Table of Contents
In today’s competitive social media landscape, Instagram Stories takeovers have emerged as a powerful strategy to engage audiences, build brand awareness, and tap into new follower bases. When executed properly, these collaborative content ventures can breathe fresh life into your social media presence while creating authentic connections with your audience.
What Is an Instagram Stories Takeovers?
An Instagram Stories takeover occurs when you temporarily hand over your Instagram account to another person—typically an influencer, employee, or industry expert—who creates and shares content directly through your Stories for a designated period. These collaborations provide a unique opportunity to diversify your content and leverage another person’s expertise or audience.
Popular Instagram Stories Takeovers Formats
There are several effective approaches to structuring your takeover:
1. Day in the Life
Give your audience a glimpse into someone else’s world. This format works particularly well when the host’s lifestyle aligns with your brand values and offerings. For example, a haircare brand might partner with a beauty influencer who showcases their morning routine featuring your products, touch-ups throughout the day, and evening preparations.
2. Q&A Sessions
Question and answer sessions create direct engagement opportunities with your audience. Collect questions in advance through posts or story responses, and have your guest host provide insightful answers. Don’t forget to remind followers when the Q&A will take place to maximize viewership.
3. Behind-the-Scenes Access
Transparency builds trust and loyalty. Use takeovers to showcase what happens behind closed doors at your company—whether that’s product development, creative processes, or company culture. These authentic glimpses help followers feel more connected to your brand.
4. Event Coverage
Can’t accommodate everyone at your physical event? Bring the experience to your followers through an Instagram Stories takeover. This approach allows you to extend the reach of your event far beyond the in-person attendees.
Examples of Successful Instagram Stories Takeovers
Psycle’s Community-Focused Fitness Mission
Fitness brand Psycle leveraged micro-influencer instructor Peach for an immersive day-in-the-life takeover. Followers joined Peach as she personally delivered cycling bikes throughout Costa Mesa communities, providing a genuine look at the brand’s commitment to keeping people active during quarantine restrictions. The takeover culminated with Peach hosting a live virtual class, creating a complete narrative arc that showcased both product delivery and practical application.
Goop’s Timely Wellness Intervention
Wellness powerhouse Goop demonstrated perfect partnership alignment by having Dr. Shauna Shapiro, a mindfulness expert and author, take over their Stories during a period of widespread anxiety. Dr. Shapiro guided followers through a specialized meditation designed to transform negative thought patterns into positive ones—providing immediate value while reinforcing Goop’s wellness-focused brand identity.
Travel & Leisure’s Culinary Escape When travel wasn’t possible, Travel & Leisure brought international experiences to followers’ homes through a takeover with Silvia Grossi, executive chef at Florence’s Il Salviatino hotel. Chef Grossi shared an accessible home cooking demonstration that transported viewers to Italian kitchens without leaving home—brilliantly adapting their travel content for stay-at-home circumstances.
Setting Clear Goals and Expectations
A successful takeover requires thorough planning and clear communication:
Also read about How Instagram Stories Are Revolutionizing Impulse Buying Patterns
Establish Objectives
Before approaching potential hosts, determine what you aim to achieve through the takeover. Are you looking to:
- Increase brand awareness?
- Reach new audience segments?
- Drive engagement?
- Educate followers about specific products or services?
- Showcase company culture?
Create a Formal Agreement
Develop a document outlining guidelines, expectations, and boundaries for the takeover. This should include:
- Content themes to cover
- Topics to avoid
- Posting frequency
- Branding requirements
- Hashtags or handles to include
- Timeline for the takeover
- Introduction and conclusion formats
Share this document with your host and have them acknowledge it before the takeover goes live. If possible, request a rough outline of their plan to avoid surprises.
Provide References
If you’ve hosted successful takeovers previously, share examples with your new host for reference. This gives them a clearer picture of your expectations and helps maintain consistency in quality.
Selecting the Perfect Host
Your choice of host can make or break your takeover:
Look for Strong Storytellers
Prioritize candidates who already create engaging content on their personal accounts. Review their Stories to ensure they understand the format and know how to maintain audience interest.
Consider Different Host Types:
Influencers and Industry Experts
Partnering with relevant influencers helps you tap into their established audience and earn credibility through association. Choose personalities whose followers align with your target demographic.
Internal Team Members
Your own employees often make excellent takeover hosts. They have intimate knowledge of your brand, products, and company culture. This approach is particularly effective for behind-the-scenes content or product launches.
For example, stationery brand Bando had their team share insights about their new planners through a takeover, highlighting features and the inspiration behind designs. Using the hashtag #MyBandoPlanner, they created cohesive content that showcased their brand personality while providing valuable product information.
Promoting Your Instagram Stories Takeover
Even the best takeover will fall flat without proper promotion:
Pre-Takeover Announcements
Begin promoting your takeover at least a few days before it happens. Share announcements on your feed and Stories, highlighting what value followers will gain by tuning in.
Cross-Platform Promotion
Don’t limit promotion to Instagram. Leverage your other social networks to drive traffic to your Instagram account during the takeover.
Host Promotion
Ensure your guest host promotes the takeover to their own audience. This is crucial for tapping into their follower base and expanding your reach.
Managing the Takeover Content
There are two primary approaches to handling the actual posting:
Direct Account Access
Providing temporary login credentials to your host allows for authentic, real-time sharing. This approach typically yields the most genuine content but requires significant trust in your host.
Content Submission
If your brand has strict guidelines or you’re uncomfortable sharing login information, have your host submit content to you for posting. Tools like Later’s Contributors feature can streamline this process, allowing hosts to submit content to your account via email at [companyname]@submit.media.
Extending the Lifespan of Takeover Content
Don’t let your takeover disappear after 24 hours:
Instagram Stories Highlights
Create a dedicated Highlight for your takeover content. This preserves the content and makes it accessible to followers who missed the original Stories.
Content Repurposing
Transform your takeover content for use on other platforms. Consider:
- Compiling highlights for YouTube
- Creating recap posts for your feed
- Sharing snippets on other social networks
- Incorporating insights into blog content
Measuring Success Through Analytics
Use Instagram Stories analytics to evaluate your takeover’s performance:
Key Metrics to Track
- Reach and impressions
- Completion rate (how many viewers watched all segments)
- Replies and engagement
- Profile visits resulting from the takeover
- New followers gained
- Sticker interactions (polls, questions, etc.)
Continuous Improvement
Analyze what worked well and what could be improved for future takeovers. Use this data to refine your approach and create increasingly effective collaborations.
Final Thoughts
Instagram Stories takeovers offer a refreshing way to diversify your content and connect with your audience through different voices and perspectives. With proper planning, clear guidelines, and strategic promotion, takeovers can become a powerful component of your social media marketing strategy.
Remember that authenticity is key—while maintaining brand alignment is important, the unique perspective and creativity your host brings is what makes a takeover truly valuable to your audience.
Are you ready to plan your first Instagram Stories takeovers?
