Social Media Stories are temporary, mobile videos or images that appear outside your social media feed. Stories are one of the most popular social media features to date. Like all great content, social media stories exist to entertain, inform, or achieve a particular goal or outcome.

Top brands are using Instagram and Facebook Stories to connect with their audience in new ways. Social media stories are more likely to be viewed by users, especially if you regularly create video content.
Here’s an important caveat about social media stories to remember: they only last 24 hours. This time limit is a blessing and a curse. If you know how to use Stories to your advantage, then your content can create a sense of community and urgency among your follows. But why bother with social media stories at all?

Did You Know?

500 million Instagram users now use Instagram Stories every day Millennials and Gen Z users create more Instagram content than any other generation. Top brands use Instagram Stories and Posts equally
Instagram Stories have an average reach rate of 5.82%

Instagram and Facebook Stories Ideas

Stories are a great way to connect with the social media audience you already have. A large and consistent following is important, but so is nurturing your current followers. Successful Story content is informative and shareable.

Current followers are more likely to share a brand’s content when it has either a clear call to action and/or a time restraint. Since social media stories last for only twenty-four hours, it’s best to use a sense of urgency to your advantage.

The following are a few successful Instagram and Facebook Story ideas that you can implement today:

• Contests– Remember that sense of urgency we were talking about? What better way to engage with and/or grow a new following by promoting your contest on Facebook or Instagram Stories. For contests that have a lot of instructions, consider creating a post with all the correct information and then adding that same post to your Stories.
• Promotions- Stories are an excellent way to post limited time offerings and promotions. -Try to include a fun graphic or animation that really captures what you’re trying to sell. Remember that the CTA should be clear and easy to follow. All Stories are timed, and you don’t have a lot of time to get your story across. Be sure you know how to really sell what you’re offering.
• Educational Content-Users want to be entertained and informed. Consider uploading a fun and short instructional video to your Story. Make sure the video relates to a trending topic relevant to your following such as marketing, COVID-19, or business tips.

No matter what you decide, Facebook and Instagram stories are a fun and easy way to boost your following. For stories that convey a lot about your company and offerings, we recommend saving the stories for your records. Instagram has a saved stories feature that appears in the “Highlights” section on your Instagram page.