How to Ask a Question on Instagram to Encourage Engagement

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Karen Lin

Instagram 101 | Mar 07, 2023

Want More Real Instagram Followers?

Do you want to get more comments on your posts and more likes on Instagram? Ask questions! Here’s your guide on how to ask a question on Instagram to attract the interest of your followers, foster fascinating discussions, and encourage enthusiastic audience engagement.  

Woman holding a phone and sitting in front of a laptop doing a Live Q&A on Instagram.

How to Ask Questions on Instagram Story

Learning IG story viewer secrets and tips and knowing how to ask questions on your Instagram Story are a must for any brand. Coming up with the right IG questions to ask involves being familiar with all of the interactive features available when creating Story posts. You can have funny questions to ask on your Instagram Story and turn these into Instagram games, thought-provoking opinion questions, get-to-know-your-audience queries, and more. Learning how to identify your target audience will help you to decide which questions to ask so you can create content that stays relevant. To post a question on your Instagram Story, you’ll need to use the question sticker or the Instagram poll sticker.

The “Ask me a question” sticker is hugely popular among brands as it’s practically a no-holds-barred invitation to ask anything — except, of course if you want to set limits or a theme that your audiences have to follow. The sticker can be modified so that you can also post any question for your followers to answer. Not sure where to start? Ask, “Guess my favorite questions for Instagram?” and gather up those ideas.

Blue question mark to represent how to ask a question on Instagram.

How to Do “Ask Me a Question” on Instagram

Here’s how to do “Ask Me a Question” on Instagram Story:

  1. Upload a photo or video to your Story.
  2. Tap the Sticker button and select the question sticker from the sticker tray.
  3. Use “Ask me something on Instagram,” “Ask me a question” or “Ask me anything” as a prompt. Or type any question you want that’s relevant to your photo/video and customize the type of answers.
  4. Place the sticker wherever you’d like and then share your Story.

Your Instagram Story viewers simply have to tap on the sticker to type their questions or response. You can see the responses on your Instagram Story viewer list. Open your Story and swipe up. The Instagram Story viewer order is based on the platform algorithm, so you will see those who have liked your story at the top of the list. To answer a question, just tap it and type your response. This will create a new Story, but the person who posted the question (or response) will remain anonymous to your other viewers, i.e., their username and photo will not be shown. All questions/responses to your Story will remain private and can only be viewed by you. Can you see who viewed your Instagram video? Yes, you can the list of viewers within 48 hours. Knowing how to ask a question on your Instagram Story will help draw more viewers to your IG Stories!

Screenshot showing how to ask a question on Instagram Story using the question sticker.

How to Ask Questions on Instagram Live

The Instagram Story question sticker also comes in handy whenever you do an Instagram Live stream. Knowing the best time to post on Instagram will ensure plenty of attendees. You no longer have to scroll through your audiences’ comments in order to read and answer their questions while doing your Live. Conversely, if you want to know how to ask questions on Instagram Live, here’s the Live Q&A lowdown:

  1. If you’re a Live viewer, tap on the question mark icon next to the comment bar and type your question.
  2. If you’re planning a Live stream, create a Story for your upcoming Live (your Live stream should fall within the 24 hours that this particular Story is up) and use the question sticker. You can specify the kinds of questions you’ll entertain, i.e., inform your followers what your Live stream is about, and specify a Q&A about makeup tips, fitness, cooking, etc.
  3. During your Instagram Live, start answering the questions by tapping the question mark icon at the bottom of your screen. All questions sent as a response to your Story and the questions posted directly during your Live stream will appear.
  4. Tap a question you want to answer. It will appear on your Live so all your viewers can also see it, then answer the question.

Woman posting questions and answering them on an Instagram live.

Instagram’s question sticker in Stories and question button in Live streams make it easier for brands to interact with their followers and, on the flip side, enhance the interactive experience for followers. Make sure to fully explore all your options for how to ask a question on Instagram to foster active engagement within your community and strengthen your connection with your followers.

Final Thoughts: Ask and You Shall Find More Followers and Engagement

When you know how to ask a question on Instagram and how to get creative with the platform’s interactive features, you can attract more followers and greater engagement. Instead of trying to figure out how to get 1K followers in five minutes, focus on your social media marketing strategy. Inviting questions from your audience is one of the most effective ways to encourage communication. Asking and answering questions let your followers know that you’re accessible and that you appreciate their interest and input. The funniest Instagram stories often lead to more shares. Get people to share your content by answering off-the-cuff or thought-provoking questions.

Hosting regular Q&A sessions in your Instagram Stories or Live streams can help you expand your audience reach and help make your posts more relevant to your existing followers. You should also consider getting help from an Instagram growth strategy expert, a company like Path Social. Take advantage of Path Social’s advanced audience targeting capability to target the right people for your brand and content. Check out more helpful Instagram tips, or use these free Instagram tools to gain insights into your social media game. Make use of Path Social’s in-house team of social media specialists skills to get your Instagram account in front of the right audience through organic promotion. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!