram and Facebook, it can be difficult to get noticed. By using unique and eye-catching backgrounds, you can make sure that your Stories are seen by more people, because everyone will be more excited to view them.
Second: it also helps with branding. If you are using these social media platforms for business purposes, then you want to make sure that your brand is front and center. People will definitely be more likely to remember your business if you feature your logo and other branding elements.
Third: it can be a lot of fun! Creating interesting backgrounds is a great way to get creative and have some fun with your Stories.
7 Techniques To Start Using So Your Stories Stand Out
1. Use Textured Papers
One simple way to make your Story backgrounds more interesting is to use textured papers. It’s a simple graphic design trick that many people use. All you have to do is open a design, choose the color you want the background to be, add a textured paper element over the design, and then increase the transparency of the paper. This creates a layered effect to your design (rather than a flat look), while also ensuring that the background is a brand color.
2. Use Photos
You are also a part of your brand, so you can also use photos of yourself as your background! Our advice for this technique is to ensure that your photo utilizes a lot of whitespace. This way you can add Instagram/Facebook features without having your Story experience feeling cluttered.
Other photo use ideas are to use photos of your team, your shop, your workspace, or even stock photos that relate to your business.
3. Use Digital Designs
This is an idea for those of you who are feeling super creative and what to give making your own design from scratch a try. Digital designs don’t have to be complicated or difficult, they just have to look nice (think of the minimalism trend that is still taking over). Our advice is always to use Canva as your graphic design platform, mostly because it’s user friendly and also because they provide free plans, so it won’t be an expense on your end.
Once you’ve chosen your graphic design platform, open a document and start creating! Use photos, text, shapes, and other elements that make you happy and excited. You can even search for templates if you’re using Canva (this way you won’t have to start from scratch.
4. Use Text
Another great way to make interesting backgrounds is to use text. You can use text to create quotes, short messages, add a slogan, hints to the topic of your content, or even just to add some interest to your photo backgrounds. You can experiment with different fonts, colors, and sizes to find the perfect look for your Story.
5. Use Shapes
In addition to using text, you can also use shapes to add interest to your Story backgrounds. Shapes are a great design tool if you want to spice up your design but don’t want to add an element that will distract from the purpose of your Story. A shape is something that your audience can appreciate without focusing on.
You can also experiment with different colors, sizes, and opacity to create the perfect look!
6. Use Icons
You probably have icons as a business. For Empowered Social Media, we use lightning bolts and light bulbs. These are also icons that we utilize in our Story backgrounds. This ensures that our content is branded in more subtle ways than just adding our logo.
And if you don’t have icons for your business - now could be a great time to start thinking about them!
7. Use Videos
Videos make great backgrounds for Stories. They offer movement! You can use your own videos, or you can find free stock videos online. Need free stock videos? Here are two places you can search:
How To Add Your Background
Create your design.
Save your design.
Open your Instagram app.
Visit your profile.
Tap the plus symbol at the top right of your screen.
Choose “Story.”
Tap the square at the bottom left of your screen.
Choose the background you created.
Add any elements you want.
Add to your story.
In Conclusion
These are just a few of the many different ways that you can add interest to your Story backgrounds. Experiment with different techniques and see which ones work best for you. With a little bit of creativity, you can create some truly amazing Story backgrounds that will help you stand out from the crowd.
