Social media stories give your business another great opportunity to showcase the personality of your company.
When you make use of the stories feature on any platform, you’re showcasing a less polished but more personal arena where your company can shine. Whether you’re using ads on this feature or you simply showcase some of the activities of your company, this feature can be a useful tool for your digital marketing.
What Are the Characteristics of Stories?
Stories began on Snapchat but now we see them on nearly every social media platform. These items are quick, usually 10-15 seconds, videos or photos that give us a fresh look at the person or company that created the story. Typically, stories only last 24 hours, and then they are gone. This can help you drive urgency for your followers and offer an element of missing out if you aren’t plugged in.
Why Should Your Company Use the Stories Feature?
Recent reports tell us that more than one billion users access Facebook Stories every day. That is an incredible number and one that you certainly can’t ignore. Not only are the number of people using social media stories significant, but most users spend between 24 and 32 minutes watching stories every day. That’s more time than the average sitcom. Stories are important to your business.
How Can You Use Stories on Various Platforms?
You can create unique stories on Instagram and use this feature to promote your business in several different ways. Here are some of the features you can use:
• Shopping – Allow users to click through products and shop with your company
• Polls – Interactive polls increase your engagement levels
• Q& A – Allow users to ask questions that you can answer
• Hashtags – connect stories to topics
• Lyrics – add songs and music to your stories
• Highlights – save stories to your profile to be viewed later
Use some or all of these features and improve your Instagram approach.
Snapchat
Snapchat was the original creator of social media stories and it is a platform that appeals to a large audience. You’ll find a lot of customization features for your stories which can also be the posts you offer on this platform. Here are some of those features:
• Geo-filters – Show other users where you are
• GIFs – Adds moving images to your stories
• Time Limit – Change the duration of the story slide to keep your story moving
These are some of the exclusive features of Snapchat, which also has many of the features that other platforms offer.
While a little late to the party, the fact that Facebook owns Instagram and the programming between the two has become seamless, has helped the growth of stories on Facebook. Many of the stories you see on this platform use the same features as Instagram. You can have your stories displayed on both Facebook and Messenger to give you the added reach you desire.
YouTube
What do you think social media stories would be on YouTube? If you answered “videos” you would be correct. This is a recent feature of this platform and it takes on a different approach than other formats. Here are some of those differences:
• YouTube stories are video-focused
• Stories last for seven days
• Visible only on the subscription feeds and in the user feed on mobile devices
This has become an excellent way for creators to connect to their audience. With more people than ever turning to YouTube videos for their how-to information and connectivity, the development of the stories feature is sure to offer a more widely-used package.
How Can You Make Your Social Media Stories Stand Out?
Most social media users are accessing their accounts on mobile devices, which means you should think about the user when you showcase a story. Here are some quick tips to help you make the most user-friendly stories.
• Keep it upright – this is how your users are holding their phones
• Start and end with your brand message – promote your business
• Used high-quality creative elements – images, videos, and text
• Create contrast between slides – something different in each one
• Build and maintain momentum – offer stories regularly
• Do not spam with stickers – cool effects, but too many will hurt your account
• Create a call to action – important for your advertising
• Test various ways to connect – try different story formats
Get creative, showcase your personality, and let your users enjoy what your company has to offer with social media stories. This is where your users are watching for what you will bring to their news feeds.
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