Facebook Stories – Stand out from the crowd

As a business owner investing resources in marketing, you are no doubt always looking for ways to stand out from your competitors.

What if I told you that you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself from the crowd – and completely free of charge! That opportunity is called Facebook Stories.

You are probably already familiar with both the function and format. Facebook Stories are almost identical to Instagram Stories and are very similar to the format we originally saw on Snapchat.

Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories are user-generated content. They appear at the top of the Facebook app on mobile and in the upper right column on Facebook when using a PC. Although Facebook Stories can be viewed from both mobile and PC, they can only be created on mobile, so you will need to use your mobile phone. You can create either a photo or a video, to which you can add various filters and effects such as frames, text, and different emojis.

There are no limitations on how many stories you can post. You can manage this based on what makes sense for you and your business. Your Facebook Story will be available for 24 hours, and your followers can choose to view it as many times as they wish – within that time frame.

Unlike Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories are not used nearly as often, and you can use this to your advantage.

Untapped potential

The fact that this feature is not especially widespread among Facebook users is your window for greater exposure.

I very rarely see Facebook Stories being used by those I follow on Facebook. And I imagine this is the case for most people.

Instead of dismissing Facebook Stories, you can see it as an opportunity. You can use Facebook Stories to showcase new products or simply give your audience insight into everyday life in your business. In doing so, you can be one of the few who appears in the Stories tab for your followers.

How to create a Facebook Story

1. To create a new story on Facebook, open the camera in the Facebook app. If you are logged in as a private user, simply tap “Add” at the top under Stories, as shown in the image below:

If you have a business profile on Facebook, you will find your Stories tab by scrolling down a little, as shown in the image below. To create a new Facebook Story, tap “Add to Story”.

2. Once you have tapped “Add to Story” and taken the photo or recorded the video you want to share with your followers, you can start experimenting with filters and other effects. You can add frames, geo-filters and effects that you will recognise from both Snapchat and Instagram. See the example below:

3. When you are happy with the content you have created, simply tap “Next”, select your page and tap the small blue paper aeroplane at the bottom right corner.

You have now created a story that your Facebook followers will be able to click on and view as many times as they like within 24 hours.

A tip – Combine your Instagram Story with your Facebook Story

If you feel it is too time-consuming and resource-intensive to create different stories for Instagram and Facebook, there is a way around it. Facebook owns Instagram, which allows the two platforms to communicate. A useful feature lets you automatically share your story from Instagram to your story on Facebook. All you need to do is activate a tab.

You do this by opening the story you have created and then tapping the three dots in the bottom right corner:

Scroll down to the bottom and turn on “Share your story to Facebook”:

Now you are ready to make full use of the potential of Facebook Stories – enjoy!

P.S. If you have not yet converted your standard Instagram profile to a business profile, I explain step-by-step how to do it here.

See also:
Facebook advertising – increase brand awareness and boost sales
Instagram Live Video – why it’s a smart choice!
What is Facebook Business Manager? (2018 guide)