What Does Forward Mean on Instagram Story? (Complete Guide)

One of the most powerful tools to increase the engagement level on Instagram is its stories. Adding interesting and engaging stories is very important. The type of story you add will decide whether it will be forwarded or not. Generally, there are two types of stories: forward and skip. Of course, it is confusing. Thus, to help you know more about it, we have a guide to discuss what forward stories are and how they are different from the ones we skip.

What Does Forward Mean on Instagram Story?

When we are talking about Instagram stories, there is a forward option on it. It refers to the action when the user taps on the stories to skip to the next segment of the story. The forward option depicts that they are moving from your current story once they view it. They are either moving ahead in a particular story or to the next story once your story is completed. In some cases, forwarding also means sharing the stories with other people. 

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How to See My Instagram Story Taps Forward?

The first thing you must remember is that you will need to have a professional account that is a business or a creator account. Therefore, if you have a personal account and want to check Instagram story tabs forward, get a professional account first. Once you get the professional account, for the infections mentioned below to access the Instagram story forward taps:

1. Open the Instagram app and visit your profile page. 
2. There will be a burger menu present at the top right-hand corner. 
3. Go to the insights option and you will get a button to view the Instagram stories analytics. 
4. Tap on it and scroll down to get the stories option. 
5. Click on it and you will get a great for the most recent stories.
6. Tap on the filter icon present at the top of the screen. You will get a list of options. 
7. Choose the forward option and you will get all the data related to it.

Forward vs. Next Story on Instagram

Most of the people consider both the terms similar to each other. But the truth is it has a significantly different view of actions. It provides different insights into how the audience or the viewers get engaged with the story content. 

If we talk about forward, it is action when the views of your audience skip directly to the next section within the current story. It means that they are moving directly from one part of the story to the next without completely watching it. The forward story depicts that they are uninterested in that part of the story. Whereas, the next story is a different concept. In this situation, the user or the view directly goes to the next story. They do not just skip the particular portion but the entire story. It can be a way to show that the viewer is leaving your content altogether. 

When you have a high number of next story taps, it suggests that your overall story is not engaging with your audience. Having a high number means you must start creating different and more engaging content for your viewers.

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Is “Forward” on Instagram a Good Thing?

Confused if the forward feature on the story is a good or bad thing? Let’s see. This feature is basically for the users who want to flip the content without actually looking at it. It can be personal, and also lower the engagement level if most of the users are not interacting with the content. There are multiple reasons why others are skipping your Instagram story. It may be too long to watch or the content may not be interesting for them. Additionally, it might be in a rush or may come back later to watch it. 

Some may also be forwarding your content because they are enjoying your content. In such a case, it might be a good situation. You will also get to know when your stories are shared with others. Therefore, we can say that it is both positive and negative, it depends upon the type of content you are adding.

Tips to Add Instagram Stories

Want to make the feature work in a positive way? Let us focus on how to add the Instagram stories to make forwarding positively:

1. Be Quick

Most people don’t have much time to scroll on Instagram. In such a case they prefer to watch short stories. Therefore, make the first few seconds of the story count. 

2. Adding Mystery

Try to add some mystery to your story. Add something to the story which will make them come back again and again. Suppose you have launched a mobile, start by giving some glimpse of it. This will make them wonder more which will result in coming back to the story again and again. 

3. Add Engagement Tools 

Some of the engagement tools that you can include in your stories are polls, interactive stickers, and the questions that they need to respond to. 

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Conclusion

Instagram stories are one of the best features to increase the engagement level. It has different options like forward to make it easy for the users to engage with the content. Forward is an action when the user clicks on the story to move to the next segment of the story. It means that the viewers are moving ahead in the particular story or to the next story of yours. When a person shares your story with others, it is also a part of the forwarding process. However, skipping the story means that the audience does not like your content and is directly moving forward.

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