Wondering if you should invest your time and energy in creating content for Facebook Stories?
Facebook Stories are short user-generated videos and photo collections that are viewed once and disappear after 24 hours.
Since its launch on March 28, 2017, the Facebook Story feature has over 500 million daily active users.
This Facebook Stories feature allows you to add fun filters and snap chart-like lenses to make your content unique and attractive.
Discover a complete guide on how to use the Facebook Stories feature to grow your business on Facebook.
The ultimate guide to Facebook Stories
- Why businesses should use Facebook Stories
- How to post a Facebook Story to your page
- How to access insights about your Facebook page Stories
- What to post on Facebook Stories
- When to post your Facebook Stories
- The best resolution for your Facebook Stories
As a brand, instead of posting videos or images to Facebook as you normally would, you can create engaging Facebook Stories that will attract more followers and allow you to engage and create unique Facebook content.
You can also visual geotags on your videos and photos. Facebook Stories rely heavily on cameras, and that is why it works well on smartphones.
However, users can also post and edit their videos or photos from their desktops to give them a more polished look.
Two main benefits of using Facebook Stories for your brand:
It enables businesses to reach out to their target audience
Like Instagram Stories, the Facebook Stories feature allows businesses to share Stories with exact followers on the business page.
In addition to that, your Stories can only be viewed once and disappear after 24 hours. Sharing Stories that have limited viewing time is usually appealing to viewers. As a result, more people are likely to view them.
It enhances transparency
With Facebook Stories, your followers will never miss any updates from you. The first thing they will see when they log in to their account is your Story, regardless of when it was posted.
You can also use Facebook Stories to share behind the scene content or short how-to video content. This will enable your audience to know your business better.
2. How to post a Facebook Story to your page
There are two methods to post a Story to your page. Each comes with its limitations.
Upload Stories for your page directly from the Facebook app
Method 1: Share your Story using the Facebook mobile app
- Step 1: Access your Facebook page from the Facebook mobile app
- Step 2: At the top of your page you'll see "Create Story" - Click
- Step 3: Create your Story or upload a photo or video - there is a wide range of lenses and filters that you can use to make your content more attractive and desirable.
- Step 4: Click the ‘Add to story’ button or choose 'Next'.
Once you are happy and satisfied with the post you have created, the next step is to share it with your audience. All you need to do to share your Story is tap the arrow icon located in the center of the screen, then choose your Story.
Method 2: Share your Instagram Story
It's the easiest way to share Stories on Facebook, plus you save time using this method.
- Step 1: Go to your Instagram's profile page and click on 'Settings.'
- Step 2: Scroll down and tap on 'Account'
- Step 3: Sharing to other apps
- Step 4: Select the accounts where you want to share your Instagram Stories
3. How to access insights about your Facebook page Stories
You can only access insights about your Facebook Stories once you turn on the Stories insights - available only for the page admins.
This can be done by going to your page then click the insights button located on top of the page. Click Stories, then click the turn on the icon.
Once your Facebook Stories insights are on, you view the metrics of your Facebook Stories, including:
- Unique Story Opens - The number of people who have viewed your Stories.
- A thumbnail of how your Story looked like when it was published.
- Forward Taps - The number of times an individual has skipped going to the next Story.
- Backward Taps - The number of times an individual has taped to go back to view the previous Story
- Exists - The number of times that an individual has left the Story and returned to the news feed
- Forward Swipes - The number of times that an individual skipped going to the next account Story
4. What to post on Facebook Stories
There are many things that you can post on Facebook Stories to market your business. For instance, you can post Stories to educate your audience or update them about new products or service launches.
Below is a list of things that you can post on Facebook Stories:
- How to tutorial visuals for your products/services
- Free tips and tricks
- Latest updates about your product/service or the latest news from your industry
- Behind the scene content
- Showcase a trade show or an event that your business attended
- Announce discount codes, special promotions, and last minute offers.
5. When to post your Facebook Stories
When is the best time to post Facebook Stories for businesses?
This question does not have a definite answer because it depends on your individual preference and the nature of your business.
Although Facebook will not penalize you for posting too many Stories, the more you post, the less desirable your Stories become.
This means that if you post frequently, then your audience will become less interested in viewing them. On the other hand, if you post fewer Stories, your audience will be more interested in viewing them.
Make sure your Facebook Stories are engaging for your audience: use GIFs, emojis, add text for those who can't hear what you are saying.
I don't have a secret formula for the best time to post Facebook Stories, but I know that you have to test.
Test different times and different types of content, and you will find the best time to post Stories for your brand.
Final thought
Facebook Stories for pages is an excellent feature that businesses can take advantage of to market their brands.
If you follow the guideline above, then you will get the best results from Facebook Stories.
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- How To Develop A Better Facebook Strategy Than Your Competitors
- Ask The Experts: What’s The Future Of Facebook Marketing?