If you want to learn how to change background colour on an Instagram story, read more about it in this comprehensive guide.

In recent years, Instagram has become a platform for budding entrepreneurs, influencers, video editors, and more. The pandemic has seen a rise in users in this app, with people rushing to share opinions, moments, and whatnot!

It has become really popular with each update. A unique aspect of this platform is the ability to create aesthetically pleasant content for users and viewers alike.

Here, we will see how to create Instagram stories by changing the background colour in this feature. This usually extends reach as more people are attracted to your profile, and it is a win-win game!

1. The Background

For context, Instagram stories are an aspect of the platform that allows us to “create quick and memorable content,” as quoted by the app. It has features such as adding music, links, stickers, and even mentioning other users.

This is the app’s trademark and is mostly used to expand user reach. It has a vertical screen ratio of 9:16, making it easier to watch and creating better-quality content.

Instagram Stories are a way to keep in touch with your followers. You can use them to poll them, notify them about a new post, share how your day went, or even share a simple link through the app’s sticker features. Usually, when we share a post, the default background is the post’s colour gradient palette.

2. What is Reach, Though?

Reach is the amount of viewers who have seen your content. They may be in the form of hashtags, videos, posts, and even videos. Meta releases a new update every once in two weeks; it gives us more tips to expand our reach.

This is important for users interested in branding, creating content to showcase their talent, and expanding market awareness. It allows them to survey their core audience and age group and post reshares, which in turn creates brand awareness.

Recently, reports revealed how post-reshares impact profiles reach a larger level. The more an Instagram post is shared, the more attention the profile gets. And Instagram stories kickstart this process of attention.

3. Steps and Tips To Start With:

To change the story colours, many use external applications to curate a story, using templates and customizing options. Some of the easier steps to change the color is:

Step 1: Choose or click a picture to use in your story. You can also record a video or choose an existing one from your camera roll. Another way to add a new story is to click the blue plus option right below your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner of the home page.

Step 2: You will see three dots in the top-right corner of your screen, with options ‘Draw’ and ‘Save’. Creating a unique and new background colour for Instagram stories is the first step in showcasing creative freedom.

Step 3: After selecting ‘Draw,’ you can see a ‘Pen Tool/Color Dropper Tool’ option on the bottom of the screen, on the left side. The pen icon represents it. The pen tool is also called the pen option in different platforms.

Step 4: At the top, you have various options for the app’s different strokes. At the bottom, you have the colour palette of the clicked image or recorded video. You can either choose from that or long-press on the desired colour.

The colour palettes will merge into a colour bar, allowing a wider range of colours.

These colour palettes are rainbow palettes by default. When an image-custom palette appears, you can swipe right to see the three default rainbow palettes.
Some alternatives here are covering the entire screen with the desired colour/colours, or covering only parts of the screen!

Step 5: Another option is when you want to choose a colour from the selected picture or video. When you press the ‘Pen Tool/Color Tint’ option on the bottom left, an exclamation mark-like indicator at the centre of the screen shows which colour is at that part of the chosen media.

Moving that indicator around and choosing your desired colour is a smooth and easy method. 

Step 6: Another interesting option is drawing on the image using the abovementioned methods. Use the pen tool and draw on the screen. While using the same pen tool, long press on the screen for a few seconds to fill the screen with the chosen colour quickly and efficiently.

Step 7: Lastly, if you want to discard your story draft, there is an option for that, too. In the upper right corner, an arrow pointing toward the left side opens a dialogue box. It states three options, ‘Discard’, ‘Save Draft’, or ‘Cancel’, keeping a window open to delete the photo or video chosen.

The default screen of the story, before importing or recording media, is similar to that of a device’s camera application. On the top right corner is the Settings icon. And on the top left side is an ‘X’, an option to leave the story screen, or just simply right swipe, simple!.

Below are many options for the most used filters, and below are options to change from Story to Reels, a new Post, or even to start an IG Live.

4. Additional Information

The Instagram Story’s features also offer other options besides strokes and colour variety. They allow us, as users, to increase or decrease the stroke size.

On the left-hand side of the screen, after selecting the ‘Draw’ option, you will be able to see a bubble with a slider feature. Press the bubble (the dot) and move it up/down to change the thickness of the stroke. 

When you want to add more stickers, you can see an option at the top of the screen after choosing an image or video of a smiling square page flapping.

After clicking on it, you can see the options to add mentions (mentioning other usernames in your story), to add links from other websites or applications, to import more pictures from your device’s gallery, and even use the search bar to find more stickers that make our stories more aesthetic. 

Stories are a medium for sharing moments with others and for them to share them with their followers. They also help us collect moments as ‘Highlights’ to keep them in our collections.

Seeing how a platform can bring so many people together worldwide is interesting. With each update, the app’s users are given a little more creative freedom.

5. How To Change The Background Color In An Instagram Story of Posts?

Another feature of Instagram is that it allows us to share our favourite posts on our stories. As a plus one, we can use the same steps as mentioned above to change the background of our stories from the default background colour without covering the post. It can take up the whole screen and a small part of it.

Using the other brush options, we can make our screen translucent by selecting the third option of brush strokes. It creates a semi-transparent effect on top of the selected media.

However, since Instagram introduced the Reels, it is different to change the background behind the Reels. An update is yet to come for this feature, as the selected color covers the reel, too. Hence, the Eraser option (with different strokes) is used to uncover the colours over the reel. 

Instagram also allows us to add photo and video elements after making an image’s background transparent to create an ‘out-of-the-post’ effect. People promote their new post/posts on their stories, and their followers share on their Instagram profiles.

6. Many Colours In One Story-  A Guide to Changing the Background Colour

Using the above steps, we can add many colours to one story! It may be a bit difficult to get clear edges, but it is possible with patience. Another alternative is to use coloured images and import them using the ‘Add Media’ option, identified by the rectangle option with the ‘+’ sign in between. 

To answer how to change background colour on an Instagram story; there are many methods to create appealing stories and encourage users to click the like option (represented by the heart, which will turn red when touched) in the stories. Some methods are the ones mentioned above.

Instagram allows us to use solid background colours behind posts and texts. The colour of your Instagram story decides how unique a brand or profile is.

You need not worry, as the Reels feature has helped millions of users accessorize their stories by telling us secret hacks and keywords to use on the search bar of the ‘Stickers’ option. From changing the default background that Instagram provides to creating unique templates using its features, The chances are limitless! 

Here is one video showing a tutorial on changing the background colour while importing a saved picture.

7. How To Change The Background Color In An Instagram Story? – The Business

The users who create content with this feature the most are budding influencers, entrepreneurs, or users who just want their stories to look pretty!

Even the users who just want to play around with the story features enjoy the app. You may not even need to do much, as taking inspiration from your following stories can be a great start on the journey.

Individuals who are interested in fields like Social Media Marketing, Copywriting, Customer Service, Online Shopping, photo/Video Editing and Data Analysis require a course on certain apps. The apps usually include Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter, Canva, and more. 

For interested candidates, there are free and paid courses on the features of Instagram that focus on providing concepts and practice on the benefits of the coloured camera app. Why should you consider a course on the app? These courses help you understand the importance of profile engagement, reach and boost your content.

 7.1. Value of Stories

Instagram Stories are considered the most vital first impression while scrolling through profiles. The courses help in understanding which hashtag to use, when to put up a story, how to make it seem appealing, and some templates to use, making it useful. 

When choosing a colour gradient for stories, we should consider many rules. From a brand perspective, we should note how colours and tips can be used to our advantage and to increase reach. The stories feature provides limitless opportunities for creators and enjoyers alike.

7.2. The Branding Viewpoint

Originally started for entertainment, social media has now taken its place in business and strategy.

Where one would use a random photo to add to their feed, now it is all towards promoting a certain brand. It may be products, services, and, at this age, self-created content. And this is where the topic of brand colour comes in.

A brand colour, or colours, is a palette chosen to represent an organization’s mottos, beliefs, and strategies. Apart from the normal purpose of Instagram stories, they are used from the business viewpoint as branded Instagram Highlight covers.

Its basic use is categorising what the brand wants its audience to know. It consists of polls, achievements, products/services offered, or even just to show how far they have reached their milestones.

Here, a story background colour is more important than usual. It is a carefully chosen colour (or a set of colours), a curated template to attract an audience and promote a business on the road to success. From creating an Instagram account to uploading a story promoting their blog post, everything is done with the intention of increasing reach goals.

Once in this perspective, the draw icon gains more importance. From the ability to change the default colour on the stories feature, experimenting with techniques to achieve the perfect transparent background colour, to learning more concepts on how and when to use sets of solid colours, the colour dropper tool does wonders for one’s brand.

7.3. Extra Tools for Better Content

Apart from the tools mentioned above, some tools greatly assist in creating stories for any target audience, promotions, or just for fun!

One of the most common tools for creating inviting stories is the ‘Eraser’ tool, under the ‘Draw’ tool options. This allows the user to correct previous strokes, merge colours, or reveal texts and bits of selected media. The eraser tool is a blessing in disguise. To learn more about this tool, click here for a tutorial!

Besides the eraser tool, the ‘Brush’ tool has five different stroke options. The first is for solid background colours, and the second is to create arrows from the selected colours. Next comes strokes of semi-transparent colours, partially covering the background image or video the user selects.

Fourthly, the neon stroke tool for creating different dimensional effects. The ‘Eraser’ tool comes next. And lastly, the brush stroke tool with a scattered colour effect.

One surprising hack about all the strokes requires us to choose a colour and a background to colour over. When you choose any type of brush stroke and press the screen for a few seconds (1-2 seconds), we attain a solid background colour. This solid colour can then have many additions to it, from photo media to stickers.

7.3.1. The Story Formatting

To change your Instagram story and its formatting, you can explore many Instagram story templates provided online. They can be either free or paid, depending on the site or application that has been chosen by the user.

IOS users of Instagram have a special feature cut-out upload through the device galleries. After you select a picture from the gallery, the feature allows an IOS user to select a region in the picture, cut it out, and separate it from the background.

Many use the ‘Draw’ option to doodle over such media to make it look more pretty to their followers, hence gaining praise and inspiring many.

8. Know-Hows of IG Text:

One major way to boost reach and make your story interesting is to add text. Instagram stories offer 9 different fonts by default after selecting the ‘Aa’ on the top of our screen. After you want to change the background colour, we need to know certain tips on the impact of texts on Instagram stories.

After learning how to change the background colour on Instagram stories/stories, the next step is to see which font complements the background colour. This has proven to be a little difficult, as the fonts should also harmonize with the feed post(s) that would be published.

Instagram stories should reflect a brand’s ideologies and what they want their audience to focus on. From a normal user’s view, it is to experiment and understand the app for future purposes of reach.

The ‘Aa’ option on the default story screen is for the ‘Create’ option and allows us to write texts on the default Instagram gradient backgrounds. Below is a tutorial for the same and use of texts and their animations!

9. In A Nutshell

In this blog post, we breezed through many Instagram-related concepts. From how to change the Instagram story background colour, topics on selecting media from our camera roll, choosing a perfect photo sticker, and the topics of the business aspects of the story feature and many other concepts.

Instagram is a platform where we can learn many soft and technical skills. It helps us understand the youth and generations around them, which in turn helps us understand the social media industry.

With many courses available on the careers mentioned above involved in the application, you can find interesting ground and soar to great aims. If you are fond of experimenting, then Instagram is the app for you!

Last Updated on April 4, 2024 by Apeksha Soni