Facebook Stories – The Future of Ephemeral Content

Facebook: The Future of Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content is the content that only lasts for a short (or limited) amount of time, so we’re talking social media stories! Snapchat first introduced this idea of stories back in October of 2013, and it was a huge hit! Instagram was next releasing this feature in August of 2016 followed by Facebook in March 2017. 

While Snapchat may not be the best platform to target your niche market, Facebook and Instagram are, and their story users significantly surpassed Snapchats in no time! Users have been loving the 24-hour nature of stories, and as a business, it is important to understand this valuable tool to gain that organic engagement you are looking for. 

This short-term content (known as ephemeral content) taps into a person’s natural tendency to avoid missing out because they are only available for a short amount of time. Ephemeral content is also more informal and personal which is also enticing to social media users.

For the purpose of this blog, we are going to go more into depth of the nature of ephemeral content and how to take advantage of this feature specifically on Facebook.

Although Instagram stories have been around longer, Facebook has a higher amount of general daily users. Facebook story users are also quickly reaching the number of Instagram story users which is why it is so important to start using this feature now, if you aren’t already!  

It may seem ineffective to post stories on Facebook when the story users are higher on Instagram, doing so will make your content more likely to be seen because of the fewer accounts taking advantage. Facebook stories also help you avoid losing your posts in the algorithm because your content will be right there at their fingertips: the top of the feed chronologically!

Because of the informal nature of stories, you can’t really go wrong with what you share! Use this feature to be authentic and share whatever kind of content you want or need to for your business. 

Here are some ideas:

• Product Reviews
• Unboxings (opening product packages for your audience)
• Event Announcement and Event Coverage
• Sales and Promotions 
• Inspirational Quotes 
• Business Updates 
• New Product Launches
• Behind the Scenes of a regular business day

And the list just keeps going! 

When you are getting started, don’t worry too much about the details! Like we said earlier, users love the informal, real-time nature of stories. 

You can post picture collages, event graphics, personal video product reviews, polls, locations, and more. You can then add stickers and emojis, effects and animations, 3D drawings and normal drawings, and text.

If you already use the Instagram story feature, you can also cross post your content to your Facebook Business page story to tap into both audiences at the same time. Simply link your Facebook page to your Instagram’s in your Instagram settings, and voila! 

Note: You will need to be linking from an Instagram business profile. This is easy to switch in your settings if you need to do so.

If you’ve got the hang of Instagram stories but you are wanting to better tailor your Facebook story content to your Facebook audience, start by cross posting your stories. Then, turn on your story insights. You can do this in the Insights tab of your Facebook page. Simply click the Stories tab and then click ‘Turn On’ for Get Stories Insights.

Keep an eye on the content that is resonating the most with these viewers, and use this to create Facebook specific stories in the future.

Ephemeral content users are increasing everyday, and they show no signs of stopping! So now’s the time to really hone in on the use of your stories to increase your organic engagement. Be creative, have fun with it, and keep rockin’ the social media world!