Lately, social media stories seem to be the craze amongst the most popular platforms. Pioneered by Snapchat back in 2013, stories are full-screen, vertical pictures and videos outside of the regular feed which only last 24 hours before disappearing. They provide a more intimate connection with your followers because it’s super quick to record something and add it to your story.
Because of their rise in popularity on Snapchat in 2013 and Instagram in 2016, many social media platforms went on to add their own take on social media stories. Within the last two weeks, both LinkedIn and Pinterest have added themselves to the list of platforms with stories; there’s no better time to talk about which social media stories your business should actively be posting on!
Each of these social media stories is ranked on a scale of one to five stars; one star is the lowest rating, meaning that businesses typically will not benefit from these stories at all. Five stars means it’s practically non-negotiable for your business to be utilizing this platform’s stories. Some fall in-between – check it out!
Twitter Stories (a.k.a. “Fleets”), 2020 – ★☆☆☆☆
Twitter was the latest social media platform to hop on the Stories train. Launched on November 17, 2020, Twitter’s “Fleets” offer the option for users to share a tweet or a photo to their followers for 24 hours. Because they’re so new, we’re still waiting to see if they pick up or not.
The interface itself is much more limited than Snapchat or Instagram, as it lacks the breadth of filters in other apps’ libraries. As a result, there are less forms of content you can share, and that somewhat limits how engaging you can be with your audience. However, for businesses that thrive on Twitter (such as news outlets), Fleets may actually make sense; people are frequently checking those pages, so the more content, the better.
Snapchat Stories, 2013 – ★☆☆☆☆
Snapchat is a very interesting social media platform, because in some ways, it isn’t necessarily very social; in other words, it is more focused on one-on-one communication rather than an individual speaking to their followers. For that reason, businesses won’t benefit too much from organic growth on Snapchat.
Running ads may be successful for large corporations, but as far as just having a Snapchat account, there isn’t much of a point unless it’s for you individually. It’s fun to post on your own, though!
Pinterest Stories, 2020 – ★☆☆☆☆
Just this past September, Pinterest released their own platform-specific version of social media stories. If this confuses you, you’re probably not alone – in fact, these stories aren’t even the stories most social media users are accustomed to. These stories can be saved (or “pinned”) onto boards to see later rather than disappearing within 24 hours, and they are also discoverable through the platform’s typical pinning algorithm.
So, they’re sort of like the “lite” version of stories – they’re basically stories, but they have a little way to go before they’re really stories. Because they’re so new, there is still more to be seen about their performance. Of course, we’ll update you when we find out more, so make sure to check back!
Facebook Stories, 2017 – ★★★☆☆
Truth be told, Facebook Stories are just…middle of the road. They’re kind of just there for some people, but if a lot of your business’s demographic is on Facebook, this may actually be a decent way to reach them. As of August 2020, 300 million users use Facebook Stories daily compared to 500 million who use Instagram Stories every day. While this is a fairly impressive number, it can be difficult to drive conversions through Facebook stories. Of course, what doesn’t work for one business may work very well for another!
LinkedIn Stories, 2020 – ★★★☆☆
Although these are still relatively new, there already are a ton of benefits to having this quick interface to share content on this professional networking site. A huge one is the transparency this allows for professionals and businesses alike.
Allowing potential customers or clients to see the way you conduct business outside of “normal” social media can have a huge influence on whether or not they choose to do business with you. Show them your true self and how you actually work! Of course, we’ll be sure to update you as soon as we know even more about this new and exciting addition to LinkedIn’s platform.
Instagram Stories, 2016 – ★★★★★
Instagram Stories can be absolutely humongous for your business. They do disappear after 24 hours, but there is such a large array of things you can do with them that they can potentially make or break your social media performance. Not only can you post photos and videos, but you can use the “create” feature to type a quote or create a “boomerang,” which is a short looped video. There are endless possibilities, and they’re a great way to reach your audience.
Plus, with Instagram Stories, you can interact directly with your audience! Not only is there a messaging feature built into the stories, but there are also stickers you can use to create a poll or open up your inbox to questions from your viewers. These are an amazing way to encourage your followers to engage directly with your posts, and you can open up a conversation easily that way. If you’re not using Instagram Stories already, you should be – now!
Of course, this is just a general idea of each platform’s version of social media stories; the results you see will largely depend on your industry and target demographics. Wherever the majority of your audience is located is where you want to shift your focus. Meet them where they are, and you can see incredible growth!
Which platform's Stories do you use & love?
Let us know in the comments!
If your current digital marketing strategy just isn’t cutting it anymore, you’ve come to the right place. Reach out to our team of experts here at Blackwood Creative. We’re in the business of building remarkable brands, and yours could be next. Contact us today!