Mike MurphyAI Handyman
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Episode 118

The Instagram Story Show

December 8, 2017 ·

EP118: THE INSTAGRAM STORY SHOW Today is a behind the scenes episode as I share how and why I make Instagram Stories everyday. Episode Summary: What is my process and mindset for making Instagram Stories Why do I use Instagram Stories? How do I come up with topics, what makes a good story? What tools or apps do I use to help me tell a more interesting story?

Episode Summary: A behind-the-scenes look at how and why Mike makes Instagram Stories every day — one year after the feature’s launch — covering process, mindset, topic ideas, and the tools used to make each story more interesting.

What You’ll Learn

  • What Instagram Stories is and how it compares to Snapchat, one year after launch
  • Mike’s daily process and mindset for making Stories, morning through sunset
  • Why accountability, not audience size, is the real reason he shows up every day
  • The apps and tools used to make Stories more visually interesting

Follow along on Instagram: @mikeunplugged. For a primer on what Instagram Stories is and how it differs from Snapchat, Episode 49 is the place to start — this episode picks up one year after Stories launched in August 2016.

What Is Instagram Stories?

Launched in August 2016 inside the main Instagram app, Stories is phone-only (though viewable on web now) and works like daily vlogging with an expiration date — clips run up to 15 seconds each, in succession, and everything disappears after 24 hours.

Core features: normal photo, Boomerang, Rewind, SuperZoom, Hands-Free, Stop Motion, and Live — plus the ability to pull photos and video from the camera roll, add text, filters, and stickers, and go live solo or with a collaborator. To view someone’s Story, tap the colored ring around their profile photo at the top of the main feed.

By this point Stories had roughly 300 million active users, compared to Snapchat’s 177 million (still Snapchat’s stronghold: under-25s). For anyone building an online presence, Stories was — and remained — worth a real shot.

Why Mike Uses Instagram Stories

The backstory starts on Snapchat in summer 2016 — goofy filters and talking to strangers about his day were genuinely outside the comfort zone at first. But video, livestreaming, and direct connection are the future of online business, and the 24-hour expiration takes the pressure off: every day is a fresh start, which makes the whole thing feel more like practice — for making videos, telling stories, and figuring out what people actually want.

Over 2 years of consistent Instagram posting, and over a year of daily Stories — 7 days a week, some days more than others. It’s become one of the biggest personal motivators and a built-in accountability system.

The Why Behind It

Stories holds Mike accountable in a way nothing else quite does — if the work isn’t happening, there’s nothing worth sharing. It’s a personal quest to get more comfortable on camera, sharpen the craft of storytelling, and build genuine connection with an audience, none of which comes naturally by default. Audience size isn’t really tracked — Stories has view analytics, but they’re rarely checked. Knowing that even one person is finding value is enough reason to keep showing up.

The Process

No scripting or day-mapping happens in advance, but every Story is built with the basic shape of a story in mind — beginning, middle, end, with some form of conflict or tension running through it.

Using surroundings: mornings usually start on a bike ride or walk around Naples, FL, where beach scenery and good light do a lot of the creative heavy lifting. Building a real creative toolbox — trying new formats, mixing photo and video — is part of building the brand itself. Sharing real conflict and struggle (deadlines, workload, uncertainty) keeps the narrative honest rather than polished into something fake.

The daily anatomy:

  • Morning — a walk or bike ride, a photo of the Florida sunrise or a palm tree, a good-morning greeting, a tech tip or bit of news, and a rundown of the day’s to-do list — not to look busy, but to share the actual process of building a business from scratch.
  • Mid-afternoon — a quick check-in to break up the workday.
  • Late afternoon — the favorite slot: an old beach cruiser, an afternoon bike ride, and a sunset mission, genuinely enjoyed rather than performed.

Topics come from whatever’s actually happening that day, filtered through one question: will this teach, entertain, or offer a small nudge of motivation to someone who needs it?

Technical Notes

Instagram Stories are vertical, 9:16 aspect ratio, 1080×1920px.

Tools used:

Recommended: Adobe Spark, Canva

Make Interesting Stories

Always look for ways to add interest — creativity and storytelling are the throughline for online education, content creation, podcasting, blogging, personal branding, and business. Learn, create, move forward.

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