Top 9 Design Tips for Eye-Catching WhatsApp Stories
WhatsApp is an underrated yet powerful tool for marketing and business promotions.
As of 2025, it’s the most popular global mobile messenger app, with over 2 billion active users. WhatsApp Business, their specialized app where people can access more advanced marketing tools, has also steadily gained traction, with over 200 million active users.
If you’re looking to tap into this huge WhatsApp audience, why not leverage one of their most popular features—WhatsApp Stories? Keep reading as we share everything you need to know about the tool and explore how you can best use WhatsApp Stories to boost your business.
What Are WhatsApp Stories?
WhatsApp Stories (also called WhatsApp Status) allows users to share text, photos, videos, or GIFs with their contacts. These posts disappear after 24 hours.
You can choose who can view your Stories. This can be everyone or limited to include or exclude certain contacts.
Contacts can also reply directly to your Stories and simply leave an emoji reaction.
All in all, WhatsApp works similarly to the Stories feature of Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat.
And just like with those apps, content creators and business owners use the WhatsApp Stories feature to share quick updates or to simply talk and connect with their audience.
9 Tips for Creating Engaging WhatsApp Stories
Whether you’re sharing a fun behind-the-scenes clip, promoting an upcoming sale, or simply engaging with your audience, design plays a crucial role in making your WhatsApp Stories stand out.
Follow these design tips:
1. Understand your audience
Like with other social media apps, the best way to create great content is to understand the people who will view it.
Know your audience. What is their demographic? What are their preferences, goals, needs, or pain points? What kind of content do they typically watch?
For example, customers of mobile banking apps would prefer posts like short tutorials on how to use the app or quick updates for any app maintenance. They won’t be looking for memes or funny videos.
On the other hand, entertainment companies, makeup brands, or those in the food and beverage industry can capitalize on trendier and light-hearted content.
Understanding your audience can help you tailor your stories to meet their interests and preferences better.
2. Utilize high-quality visuals
Well-lit and high-resolution images and videos can help you capture attention. Avoid blurry, dark, or pixelated content, as they can make you look unprofessional.
If you are planning to add visual effects such as filters, backgrounds, frames, illustrations, or animations, make sure they also look good and align with your brand identity.
Background music, sound effects, and overall sound quality are also important, especially for your video stories. Ensure your audience can properly hear and understand what you are saying in the video. BGM and sound effects should complement your content and not overpower it.
Uploading your content in the right size or design format matters, too. Too small or too big can make your content look weirdly proportioned and can lower its quality. For WhatsApp, the recommended size is 750×1334 pixels.
Tools like BrandCrowd can make this part easier for you. We offer customizable templates specifically designed for WhatsApp Stories, so you can rest easy knowing that the design, size dimensions, and aspect ratio are all WhatsApp-approved.
3. Incorporate brand identity
Brand consistency is crucial no matter what platform you are on.
Stick to your colors, fonts, and overall aesthetic style so your audience can recognize you. Don’t forget your brand logo! To maintain brand recognition, make sure you add it in the corner or the outro of your Stories. Try simplifying this by creating letter logos, such as M logos, to represent your brand name.
4. Leverage interactive elements
WhatsApp offers many elements that you can add in-app to your Stories, such as stickers, emojis, and texts.
Emojis and stickers add personality to your Stories, making them more relatable and fun. However, overusing them can make your content look unprofessional, so add only the relevant ones.
How about polls? Sadly, unlike Instagram, WhatsApp doesn’t have a built-in poll option on its app yet. But you can create a post asking your audience a question and having them reply with an emoji to act as your own “poll.”
All of these can add interactivity to your Stories and make them more engaging for your audience.
5. Use text strategically
Text can help you add context or info to your Stories. But keep them short and to the point because no one wants to read a lengthy paragraph on your posts.
For example, instead of writing:
❌ “We are beyond thrilled to announce our long-awaited new product launch happening next week! Visit our profile for exclusive discounts and behind-the-scenes content.”
Try:
✅ “New product launch next week! Stay tuned for exclusive discounts!”
Make sure to stick to simple fonts that are also easy to read.
6. Keep your content engaging
A clear narrative for your WhatsApp Stories can make your content more memorable and emotionally touching for your audience.
Think of it as doing a screenplay. Your Stories should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
You can also experiment with posing an intriguing or controversial question right at the start of the Story to hook your audience. Or, go with a specific concept at the start, then completely subvert it for a fun twist.
You can also mix the type of content you are posting to keep it fresh. Alternate between images, videos, and text updates. Or alternate between a promotion, an update, a fun content, an informational one, and so on.
7. Add a call-to-action (CTA)
Adding clear and direct CTAs can encourage your audience to take action. That way, they won’t just watch your Story and then simply scroll to the next.
Use the CTA to tell them what you exactly want them to do–whether it’s visiting your website, replying to your Story, or buying the product you posted.
Some examples of CTAs you can use are:
- Swipe up to learn more!
- Reply with a 🔥 if you’re interested!
- Are you Team 👍 or Team 👌?
- Click the link to get 50% off!
- Tap the link before stock runs out!
8. Optimize for time sensitivity
WhatsApp Stories disappear after 24 hours, making them ideal for time-sensitive promotions.
You can use this by creating Stories that require immediate action. For example, the first 10 viewers who reply with a specific emoji will get a discount. The first 20 who share the Story on their account will get a prize. Flash sales that end once the Story disappears are another great way to add a sense of urgency.
9. Monitor performance
WhatsApp provides insights such as likes, views, replies, shares, and completion rate of your WhatsApp Stories. Use these insights to know which types of content receive the most responses and optimize accordingly.
For instance, you may notice that your OOTD posts get more interaction than your polls. Then, you can focus on posting more OOTD since it’s the content your audience enjoys.
You may also find that some posts do better depending on the day or time you posted them. Knowing your peak times can help adjust your posting schedule for when your audience is most active.
Create Beautiful WhatsApp Stories with BrandCrowd Today
WhatsApp is more than just a simple chatting tool—it’s a way to engage more personally with your audience and serve as an alternative platform for all your marketing and promotions.
Treat WhatsApp like you would any other social media app. Pay attention to your branding, post visually appealing and engaging content, and experiment with popular features like WhatsApp Stories.
Ready to start your WhatsApp journey? BrandCrowd is here to help. Make use of our customizable WhatsApp templates and our WhatsApp logo maker now. You can also use our other tools like video maker, link in bio creator, and QR code generator that you can add to make your Stories even more compelling.
Need guidance on other social media apps? Check out our articles below:
