We all have a story to tell, how will you tell yours? In case you haven’t noticed, Facebook now has the “Stories” feature. In March, Facebook launched Stories to challenge rival, Snapchat, since they turned down a $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook. Facebook users can now post Stories to their feeds just like ones you see on Snapchat. In October 2013, Snapchat was the first to introduce Stories, and it has taken the social-media world by storm with their nearly 160 million daily-active users. This leaves many people wondering, can you use Stories not only for your personal life, but for your business as well?

Share Your Stories

Stories are a compelling way to, well… share a story. Stories are pictures or videos posted by a user that can be viewed for 24 hours before disappearing. Use filters, text, cartoonish features, and stickers to illustrate a creative image for the viewer. We’ve become a visual world and Facebook users will gravitate toward a well put together graphic.

Engagement

Facebook, in general, is a great platform for user engagement. The Stories feature will allow viewers to get an inside look at what your company does behind the scenes. Use Stories to authenticate and humanize your brand to show viewers who you are and what you’re all about.

Also, Stories give businesses a way to share what you are doing or what you have to offer without trying to attain a huge number of likes. One of Facebooks greatest creations is the “like” option. Whoever has the most likes and most engagement is deemed popular and is put on a social media pedestal. By taking the “like” option away, people are able to engage with their followers whenever they want and not feel judged by the amount of engagement they have.

Generate Excitement

This is a great tool to use when your business has an upcoming event, product launch, promotion, etc. Post teasers to generate buzz and encourage viewers to engage with your content. To do so, you need to make sure each post has value so that viewers are motivated to learn more about what you have to offer.

The sharing of original, user-generated content, like status’ and images have declined 21% between mid-2015 and mid-2016. Many of Facebook’s users are no longer creating their own content—this is being dubbed as “context collapse.” Instead, they share links and information from other websites and pages. Facebook wants its users to start sharing more personal stories again, especially since they have the largest audience on social media.

Users seem to respond better to in the moment activities. By popularizing short-lived, visual interactions on mobile devices, it is similar to real life interactions, where our visuals and body language tell a story just as well as the words we are saying.

Put Your Company on a Platform

Use Facebook Stories to show off your business. Show your viewers your products or services in action—it’s an opportunity to highlight what you do and how it can benefit your viewers. Think of it as a 20 second visual sales pitch.

Social media has become one of the most influential applications to drive traffic to your business. If done correctly, you can control the power of social media to propel your business to new heights. Short-term media, like Facebook’s new Stories feature, is a trend that is on the rise and can be an effective tool to take your business to the next level. Let the experts at Vision Advertising take your social media game to the next level. Contact us today!