Facebook Stories and posts are two popular ways for businesses to share content and engage with their audience on Facebook. But when it comes to reaching and interacting with fans, which format tends to get more views – Stories or posts? Let’s take a look at the data and find out.
What are Facebook Stories?
Facebook Stories allow users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. They appear full screen as you swipe through, similar to Instagram Stories. Stories also include interactive features like polls, questions and location tagging.
Facebook launched Stories in 2017, initially rolling the feature out in a few countries before expanding it globally in 2018. The format has become quite popular, especially among young people. As of June 2022, there were 350 million daily Facebook Stories viewers.
What are Facebook posts?
Facebook posts are the traditional status updates that appear in the central News Feed. Text, photo, video, and link posts on Facebook do not expire. They remain on a Page or profile unless actively deleted by the user.
Posts allow for comments and shares, which can help increase their reach. Facebook’s algorithm also gives greater weight to content that drives engagement in the form of reactions, comments, and shares.
Comparing the reach of Stories and posts
When looking at view counts, Facebook Stories tend to record higher numbers than regular posts for most business Pages and profiles. There are a few key reasons for this:
- Stories are displayed prominently at the top of the app and take up the entire screen. This placement gives them more visibility than News Feed posts.
- Viewers have to manually click or tap through posts, whereas Stories automatically advance to the next one in the sequence after a few seconds.
- People find Stories more immersive and compelling since they utilize full screen, visual media.
- The 24-hour expiration creates more urgency around watching Stories before they disappear.
Additionally, Facebook’s algorithm does not penalize Pages for posting frequently to Stories the way it can with posting too often in the main News Feed. This allows brands to be more active on Stories without worrying about reach declines.
Case study: Fashion brand Story vs post views
Here is an example looking at the difference in views between Facebook Stories and posts for a major fashion brand:
| Content Format | View Count |
|---|---|
| Facebook Story showcasing new product line | 36,125 views |
| Facebook video post announcing sale | 12,036 views |
| Facebook photo post of seasonal products | 8,914 views |
As you can see, the fashion brand’s Facebook Story received over three times as many views as its top-performing post that week. This aligns with the general trends of Stories significantly outperforming posts in terms of reach.
Tips for creating engaging Facebook Stories
Here are some tips for creating compelling Facebook Stories that attract the highest number of views:
- Use eye-catching visuals like bold graphics, vibrant photos and video clips.
- Layer on text, stickers and animation effects to make Stories more dynamic.
- Incorporate interactive elements like polls and questions to encourage audience participation.
- Mention users with tags and location stickers to increase shares.
- Promote limited-time content like sales or events to create urgency.
- Post consistently, but vary content types to keep viewers interested.
- Analyze insights to see which frames and elements drive the most views.
Leverage video in Stories
Video is an especially engaging format for Facebook Stories. Even more so than images, it commands viewer attention while scrolling.Short, captivating video clips tend to see higher completion rates than longer videos on Stories.
Cross-promote with Instagram Stories
If you have an Instagram account, you can cross-post Stories to Instagram as well. This exposes your content to a new audience and allows you to build your brand presence across multiple platforms.
Benefits of Facebook Stories for businesses
Succeeding with Stories can offer several advantages for companies:
- Increased brand awareness: The immersive, full screen Story format stands out to viewers, helping them become more familiar with your brand.
- Improved engagement: Stories’ interactive features like polls, questions and AR effects encourage participation and conversation.
- More conversions: Story links, swipe-up capabilities and prominent Calls-To-Action can drive traffic and conversions.
- Younger reach: Facebook reports 18-34 year-olds are Stories most active users, helping brands connect with millennial and Gen Z audiences.
- Deeper analytics: Facebook offers robust analytics on Stories like views, exits and responses to understand audience behavior.
Story ads
Facebook also now offers Story ads, which are ads that appear between organic Stories. Brands can use them to reach broader audiences beyond their current followers in a native Stories format.
Best practices for Facebook Stories
To make the most of the Stories format, keep these best practices in mind:
- Post at optimal times based on when your audience is most active on Facebook.
- Use real, candid content instead of overly posed or generic images.
- Keep a consistent Stories schedule so followers know what to expect.
- Have a clear Call-To-Action for each Story like “Shop now” or “Learn more.”
- Re-share top Stories to your feed or Story Highlights so they remain visible.
- Rotate Stories between being educational, entertaining, promotional, etc.
- Cross-promote your Stories on other channels like Instagram to expand reach.
Story Highlights
Be sure to also add important Stories to your Page’s Story Highlights tab so they remain visible after expiring from the main Story feed. This keeps evergreen, helpful content easy for followers to find.
Potential drawbacks of Facebook Stories
While Stories offer many benefits, there are a few potential drawbacks to consider as well:
- They lack the permanence of posts, disappearing after 24 hours.
- Many users prefer scrolling through their main News Feed.
- Less opportunity for shares and comments than traditional posts.
- Younger audiences are shifting more activity to Instagram Stories.
However, as long as you continue posting a mix of Stories and posts, you can maximize your reach across different formats and audiences.
The future of Facebook Stories
Although Instagram Stories now see significantly higher usage, especially among young people, Facebook Stories remain an important part of brands’ strategies. Facebook is continuing to refine and improve Stories with new creative tools, analytics, advertising options and more. They are here to stay as part of the platform’s offerings.
As consumers grow increasingly accustomed to ephemeral, full screen Story content, it pays for brands to take advantage of the format and find ways to make it work for their objectives.
Conclusion
In most cases, Facebook Stories generate higher reach and engagement than regular posts for brands. Their full screen, immersive design makes them stand out and grab attention as users scroll through their feeds. Stories also benefit from prime placement at the top of the app and autoplay features that increase views.
Creating compelling Stories with interactive elements, vibrant visuals and a strong Call-To-Action is key to success. While Stories may not fully replace posts, they have become an essential part of an effective Facebook marketing strategy. Brands that consistently utilize both formats can maximize their visibility, engagement and conversions on the platform.
Analyzing performance data and testing different approaches to both Stories and posts will be vital. As always, listening to your audience and understanding their preferences will guide strategic content creation decisions. But the usage trends clearly show that businesses ignore the power of Stories at their own peril.