Facebook Stories for Businesses: Full Guide

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Facebook, the guru social media marketing platform, has never stopped improving its functionality, and new features are frequently added to surpass those of rival platforms. One of those features is Facebook stories, and since its launch, Facebook Stories have become extremely popular, with more than 1 billion stories shared daily.

The stories have a special place and advantages because the 2.91 billion active users find them at the top of their news feed; companies have begun incorporating this distinctive feature into their marketing plans and stepping up their branding initiatives.

This article thoroughly explains Facebook stories and how to use them.

Shortcuts:

What are Facebook Stories? {#what}

Facebook stories are a feature that allows users to share photos, videos, and animations, and they’re designed to disappear after 24 hours. Users can view Facebook stories by clicking on the profile image or at the top of their news feed, whether on PC or mobile.

Unlike Facebook posts, stories don’t allow users to like the story or leave a public comment; viewers’ interactions with stories appear in Facebook Messenger. Users can add one story or multiple stories that will appear on full screen when viewers click on them and can easily navigate them by tapping on each to move forward.

Content Types {#types}

Facebook stories can be versatile, just like regular posts, and any type of content can be published on Facebook Stories. However, here are the main content for the stories:

Status Stories (Text)

Whatever status you share on Facebook can be shared as a story. Status is text content, but when it is shared as a story, its background can be a transparent, solid color or a custom image.

Image Story

Any type of image can be shared as a story, and it is simply uploaded from the device (Pc or mobile) to the Facebook story.

Video Story

The same with image stories; videos can be shared as a Facebook story. Facebook allows filming a video through the app or uploading one from the device library.

Specifications {#specs}

There are some guidelines, such as aspect ratio and size, whether an image or video story. Some online tools can handle all that hustle and instantly edit facebook story. However, in case you decided to do it manually, here are the optimum specifications:

Resolution: ideal resolution for Facebook Story is 1080 x 1920 pixels with an aspect ratio of 9:16.

Stories Duration: Video stories can go up to 15 seconds each; the story will be divided into videos that are not more than 15 seconds each.

File Format: Accepted image formats are: JPEG, PNG, GIF, and for video: MP4, MOV, or GIF format.

Advantages For Brands {#brands}

Here are some reasons why to add Facebook Stories to the marketing strategy.

Excellent visibility

Facebook stories’ strategic placement on the top of the user’s news feed contributes to visibility. The easy-to-find feature helps draw more eyeballs to the brand, boosting brand awareness. The direct display in front of potential users ensures there’s always a story waiting for them from your brand.

Easily trackable performance

Any marketing effort requires some kind of data collection and analysis; although it lasts only 24 hours, Facebook stories’ performance is easy to track. During the 24 hours, at any point, the performance insights can be checked instantly, such as who saw it, who interacted with it, and who watched it until the end.

Rising popularity

Facebook users share over 1 billion stories on a daily basis; people love it! The ease to use and simplicity make it one of the most powerful tools to convert users. Stories can adopt “User-Generated Content” seamlessly; you can have some of the user’s content, share it with the business story, and tag that user.

A good approach for building loyalty

Posting genuine user-generated content is a surefire way to demonstrate to potential customers that you already have a devoted and loving community. Trust between a customer and a brand is difficult to establish and maintain, especially in the social era. Potential customers will view your account more favorably and develop trusting relationships as a result.

How to use Facebook Stories for Your Business {#bus}

Here are a few tips for developing a Facebook Stories strategy:

Set Clear and Specific Goals

Setting goals is the crucial step for any successful marketing strategy, and tieing every piece of content to the goals will ensure delivering those goals.

Use Relevant Measurables

Set the needed metrics and KPIs to track the performance and give a clear insight into what is going well and what’s not.

Establish Attainable Deliverables

Prepare all needed resources and setups such as images, videos, and shooting sessions, and make sure they are available throughout the time span of the marketing plan.

Set Realistic Growth Goals

Be realistic, set some practical goals that can be accomplished, and plan the next step depending on how the current goals turn out.

Conclusion

Stories are the obvious next step for any business utilizing the platform to stay up with new features and delight their communities regularly. Facebook is by far the most ROI-friendly social media network, and Stories are the most logical next step for any brand using the platform. Facebook Stories is a versatile platform that increases user loyalty, online community engagement, and brand recognition.