This is a guest post from Sanket Shah, founder of InVideo.
When Facebook launched its Stories feature back in 2017, it might not have seemed like the beginning of an incredible era in 'online connect and influence.' Skip-forward to 2022, and you can not escape the fact that the Stories on Facebook have turned into a vital tool for online marketing.
Today Facebook's reach extends to 59% of the social networking population worldwide. The social media giant has more than 300 million daily active users of its Stories feature. As per a survey, 62% of social media users became more interested in a product or brand after coming across it in Stories. If these statistics are anything to go by, there is no way to ignore the potential of Stories on Facebook to reach out to your audience, market your products, and build your brand.
If you have not yet implemented this feature into your marketing strategy, it is high time you do so. This guide will help you navigate through the landscape of Stories on Facebook and help you to understand why and how to use this feature for business.
What Are Facebook Stories?
Facebook Stories is a feature that enables you to share content and connect with your audience. You can share photos, videos, text, polls, or even animation as part of your Stories. Any content you post to Stories lasts for just 24 hours and disappears after that.
Stories appear right at the top of your Facebook newsfeed, no matter whether you use the Facebook app or the web version. But unlike most other posts on social media, Stories on Facebook does not offer the option of likes or comments. However, viewers can respond to the Stories content through Facebook Messenger.
Why Should You Use Facebook Stories for Business?
Facebook is the undisputed king of social media. It is the only social networking platform with a reach that covers more than half of the wide community of social media users worldwide. If you adopt the right strategies, Facebook Stories can be a great way to communicate your brand message to your audience.
Here are some of the major reasons to use Stories on Facebook for your business.
Stories Increase Audience Engagement
To keep your audience engaged, you need to provide content they like to watch. Stories enable you to share your brand message through captivating content in various formats, including short videos. Also, since Stories occupy a prime location on your Facebook newsfeed, they are more likely to draw your audience's attention and increase engagement. Messenger chatbots help increase your sales by responding to customer queries instantly.
Stories Motivate Audience to Take Action
According to a survey, 58% of the respondents said they had explored a brand's website, and 31% said they had visited a shop to know more about a product or service after watching Stories about it. This clearly shows how Stories inspire action from the audience.
Stories Help Build Brand Personality
Stories provide you the freedom to build your brand personality. They enable you to capture audience interest by being slightly informal in conveying your message. This can help your audience discover the human side of your brand. For instance, by sharing behind-the-scenes videos of your company, you can provide them a glimpse of how things get done at the backend.
Stories Offer Creative Freedom
The Stories feature on Facebook provides several built-in creative tools to make your content more compelling and attractive. You can use effects, stickers, filters, emojis, etc., to grab your stories' attention. There are many possibilities to make your Stories more engaging without investing in any other tools.
Stories Ensure Trackable Performance
Facebook provides you the means to analyze and improve your strategy of targeting your audience. You can keep track of who is viewing your Stories, the age and gender of your viewers, location, and other details. This enables you to analyze your audience and modify your strategy to reach out to your target group. This, in turn, helps you to succeed at selling using Facebook.
How to Create Facebook Story Content
Facebook enables you to create Stories from Facebook Messenger, the desktop app, and the Facebook mobile app. To create Facebook Stories for business, start by selecting the '+' button that appears on your profile picture on the Facebook page and proceed to 'Create a story.'
Step 1: Select the Type of Story Content You Want to Create
Facebook offers you the option to create Stories of different formats. You can even select an existing video or image from your gallery to create your story. The different content options and tools offered by Facebook include the following:
- Gallery: To share existing videos or images from your phone.
- Text: To create a text-based story.
- Boomerang: To capture a burst of photos and turn them into a quick animation.
- Layout: To post multiple photos in collage or grid formats.
- Poll: To conduct viewer polls for audience opinion between two options.
- Superzoom: To zoom in on an object.
Step 2: Add Your Creative Touch to the Content
Facebook provides you with plenty of tools to make your Stories more creative and engaging. You can find them on the right-hand column of your Facebook page after selecting an image or video file or selecting one from the Gallery. Some of the fun options include the following:
- Stickers: Facebook allows you to add animated and static stickers to your content. You can select GIFs, music, tag people, ask questions, conduct a poll, and do a lot more using the stickers.
- Text: You can use text for captioning or adding context. You can explore many possibilities by using different colors, styles, fonts, and backgrounds.
- Effects: You can apply or draw effects to add a whimsical touch to your content. Make your choice between freehand drawing or adding an abstract effect overlay.
- Animated Effects: You can use animated effects to make your content zoom in, zoom out, slide, or bounce and draw attention.
Step 3: Add Customized Links and Buttons For CTA
Facebook enables you to share links and buttons. These play a big role in marketing. You can select from a few call-to-action buttons that appear when you tap on the link icon on the right sidebar. Once you select a CTA, customize it with your chosen link.
Step 4: Share Your Story
Once you create and customize your content, you can share it by tapping on the 'Share Now' option.
Start Engaging Your Audience Through Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories have the power to enhance your customer engagement and improve your sales. All you need to do is start creating interactive, interesting, and actionable content. Try to build excitement for your audience by providing a glimpse of upcoming events or product launches through Stories. Get people engaged and leave them asking for more. Once you start doing it, there will be no looking back for you.
Sanket Shah is the founder of InVideo. InVideo serves millions of users from ~190 countries and we have raised $20M+ from the likes of Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. He studied at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and after that, he spent some time in Silicon Valley before moving back to India.