Life

9 Unexpected Ways You Can Use Instagram’s Question Sticker

by Kaitlyn Wylde
Kaitlyn Wylde/Bustle

Since Instagram introduced their new question sticker feature on Jul. 10, a lot of us have been taking full advantage of it, hosting our very own AMAs. But if vague question prompts aren't really your thing, don't be discouraged from the feature. There are still tons of unexpected ways to use the Instagram question sticker. The feature was developed to be incredibly flexible and dynamic. You can use it to ask or answer questions, of course, but you can also use it to start a conversation, to play a game, to host an interactive experience or to simply entertain yourself or your followers.

Here, I've put together a list of the less obvious ways you can experiment with the question sticker. Depending on how you use your Instagram account, you might be inclined to use the question sticker in different ways. If you have a public account with a lot of followers, you might want to use the sticker to give your followers and opportunity to get to know you better. If you have a smaller following with a private account, you might want to use the sticker to play a game with your followers that you're already familiar with. Once you start using it, you'll realize that the feature is incredibly adaptable and you'll keep thinking of new and innovative ways to use it.

Get To Know Your Followers

Ask your followers to share information about themselves so that you can get to know them better. For each response that your followers offer you, you can share something, too. You never know what online friendships will become IRL friendships.

Get Help Putting Together An Outfit

Show your followers your clothing options and prompt them to send in suggestions for which items you should put together into an outfit. With their help, you might end up putting together pieces you'd never think to put together before.

Play A Game Of 'I Spy"

Pick an object in your field of view and share it with your followers. Let them guess what you've chosen. If you're particularly bored, this game will not only entertain you, it will help you to interact with your followers.

Play Choose Your Own Adventure

Whether you're on a hike or at the mall, have your followers send in responses with suggestions for where you should go next!

Teach A "Course"

Share something that you do or something that you're interested in with your followers. Maybe you have perfected your night time skin care routine, let your followers ask you anything about it and teach them how to adopt it. Or maybe you've taught yourself how to do calligraphy and want to teach your followers via video, with the guidance of their questions.

Quiz Me

Is there something that you think you know a lot a about? Like Harry Potter trivia? Have your followers quiz you! Publicly answer their questions and show off just how much you know about the sorting hat.

Make A "Mixtape"

Remember when we used to make mixtapes for our friends? Ask your followers to suggest songs that fall into a certain theme or vibe. Once you get enough responses, make a Story that features the songs so that your followers can actually listen to the mixtape together!

Get Recommendations

Whether you're looking for a new hair mask, sushi joint, or app to download, you can poll your followers for recommendations. Share the responses so that people who view your Story can get some recommendations, too. Become your own Yelp page.

Write Fan Fiction

After watching a popular TV show that ends with a cliff hanger, ask your followers how they think the story line will end in the next episode. You can share the responses and create a collective fan fiction thread. This will make watching your favorite show alone feel like a super social experience.