6 Smart Ways to Benefit From Facebook Stories

6 Smart Ways to Benefit From Facebook Stories

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With over 2.1 billion daily active users, Facebook has evolved from a mere social platform into something more; one where commerce and social or business and pleasure, as we call it, meet.

The social network giant continues to roll out new features to improve the overall user experience. As a business owner, one of such features to befriend is Facebook Stories.

Launched in 2016, Facebook Stories now has over 500 million daily active users. It's easy-to-use features and placement in Facebook News Feed make Stories a valuable marketing resource. With it, you can project and promote your brand to potential and existing customers alike.

In this article, we’ll be looking at what Facebook Stories is, it’s importance to SMBs and finally, some ways SMBs can ace Facebook Stories, but first

What is Facebook Stories?

Facebook Stories is a feature that allows users to share photos, video and animations collections that disappear after 24 hours in a separate, dedicated news feed on Facebook.

Stories act as Facebook’s secondary news feed, which relies on visual rather than written content and allows the addition of effects, text, emoticons, stickers, backgrounds and interactive elements to pictures and videos.

Unlike most social media posts, Facebook Stories don’t appear on your Timeline or News Feed by default unless you post them there too and comments on your Stories are sent directly to you via Facebook Messenger.

With that many daily active users, Facebook Stories continues to grow as a valuable marketing tool for SMBs, and below are some of its importance to SMBs.

Importance of Facebook Stories to SMBs

1. Helps to Bypass Facebook’s Algorithm

Business content has a lower viewing priority on Facebook feeds as a result of changes which prioritizes content from local news sources and friends and family of users.

But with Facebook Stories, you have a new opportunity to reconnect with users who don’t see your content on their news feed as your stories appear at the top of your audiences Facebook pages.

1. Boost Engagement

Your Facebook Stories are located at the top of Facebook users feeds (mobile and desktop), making it the first thing your customers see when they log onto their profile.

This has the great potential of grabbing their attention and increasing engagement, making Stories a free tool for advertising your brand or businesses on Facebook.

1. Untapped Territory

Stories are relatively new and participation is still low from the general user population especially business profiles. However, as a small business owner, you can take advantage of this and stand out from the crowd by adding Facebook Stories to your strategy for more visibility and reach.

1. Drive Traffic to Your Website

With Facebook introducing the option to add custom links to Facebook Stories, you can use this or add CTA buttons to your stories to drive your audience back to your site and grow your website traffic.

1. Build Better Connections

Facebook Stories is perfect for sharing authentic content in real-time. This provides an organic and immediate way to connect with your customers and easily build trust and brand loyalty.

Stories give you the opportunity to communicate more intimately with your audience and allow them to stay up to date with your brand and even join in your brand story. This fosters a sense of community among your followers with your brand, helping you build beneficial relationships with them.

1. Measure your Campaigns Easily

With Facebook Analytics, you can see exactly who views your Facebook Stories. This helps you target your audience easily with effectively tailored content.

With more than 2.7 billion users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world and below are some other key statistics you can leverage on to grow your business on Facebook.

6 Ways SMBs Can Use Facebook Stories to their Advantage
 

1. Create a Facebook Stories Strategy for Your Business

As more people begin to use Facebook Stories, it’s important to stand out by developing SMART goals for your brand and building a Facebook Stories strategy around these goals.

Whether that’s getting more engagement on your Facebook Page or growing your followers, you can achieve them with the right Facebook Stories strategy.

2. Create Interesting Time-Sensitive Content

Facebook Stories last for only 24 hours. It is important to bear this in mind when creating content so as to drive maximum impact before expiration.

You can use your Stories to:

• celebrate business milestones,

• Share what happens behind the scenes in your business,

• give previews of new products and upcoming projects,

• share important tips for your customers,

• Share pictures or videos from an event you hosted or attended,

• Share important updates and announcements,

• host competitions/giveaways,

• advertise limited-time sales and discounts, etc.  

3. Add Custom Links and CTA Buttons to Facebook Stories

 Add custom links and CTA buttons such as “Shop Now,” “Buy Now,” “Get Directions” or “Learn More,” to your stories, to drive viewers to your website that is already linked to your Facebook Page.

 That way you gain organic traffic plus leads who may convert and become customers.

4. Measure Your Facebook Stories Success Using Analytics 
Tracking your Stories metrics is important for the success of your Facebook Stories strategy. This shows you how each piece of content performs. With this insight, you can tailor future stories to suit your target audience better.

You can track your Stories performance on your mobile app by clicking the eye icon in the bottom left-hand corner of one of your stories to view the list of people who viewed your story, or on your desktop by clicking on Insights at the top of your Facebook Page, and clicking Stories in the left column and finally clicking “Turn On”.

5. Share User-Generated Content

Sharing your customer's images or videos in your Facebook stories does not only provide you with a pool of content for your Stories, but it is also a way to make your customers feel valued, encourage engagement, and provide social proof of your goods or services. Make sure to seek their consent.

You can also reach your audience by collaborating with and sharing stories of the people they already love through Influencer marketing to build credibility for your brand. Ask influencers to share stories with you or add it to your existing strategy.

6. Branding

Facebook provides a wide range of filters and effects to choose from when creating your stories. To stand out, add filters and effects that are relevant to your brand and use colors and text styles that are consistent with your brand's image.

You can also feature your motto, slogans, logos, mascots; anything that says “hey, this is me right here.”

Conclusion

The Stories format is here to stay seeing that Facebook is pushing Stories across all its main platforms. The key to thriving with Facebook Stories is creating optimized, current and interesting content that grabs attention and drives action.

How have you been using Facebook Stories to promote your business?

Author Bio:

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business and Ecommerce Copywriter featured in Huffington Post, Dumb Little Man, Self-Growth, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, Floship, WeCan, Grow Map, Small Biz Club among others.

Twitter: @amos_onwukwe