It seems like Facebook is constantly rolling out new features, so last year when they took a page out of Snapchat’s book and unveiled Stories, the format was already familiar to a lot of users, especially the younger generation. What was a little unexpected, though, was the rollout a few months ago that made the Stories feature available to Facebook business pages. A lot of businesses still haven’t quite figured out what to do with their Stories yet, but it’s a great opportunity to start experimenting with the new wave of visual online marketing.
How Stories Work
On the surface, there’s really not much to learn, especially if you’re already using Snapchat or Instagram Stories. Stories use original content that you create with your phone camera (photos or videos), on top of which you can layer filters, text, and other visual effects. Just go to the timeline of your Facebook page, tap “Create Story,” and off you go.
Once you’ve created your content, sharing it to your Story means that it gets pride of place at the top of the Facebook app window. The trade-off, of course, is that each Story post disappears after 24 hours, just like on Snapchat or Instagram Stories. This encourages users to keep creating new content to replace the content that’s perpetually disappearing. It also encourages your audience to keep checking in to see if there’s anything new added to your Story.
How Stories Can Work for Your Brand
Today’s internet users expect interaction with brands. They expect to be able to contact and communicate with you, almost in real time. This concept of immediacy and meaningful connection is what drives the idea behind Stories. It’s almost like having a direct visual conversation with potential customers.
If you’ve been struggling with organic reach and have had to rely heavily on sponsored posts, Stories provide a great way to do some free boosted advertising. Regular Facebook posts may or may not show up on your followers’ newsfeeds, but Stories will always be at the top of the app in the Stories section, where they’re highly visible.
In short, your Story is a great way to give your brand a personal feel, which will endear you to your audience and make them feel more a part of the brand’s journey. It helps you sidestep those pesky algorithm issues that can hinder post visibility, and of course it also keeps you on your toes when it comes to creating fresh visual content. If you haven’t tried adding to your page’s story yet, the best time to start is now, so you can start getting the hang of the future of marketing, focusing on bite-sized portions of original, up-to-the-minute content.
Cogo Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy, web design, SEO and social media marketing. We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and nationally
