Ideas: Streamline Your Ideation Process

The Ideas tab is where Edits keeps your saved inspiration and notes in one place, so you can organise and revisit them before you start a project. Instagram's tutorial describes it as a spot for your saved content from Instagram, stickies for notes and scripts, and saved audio and effects you can bring into projects.

It solves a common problem: ideas arrive at random moments, then disappear. With Ideas you can:

• Capture quickly, with a note or a saved sound, before you forget.
• See everything in one place, instead of scattered between Notes, screenshots and bookmarks.
• Go from idea to video faster, by sending notes into a script or storyboard.
• Build a backlog so you never face a blank screen.

Reviewers describe the app's main areas as Ideas, Inspiration, Projects and Camera. Names and layouts change between versions, so follow what your own screen shows.

Item	What it's for	How to use it
Saved Instagram content	Inspiration from posts you liked	Study the pacing, hook and style, then adapt it to your own topic
Stickies	Notes, rough ideas, cut sketches and scripts	Jot first, expand later
Saved audio	Trending sounds and tracks you want to use	Bring them into a project; see music and audio
Saved effects and styles	Looks you like	Reuse them to keep a consistent style

Saved templates and style suggestions also appear in the app's discovery area, described in the templates guide and creative inspiration.

Stickies are the heart of Ideas. Instagram's tutorial says to use them to jot down notes, bits of inspiration, scripts and more. You can also leave sticky notes on audio you want to create with.

1. Open the Ideas tab in Edits.
2. Add a sticky and type the idea in one line. Don't edit yet.
3. Add detail later: a hook, the shots you need, a possible sound or a script.
4. Attach it to a sound if the idea started with a song.
5. Bring it into a project when you're ready to film.

Good sticky habits: one idea per note, start with a verb ("Show", "Compare", "Explain"), and add a rough length. See the first Reel guide for what to do next.

Instagram added a feature in August 2025 that turns a sticky into a script: write it in a sticky note, then send it straight to the built-in teleprompter with a simple drop-down command. The script then appears over your recording screen, so you don't need to draft it in another app.

1. Write the script in a sticky: short, spoken lines.
2. Choose the option to send it to the teleprompter (look for the drop-down on the sticky).
3. Open the camera, adjust speed and text size, and record.

The full setup is in the teleprompter tutorial. For format ideas, see talking-head videos.

When an idea has several parts, a storyboard gives it structure. Reports describe storyboards as an extension of stickies, turning spontaneous ideas into a visual sequence of scenes.

• Pick your best sticky and write the goal in one sentence.
• Break it into sections: hook, setup, main points, ending.
• Note the clips you need under each section, then film to the plan.
• Turn it into a project when you're done planning.

The step-by-step process is in the storyboards tutorial.

A routine takes the pressure off creativity. Try this loop (general content advice, not an Edits setting):

1. Capture daily. Drop every spark into a sticky, however rough.
2. Review weekly. Spend ten minutes picking the best two or three ideas.
3. Script or storyboard those picks while they're fresh.
4. Batch film on one day, using the notes as a shot list.
5. Edit and post, then mark the sticky as done.
6. Learn from results and save what worked as your next template.

Series formats pay off here: mini vlogs, food reels, product videos and travel reels.

A growing pile of notes needs tidying. Coverage of the stickies update describes ways to keep order:

• Sort by date created, last edited or colour.
• Mark stickies as done once the video is made, so your list shows only what's left.
• Use colours as labels, such as one colour for scripts and another for sounds.
• Prune monthly. Delete ideas you no longer care about.

Sorting options may vary by version, so check what your app offers.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Can't find Ideas	Older app version or different layout	Update Edits and check the main tabs
Notes are a mess	No system	Use colours and mark finished items as done
Can't send a script to the teleprompter	Option is in the sticky's menu	Open the sticky and look for the drop-down
Saved audio missing	Not saved to Ideas, or unavailable	Save it again from the audio picker
Lost a project	Draft not saved	See missing drafts
Login trouble	Account or session issue	See login problems