Facebook Stories: Learn how to use this tool in your marketing strategy

Not even the largest social network, with more than 2 billion active users, is immune to the sweeping trends of the digital world. Suppose you were already used to using stories on Instagram or statuses on WhatsApp. In that case, you could be wasting an attractive marketing channel if you don’t give the same attention to Facebook Stories.

Still don’t know Facebook Stories? Understand what it is!

Facebook Stories is a feature on the social network that allows you to publish photos or short videos that only stay up for 24 hours and are then deleted, unlike conventional posts, which are permanent. If you’re already used to WhatsApp Status, know it’s the same thing.

Indeed, the feature hasn’t yet gone as viral on Facebook as it has on other networks, but even so, it adds several cool features that are worth exploring, such as:

• Short videos: can be up to 20 seconds long;
• varied filters: various filter colours to make photos more beautiful and professional-looking;
• Animations: You can include animations in an image or video to make the post more interactive and informal;
• stickers and tags: You can tag a day and time, the location of the image or catch phrases to attract attention.

Discover 4 benefits of Facebook Stories for your digital strategy

You may be wondering why it would be worth using the same resource that already exists in many other places

This is a valid question, but you may change your mind after thinking more about the 4 benefits of Facebook Stories to your digital strategy. Check it out below!

1. Talk directly to your audience in a light and fun way

The story is a direct conversation between the company and the public. The functions offered were designed to humanize brands and strengthen relationships with customers and fans.

Therefore, each story is a chance to connect more deeply with your audience and invite them to interact more.

2. Improve the feeling of transparency

Typically, stories involve some behind-the-scenes look at your company. Whether showing photos of the team, videos of day-to-day work, or revealing clues about future news or new content published on your blog, there is a feeling of intimacy with the audience.

This conveys the idea of ​​transparency, essential for deepening ties with your fans.

3. Use an accessible, proven marketing channel

Who doubts that Instagram stories are beneficial for increasing engagement within the network and even driving qualified traffic to a website?

If this channel has proven helpful, why not use it on Facebook? This will require little effort, mainly if you already use Instagram. Just publish the same content on both platforms.

4. Increase organic reach without spending anything

Facebook’s organic reach has declined a lot in recent years. Any way to increase this reach, even temporarily, is a victory.

And that’s what happens when you use stories. After all, your brand will appear in your followers’ feeds and have a greater chance of attracting their attention.

If your competitors still need to adopt Stories, even better: less competition and more opportunity for your page to stand out.

4 steps to use Facebook Stories the right way and generate more results

Now that you’re convinced it’s worth including Facebook Stories in your social media content planning, the question arises: how to do it correctly?

Even though the posts are spontaneous and seem to have no prior preparation or planning, it is always better to follow a straightforward process. Therefore, you must follow the 4 steps below:

1. Learn how to post an update

We couldn’t start any other way: First, you must learn how to publish an update. Fortunately, it’s pretty simple.

If you already use Stories on Instagram, it’s even more accessible, as the mechanics are practically identical.

Press the round button labelled “Add your story” at the top of your news feed in both the computer and mobile app.

After that, several post options will appear phrases, photos, uploaded already recorded videos or go live. Additionally, you can select several post-customization options.

You can also mark places or people you want to mention in the post and add the animations, effects and filters already mentioned. Finally, confirm that you want to share the update as it is and check the result.

2. Publish posts of different styles

Variation is essential to continue attracting public attention on social media. If you publish more than one type of content and keep it the same, your followers will soon get tired and stop paying attention.

Therefore, maintain a standard post type but use variations occasionally. Also, remember that you can publish multiple stories at once. So, mixing videos, photos, and even text sentences can be a good idea.

Just be sure to do everything coherently, according to a plan and in a way that makes sense to those who will watch your stories.

Additionally, testing different types of Stories will help you see what works best with your audience on Facebook.

3. Test to discover the best frequency and times to publish

How many stories will be issued per week? And all at once? And what times are most effective for reaching your audience? This type of question can only be answered as you perform tests. Therefore, test different days and times and alternate the frequency between one post and another.

Over time, you will be able to know what works best in general and replicate that model. It’s worth following the tips in posts about frequency and schedule as a starting point.

But take into account that some of these researches were carried out in other countries and may need to reflect the reality in the UK.

The niche you belong to can also have an influence. Therefore, use the available data, but do not take it as a rule.

4. Access engagement data and adapt accordingly

Facebook Insights, which offers metrics about your performance on the network, is also an important ally when deciding to use Stories. The information provided is specific and can show whether your stories are relevant to the public.

First, you must be an administrator of the page and activate information about Stories in Insights.

To do this, do the following:

• Enter your page, click on “Information” at the top;
• In the left column, click “Stories” and then “Activate”.
• After that, you will have access to information such as:

When a story was created;

• How many people opened an account;
• How many skipped to the next part of an update;
• How many went back to the previous part of an update;
• the number of people who missed your story completely;
• the number of people who left the story and returned to the feed.