Trust us on this, Facebook Stories could be your ticket to better engagement and more followers in 2021. In fact, according to internal data, Facebook Stories has over 500 million daily active users, and we predict it’ll keep on rising across the remainder of 2021. With easy-to-use features, a prime viewing location on Facebook’s News Feed, and ample opportunity to promote your brand and business to new audiences, now’s the time to tap into Facebook Stories as a valuable marketing resource for your brand.
Why Use Facebook Stories for Business
When Facebook first announced that it was creating a native stories tool in 2016, everyone was surprised because it had just launched Instagram Stories a few months earlier! Fast-forward to 2019, and Facebook Stories had managed to draw in over 500 million daily active users — and we expect this number to keep on growing. With organic reach decreasing due to Facebook’s de-prioritization of showing marketing content on people’s News Feeds, we think it’s time for brands to create and share content on Facebook Stories.
Why? Because Facebook Stories could be the best opportunity for brands to grow their engagement, build brand awareness, and strengthen their relationship with their audience. And a lot of it has to do with where Facebook Stories are located.
Unlike regular Facebook posts, which appear on people’s feeds, Facebook Stories are displayed right at the top of the Facebook app. This is prime real estate for businesses trying to catch their audience’s attention.
While user adoption rates for Facebook Stories are growing, the number is still low enough that you can stand out from competitors and grow your organic reach. Plus, you can cross-post your Instagram Stories to Facebook making it easy to share stories on both platforms.
How to Create a Facebook Stories Strategy for Your Business
With more and more people using Facebook Stories, it’s important to build a strategy around your specific goals — whether it’s increasing engagement or getting more followers.
#1: What to Post to Facebook Stories
One of the biggest questions I hear is regarding whether they should be creating original content for Facebook Stories or simply repurposing their Instagram Stories.
With businesses already using Instagram Stories, and a native Instagram-to-Facebook resharing tool available, it makes sense to leverage the content you’re creating for Instagram!
To start sharing your Instagram Stories posts on Facebook, just head to your Instagram profile settings and look for the Linked Accounts heading.
In time, you’ll get to know what your Facebook audience engages with most and can begin to create original content they’ll love. For example, your Facebook audience may tend to watch your stories from start to finish, with a low exit rate. In that case, you might want to experiment with longer-form videos like tutorials, Q&As, and product showcases.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a space on Facebook Stories that is unique to Instagram Stories content. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, Instagram Stories could be where you share behind-the-scenes snippets of your business, while Facebook Stories is for longer, in-depth video guides on how to style your clothes.
#2: How Often to Post to Facebook Stories
There’s no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to how much you should post on Facebook Stories — it comes down to what your followers would like to see!
Some accounts can get away with posting a dozen stories a day, while others are better off posting just a few times a week.
If you’re not sure where to start, pay close attention to your Facebook Stories analytics for clues on what frequency your audience likes. If you’re seeing high exit rates on your Facebook Stories, it could be a sign that you’re posting too much or your audience is bored. But if you’re seeing a pattern where a high percentage of your followers watch until the end of your stories, it might be a sign that they want to see more from you.
If you’re just starting with Facebook Stories, it’s a good idea to experiment with frequency and monitor your audience’s behaviour.
#3: When to Post to Facebook Stories
When it comes to regular Facebook posts, it’s important to post when your followers are most active as the News Feed timeline is so sensitive. But for Facebook Stories, you have a little more freedom.
Due to their ephemeral nature, Facebook Stories exist for a maximum of 24 hours — giving you a long window of being at the top of your followers’ News Feeds.
Even if you post when your audience isn’t online, they’ll still be able to see your Facebook story when they log in. For this reason, you may see higher engagement with your Facebook Stories than your Facebook posts.
In other words, don’t stress out too much about posting your Facebook Stories at optimal times, especially if you’re just starting on the platform. Once you start posting regularly on Facebook Stories, you’ll notice when your audience engagement spikes and can plan your content calendar around that window.
As the organic reach of Facebook posts continues to decrease, Facebook Stories could be the best opportunity for businesses to grow their engagement, build brand awareness, and strengthen their relationship with their Facebook audience! Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help optimise your Facebook marketing.