When you share content on Facebook, you have two main options for where to share it – you can share to your News Feed or to your Facebook Story. While both options allow you to share content with your friends and followers, there are some key differences between sharing to your feed vs your story.
Sharing to Your News Feed
Sharing content to your News Feed means it will appear in the main feed that people see when they open Facebook. News Feed is the constantly updating list of posts from friends, family, groups, and pages that users see when they log in to Facebook. When you share something to your News Feed, it has the potential to be seen by all of your friends and followers on Facebook.
Some key things to know about sharing to your News Feed:
- Posts to your News Feed are public. Anyone who is friends with you on Facebook, or who follows your public profile, will potentially see the content you share to your News Feed in their own News Feed.
- There is no time limit on News Feed posts. Content shared to your News Feed will stay posted unless you proactively delete it.
- You can customize the audience for News Feed posts using Facebook’s audience selector tool when sharing. This allows you to target News Feed posts to specific groups of friends or followers if desired.
- News Feed posts have high visibility and engagement potential. Since your News Feed posts surface in all of your connections’ Feeds, they have the potential to get a lot of views, likes, shares and comments.
Overall, sharing to your News Feed is the best option if you want to publicly share content with your friends and followers on Facebook. It allows wide visibility of your posts.
Sharing to Your Story
Sharing content to your Facebook Story means it will appear in a slideshow format in a bar at the top of the News Feed. Unlike regular News Feed posts, Story posts disappear after 24 hours.
Some key things to know about sharing to your Story:
- Stories are more private. Only your friends (not all followers) will see posts shared to your Story.
- Stories have a time limit. They will disappear after 24 hours unless you re-share them to your Story again.
- You cannot customize audience for Story posts. Your entire friends list will see anything posted to your Story.
- Stories have reduced visibility. Since they only appear as a small slideshow at the top of the News Feed, they are less likely to be noticed than a full News Feed post.
In general, sharing to your Story is better for more personal, ephemeral sharing that you only want your closer connections to see for a limited time. Key moments and everyday content that you don’t necessarily want memorialized forever are good candidates for Story sharing.
Comparing Feed vs. Story
Here is a table summarizing the key differences between sharing to your Facebook Feed vs. your Story:
| Post Type | Audience | Time Limit | Customizable Audience | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News Feed | Public to all friends & followers | No limit – remains until deleted | Yes, can customize audience | High visibility |
| Story | Private to friends only | 24 hours | No, all friends see it | Reduced visibility |
Benefits of Sharing to Feed vs. Story
Given the differences between Feed and Story sharing, there are benefits to both options depending on your goals with posting. Some key benefits include:
Benefits of Sharing to Feed
- Increased reach – News Feed posts have high visibility and discovery potential
- Ongoing engagement – Posts remain visible over time, allowing engagement to continue
- Brand building – Frequent News Feed posting helps establish your brand and voice
- Traffic referrals – News Feed posts can drive lots of referral traffic if you include links
Benefits of Sharing to Story
- More personal connections – Stories facilitate intimate sharing with your closer friends
- Behind-the-scenes access – You can post ephemeral, “in the moment” content to your Story
- Creativity and fun – Stories allow for visual creativity with doodles, stickers, effects, etc.
- Authenticity – The temporary nature of Stories lends itself to raw, authentic sharing
Best Practices for Feed vs. Story
Based on the different uses of News Feed and Story, here are some best practices for when to use each:
Use News Feed for:
- Major life updates and announcements
- Informative content and articles you want to be discoverable long-term
- Content from your business, brand or organization
- Posts where you want lots of engagement and discussion
- Content you want to be able to refer back to or find again easily
Use Story for:
- Behind-the-scenes glimpses into your day-to-day
- Quick thoughts, images, videos to share “in the moment”
- Content only relevant for a day or two
- Visual content – selfies, videos with fun effects/stickers
- Polls, questions, interactive content
Tips for Maximizing Engagement
To get the most out of sharing to both News Feed and Story, keep these tips in mind:
- Post consistently to both News Feed and Story, but not excessively. 1-2 posts per day to each is a good goal.
- Use visual content like photos and video when possible – this performs best on both channels.
- Write descriptive but succinct captions to provide context.
- Engage with your audience by responding to News Feed comments and Story reactions.
- Use built-in interactive tools like polls, questions, and live video.
- Track your results over time and aim to improve engagement.
Conclusion
While sharing to both News Feed and Story can help you connect with friends and followers on Facebook, each channel has distinct uses and benefits.
Posting to your News Feed enables public sharing with all of your connections, while Story facilitates more private, intimate sharing with your closer friends.
The ongoing, highly visible nature of News Feed makes it ideal for major updates, brand building content and traffic referrals, while the ephemeral Story format lends itself to behind-the-scenes glimpses, interactive content and visual creativity.
By understanding the unique value of each channel and developing appropriate posting strategies, you can take full advantage of the different ways to share on Facebook.