How to make your Instagram stories interactive – and other social media, including YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, LinkedIn and more

by Brock Horning | November 2024

Content creators and businesses are a common sight on major social media platforms. It’s an effective place to reach vast audiences to share their story and create amazing experiences.

But every single one is subject to the fickle whims of the local algorithm. How do you create a seamless journey across websites, social media pages, and other owned channels when each platform tries to distract viewers and keep them on their app?

There’s only one way to beat the algorithm. Don’t play its game. That’s where Stornaway Voyager comes in.

Stornaway’s new feature, Voyager, is an interactive journey designer. Creators can overlay clickable buttons and other interactive elements onto existing websites and platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, live streams, polls, webpages and more within an interactive video.

Create seamless, guided journeys – wherever your content lives – within a single Magic Window.

A virtual film festival using Vimeo videos

Stornaway Voyager has already seen big results with these major platforms:

YouTube offers limited interactivity, it’s time to take that up a notch. Overlay clickable buttons onto any YouTube video, linking to websites, products or other videos.

With 2.5 billion viewers across the globe, YouTube is hard to beat as a popular video platform. But the hard fact is – YouTube’s algorithm is in control. Where the viewer goes next and the story they make with that content is left up to the dark arts of AI.

Beat the algorithm by overlaying your own buttons. Create guided journeys across different YouTube videos (or even different YouTube video chapters). Add buttons leading to other videos, pages, and social media content within the same frame using Stornaway.

An interactive learning journey leading viewers to different chapters in a YouTube video

Instagram’s Stories feature already allows creators to link out of the platform. Use this to make a seamless omni-channel experience, leading viewers out to different websites, forms and products within a single frame.

Stories is one of Instagram most popular features. Posts last just 24 hours and can be stitched together into engaging stories. Turn these stories into seamless experiences that bring websites, products and forms into the Instagram experience.

Any links clicked within Stories are opened within the Instagram app. Link to a 9:16 Stornaway Voyager video and create guided journeys using Stornaway.

TikTok’s quickfire videos hold so much opportunity once you add interactivity.. Bring TikTok inside Stornaway to guide viewers through a personalized journey.

TikTok’s algorithm is notorious for its ability to grab attention and keep you engaged – but not necessarily on your content. The only way to beat the algorithm is to not play its game. Lead viewers through your TikTok videos by creating an enriching, gamified experience with personalised outcomes. Overlay clickable elements that lead to websites and products.

Creators and communities can create meaningful moments with audiences by linking their content together into one continuous story – and achieve big results.

Vimeo prides itself on delivering high-quality videos to viewers without mandatory advertising. You might have your own content on Vimeo, but how do you connect it? And how do you use it as part of a wider story that involves more of your profile’s videos?

Overlay clickable buttons leading to other Vimeo videos, webpages, and contact forms to create smooth journeys across all owned platforms. Creatives, entrepreneurs, and businesses can connect the dots with their other owned pages and profiles to create a smooth and seamless journey.

Add buttons that switch to other videos, pages and social media content within the same frame using Stornaway.

Websites – embed existing webpages within your interactive video. Viewers can interact with websites as they would through a browser but you can overlay buttons and other interactive elements.

Google Forms – Viewers can sign up and fill out a Google Form or other survey site without leaving the interactive video

Zoom, Eventbrite, Calendly – audiences can sign up to your event or book a meeting with you without leaving the interactive video. Overlaid buttons can lead viewers on once sign up is complete.

Shopify – the smoothest kind of shoppable video. Viewers can go from the video to the product page without leaving the interactive video.

We describe Stornaway Voyager as a Magic Window. A single ‘pane of glass’ that can guide viewers through different websites, pages and social media platforms while allowing them to explore independently. An interactive journey designer.

Creators can embed existing digital content into their interactive video. This means you can overlay interactive elements such as buttons and include registration forms and polls without having to leave the Magic Window.

One joined-up, seamless experience. Perfect.