Yes, a Facebook business page can share a story. Stories allow businesses and organizations to share photos and videos in a fullscreen, vertical format on their Facebook pages.
What are Facebook Stories?
Facebook Stories are short photo or video posts that appear fullscreen and can be customized with text, stickers, drawings, and more. Stories appear at the top of the Facebook news feed and expire after 24 hours.
Here are some key things to know about Facebook Stories:
- Stories are vertical, fullscreen posts ideal for mobile devices.
- They appear at the top of the news feed and disappear after 24 hours.
- Stories can include photos, videos, text, stickers, GIFs, and drawings.
- Viewers can react to stories with emoji and see who has viewed them.
- Businesses can use stories to share behind-the-scenes content, announcements, etc.
Facebook launched stories for business pages in early 2019 as a way for brands to share content in a more casual and fun way. Many businesses now use stories as part of their social media strategy.
How to Share a Story from a Facebook Business Page
Sharing a story from a Facebook business page is easy. Just follow these steps:
- Open the Facebook app on your mobile device and go to your business page.
- Tap the ‘+’ sign in the top left and select “Story.”
- Capture or upload a photo or video for your story (up to 20 seconds).
- Customize the story with text, stickers, drawings, etc using the creative tools.
- Select how long you want the story to appear (1, 6, 24 hours, etc).
- Tap “Your Story” at the bottom to share the story to your page.
You can also create stories by uploading content directly from your camera roll. Just tap the “+” icon in stories and select a photo or video to share.
Stories will appear at the top of your page’s profile right under the cover photo. Followers can react and respond to stories with emoji.
Types of Content to Share in Facebook Stories
There are lots of creative ways for businesses to use stories:
- Behind-the-scenes – Give followers a sneak peek at products, services, events etc. This creates a sense of exclusivity.
- Announcements – Share news, sales, promotions, new products, etc through stories.
- User-generated content – Repost customer photos/videos with your product or at your business location.
- Polls and questions – Engage your audience by asking for feedback and opinions.
- Links – Drive traffic to your website by sharing links.
- Employees – Show off your team and company culture.
Mix up photo, video, text, polls, and other interactive elements to keep your story content dynamic. Show off your brand personality through stories!
Benefits of Using Facebook Stories
There are several advantages to using Facebook Stories for your business:
- Appears at the top of the news feed so more likely to be seen.
- Fullscreen, visual format stands out.
- Allows for more authentic, raw, and fun content.
- Stories are ephemeral so they feel more exclusive.
- Great for audience engagement with polls, questions, etc.
- Easy to create content quickly from mobile device.
In comparison to traditional Facebook posts, Stories have a number of built-in advantages. The vertical, fullscreen format is ideal for mobile. And their prominent placement and disappearing nature means more eyeballs.
According to Facebook, Pages see an average of 65% more interactions on their Stories compared to feed posts. Clearly, Stories are an effective tactic for reaching and engaging your Facebook audience.
Tips for Creating Engaging Facebook Stories
Here are some pro tips for making compelling Facebook Stories as a business:
- Use a consistent Stories design and branding so followers recognize your content.
- Experiment with interactive elements like polls, quizzes, AR filters, etc.
- Create a content calendar and schedule Stories just like posts.
- Follow trending hashtags and use relevant ones to reach more users.
- Cross-promote your Stories by linking to them from feed posts.
- Check Story analytics to see what content resonates best.
- Use bright, high-quality images that catch the eye.
- Keep videos short at 10-15 seconds max for better engagement.
Follow these tips for creating Stories that align with your brand identity and resonate with your audience. Consistency and high-quality content is key.
Facebook Story Ads
Facebook now allows businesses to promote their Stories as ads. Story ads appear between organic stories in a user’s feed.
Here’s an overview of Facebook Story ads:
- Your existing Stories can be boosted into ads.
- They keep all functionality like polls, questions, etc.
- Appear in between non-ad content in the Stories carousel.
- Deliver 10-15 second video ads or single image ads.
- Can be targeted to specific demographics and interests.
Story ads are an option if you want to maximize reach and visibility for your top-performing organic Stories. Turn them into ads with just a few clicks.
The vertical, fullscreen format helps Story ads stand out in the feed. And insertion between non-ad content improves their perception. Story ads are worth testing for brands that are already seeing engagement on organic Stories.
Analyzing Facebook Story Performance
Facebook provides metrics on Story performance so you can see what’s resonating. You can check Story insights by going to your Page’s Story tray and tapping the bar graph icon.
Key Facebook Story metrics include:
- Reach – Number of unique accounts that saw your Story.
- Impressions – Total number of times your Story was seen.
- Replies – Total comments on your Story.
- Reactions – Love, like, wow, etc emojis to your content.
- Exits – Percentage who exited the Story without finishing.
- Taps forward/back – Navigation clicks through your Story.
Check these metrics after 24 hours to see your top-performing Stories. This can help you identify winning themes and content types to do more of.
You can also view metrics on specific interactive elements like polls, questions, links etc. The data will show you what your audience most wants to see and engage with.
Do Facebook Stories Expire?
Yes, Facebook Stories automatically expire after 24 hours. This gives them an ephemeral, fleeting feeling that encourages more authentic content.
However, there are a couple ways to save Facebook Stories:
- Download your own Stories using the Story download tool in Facebook’s Creator Studio, within the first 24 hours.
- Restories (reshare) your own Stories to your page feed, where they’ll then persist like regular posts.
So if you have a winning Story that you want to keep for posterity, quickly restories or download it before the 24 hour limit.
The impermanence of Stories gives creators freedom to share raw, unpolished content that followers love. But you can preserve your best Stories with a bit of planning.
Can You Delete a Facebook Story?
Yes, you can delete a Facebook Story at any time as the page admin. There are a couple ways to do this:
- Tap and hold the Story in your Story tray, then tap Delete.
- Go to your Page’s Story archive, tap the Story, and hit Delete.
Deleting removes the Story so followers can no longer view it. This can be useful if you shared something accidentally or want to remove content that is no longer relevant.
You can also hide Stories from your archive without deleting them. Hidden Stories remain on Facebook’s servers but are not visible to you or followers.
So if you change your mind after sharing a Story, removing it is simple. Just delete or hide it before the 24 hour expiration.
Do Facebook Stories Show on Desktop?
Facebook Stories were originally designed just for mobile. But now there are a couple ways desktop users can view them too:
- Page admins can see Stories on desktop via Creator Studio.
- Desktop users can view Stories through the page’s Story Highlights.
So desktop viewers have limited Story access. The best experience remains on mobile where they appear fullscreen in the news feed.
If you want to ensure desktop users aren’t missing out on content, you can re-share Stories as feed posts or IGTV videos. Some brands also create complementary horizontal versions of Stories for non-mobile viewers.
While Stories are made for mobile, you can optimize them for desktop reach too with a bit of extra effort. The more places your content appears, the better!
Do Facebook Stories Appear on News Feed?
Facebook Stories do not appear directly in the standard news feed on mobile or desktop. They occupy their own dedicated space at the very top of the app.
However, page admins can resurface Stories in the news feed by:
- Restories (resharing) a Story to your page’s timeline.
- Sharing a link to an individual Story in a feed post.
- Adding Stories to Highlights and promoting the Highlights in the news feed.
While Stories don’t organically show up in the feed, you can manually share them there if you want followers who missed seeing your Story to still get access.
Strategically re-promoting your best Stories through other channels is a smart way to maximize their lifespan.
Do Facebook Stories Appear on Profile?
Facebook Stories do not appear on personal profiles – only on Facebook Pages and public figure profiles. User profiles do not have the Story feature.
That means Stories from a business page will not be visible on your personal profile. Stories can only be accessed by visiting the page’s profile directly.
The reason for this is likely because Stories are intended for public figures, brands, businesses – not regular private users. So Facebook limited the feature just to public pages, excluding personal profiles.
However, users can still view, react to, and comment on page Stories as followers. The content just won’t organically appear on their own timelines.
Conclusion
Facebook Stories provide a fun, engaging way for brands to connect with audiences through ephemeral yet visually vibrant content. Businesses should take advantage of Stories’ prominent placement and interactive features to generate interest and loyalty.
When using Stories, focus on behind-the-scenes, insider content that feels authentic and exclusive. Make it easy for followers to respond and participate through polls and questions.
Analyze Story metrics to fine-tune your content approach. And don’t let Stories disappear forever – download or resurface your best ones.
With creative strategy and smart execution, Facebook Stories offer immense marketing potential for your brand.