Instagram Stories offer businesses a way to keep followers updated on their activities without oversharing on the main feed. They are interactive, allowing for polls, countdown timers, and direct messaging, which can create connections beyond content sharing. Stories also provide an opportunity to highlight special offers or sneak peeks of new products, boosting visibility and encouraging follow-ups. To effectively use Instagram Stories, businesses should consider their time commitment to creating thoughtful content, repurpose existing blog or podcast content, keep stories short and sweet, get creative with visuals, and leverage hashtags and user-generated content. Businesses can also save important stories, share exclusive content, try quizzes and polls, run contests, and tell stories to create a connection with their audience. Examples of successful Instagram Stories from businesses include Google Play's National Poetry Month promotion, FedEx's behind-the-scenes footage, Lusha's humor-driven referral campaign, and Girlboss's feature of female entrepreneurs.