Social media stories:
A Compass to all your social media story platforms.
Written by Michael C. Nwaubani.
Social media marketing is getting more easy by the day as platforms add more features and more ways for businesses reach their audience in fast and easy way. Social media stories aren’t anything new, as more platforms add this capability to their apps, it’s important for businesses to understand how to properly use these to their advantage. Not only does it give you an entirely new avenue for reaching your followers, but your content doesn’t have to be nearly as polished as it does on your feed.
What are social media stories?
Social media Stories are mobile, full-screen, vertical videos and images that appear outside of your regular feed and only last for 24 hours before they disappear. They’re temporary, with a small caveat: they can be organized into collections on some apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, WhatsApp and others for later viewing.
The biggest defining factor in stories is that they are temporary. On most platforms, they last only 24 hours, although Instagram does give users the option to save certain stories to their highlights reel for users to view again and again. This helps drive the more casual feel of stories.
Now that you know a bit more about what social media stories are, let’s cover the platforms that have now introduced various versions of this feature.
What platforms offer social media stories?
For years, Snapchat was the only platform with this disappearing content feature. Then, in 2016, Instagram incorporated it into their platform. Facebook and Facebook Messenger followed not long after that. And now, we see it in nearly 10 different platforms.
I will show you where you can access stories on each of these platforms below.
1. Facebook Stories
A screenshot of Facebook Stories.
As you’ll see, most platforms showcase their stories right at the top of the app so it’s one of the first things you see when you open it on your smartphone. This makes it a great way to ‘skip the line’ of the curated algorithm on many networks.
Even for desktop users, Facebook displays Stories at the top of their feed, but this feature is definitely meant more for mobile use.
You can add a story to Facebook by clicking the plus sign icon on the photo that says Add to Story, or you can create your story in Instagram and connect it to your Facebook Page.
Stories from both businesses and friends appear alongside each other, which means you’re much more likely to reach an audience on Facebook if you regularly use stories rather than only posting content to the feed.
2. Instagram Stories
A screenshot of Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories appear in small circles at the top of your feed. They’ll disappear once you begin scrolling, but you can easily tap the top of your screen to scroll right back up to view stories.
The first bubbles that appear will always be live videos – if anyone you follow is live – then the rest is a mixture of brand and profile stories, just like Facebook. Additionally, as users scroll through their feed or explore pages, profiles with available stories will have a colorful ring around their profile photo as a call-to-action.
3. Twitter Fleets (Stories)
A screenshot of Twitter fleets.
Twitter tested the release of a stories feature, called Twitter Fleets in late 2020. However, in July and August of 2021, Fleets was removed after it did not significantly increase new conversations in the way that the social network had hoped.
Similar to other platforms, Fleets were featured at the top of the regular feed. As they are phased out, this space will be used by Twitter’s audio chat rooms, Spaces.
4. LinkedIn Stories
A screenshot of LinkedIn's stories.
Even the business networking platform LinkedIn also has their own version of stories available at the top of their apps. While you’re not able to share the content you post on LinkedIn to their stories, this is a unique way to let your business connections get a behind-the-scenes look into your processes and business.
Although Stories content tends to be more candid, make sure that the content you share on LinkedIn stories remains professional. You’re likely not going to be sharing photos while out at happy hour on your LinkedIn the way you might on Facebook or Instagram.
5. Pinterest Stories
A screenshot of Pinterest's stories.
Pinterest’s story feature offers another way to share your Pinterest content on this platform, and the different stories stack up at the top of a user’s app. As you can see above, Glitter Guide had two separate stories they shared.
Pinterest stories also differ from other networks because they don’t disappear after 24 hours, and they stay on your profile in story form after you share them.
6. Snapchat Stories
A screenshot of Snapchat stories.
Of course we all know Snapchat the originator of disappearing social media stories. While this format is now widespread, Snapchat did offer the first platform for many brands to experiment with how disappearing content and a more casual approach to content production might work for them on social media. Many publications and influencers have attempted to make something of their Discover pages, but Snapchat marketing can still be a strategy that works depending on your brand.
7. YouTube Stories
YouTube is also rolling out their own stories feature, although it’s currently only available for channels with over 10,000 subscribers. With YouTube Shorts appearing as a rival to TikTok’s short video content it makes sense that the most popular video sharing platform is trying to capitalize on all of the ways creators can share video content and attract audiences.
To be continued in the next article. Please do put down your opinion, suggestion and correction on the comment section below.