The Complete Guide to Using Facebook Stories for Business

Facebook marketing has been a preferred marketing channel for many brands for the best part of a decade. With nearly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook gives brands access to a seemingly endless audience. Although Facebook Stories were only introduced in 2016, the feature has already become a major hit with Facebook users. Facebook Stories creation and consumption has increased by 842% since they launched and have a staggering 500 million daily active users—a number that’s only set to rise. 

Facebook Stories are easy to use, have a prime viewing location and present brands with many opportunities to promote themselves to new audiences. Using Facebook Stories for business will be a game changer for your brand. 

What are Facebook Stories?

Facebook Stories is a feature that allows users to share images and videos to their profile pages for 24 hours; it is the same concept as Instagram Stories or Snapchat Stories. 

Different from a typical Facebook post, users can’t like or comment on Facebook Stories. If users want to engage with a Story, they can reply to the post and a conversation will start in Facebook Messenger. 

Facebook Stories are housed in two locations on mobile devices. The first is at the very top of the Facebook app, and the second is at the top of Facebook Messenger. If you are using Facebook desktop, Stories can be found in the top right corner. To view a Story, users must tap on the circled profile picture. 

Why you should use Facebook Stories for business

The Facebook algorithm can be notoriously tricky to manage to gain organic reach. However, Stories are poised at the very top of the platform, meaning the Facebook engagement on Stories is high; 500 million daily active users high. 

Facebook Stories are a good way to humanise your brand. Through a more informal content format, you can connect with audiences on an emotional level by giving some insight into your brand and employees. One of the most prominent Facebook trends is authenticity from businesses, and Stories allow brands to offer this to their followers. 

Facebook Stories can also be used as paid ads. Facebook as a marketing tool is used by the majority of marketers because it always provides results. It also helps override Facebook’s algorithm so the ROI is worth it. 

Post Ideas for Facebook Stories

There are countless Facebook post ideas available, but you will want to create story content that engages. Once you have found the best time to post on Facebook for your business, consider the following ideas to increase engagement. 

Create exciting content

Facebook Stories that have an “urgency factor” are why Stories became such a popular feature. You should take advantage of the limited-time availability of Stories to create content that builds excitement.

You could share early bird offers, a 24 hour discount code, announce an upcoming event or encourage users to sign up for an event. 

Make your Stories interactive

Facebook Stories can bring in large audiences, and you can engage with them by using interactive tools like voting stickers and polls. You can ask your audience questions or give them prompts to engage with. 

When using Facebook Stories for business, you can also add custom link buttons to encourage a call to action and drive more engagement. 

Share external content

You can use Stories to share relevant content that your business hasn’t created. This could be from a prevalent Facebook influencer or user-generated content. This method can give you social proof and solidify your position as a thought leader within your industry.

FAQs

What are Facebook Stories for business?

Facebook Stories for business is a feature that allows brands to share images and videos to their business profile pages for 24 hours; it is the same concept as Instagram Stories or Snapchat Stories. 

How do you add a Story to your Facebook business page?

Creating a Facebook Story for business pages is easy. 

First of all, you need to have a Facebook business page. We recommend getting set up with Facebook Business Manager to help you keep track of your Story assets. 

Click the “+” button on your Facebook business page’s profile picture and select “Create story.”

Select the type of story you want to create; you can create a Story from scratch within the platform or upload an image or video from your camera roll. If you want to upload a Facebook Story video, please note that Facebook Story videos are only 20 seconds long. 

Afterwards, you can customise your Facebook Stories. You can draw, add text or animations and apply stickers.

When using Facebook Stories for business, you are given an extra option compared to a personal page. Within Facebook Stories for business, you can add custom links and buttons urging a call to action. 

Once you are happy, click “Share Now.” 

What’s the difference between a Facebook Story and post?

The main difference between a Facebook Story and a Facebook post is that Stories are only available for a 24 hour period. A Facebook post is available on a user’s profile permanently (or until they decide to delete it). 

Another difference between Facebook Stories and posts is that users cannot like or comment on Stories; they can only start a conversation in Facebook Messenger.

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