The 24h ‘story’ feature started with Snapchat, then moved onto Instagram and Facebook, even Linkedin got in on the game – and most recently…Twitter has joined the lineup. Although you’ll have to refer to these as “Fleets”.
But why are all the social media sites creating a ‘story’ feature, what’s wrong with normal posts?
Snapchat was the first to release their ‘story’ feature, on the premise that ‘snaps’ are temporary photo messages sent to individuals on their friends list, and a ‘story’ was a way for everyone to see a certain bit of content. Instagram jumped on the bandwagon and created their own stories feature shortly afterwards, and to start with it wasn’t actually very popular. But then…
Research showed that whilst posts were great for reach and brand awareness, for a company to really build on engaging their followers and pushing them up the ladder of loyalty, stories were key. The limited longevity of these posts drives a deeper engagement with viewers as it creates a sense of exclusivity with content that wouldn’t be showcased anywhere else. Content on the feed is usually planned and curated; it stays there for a long time, so we’d expect this content to look slick and professional. Story content doesn’t work this way, and it’s a great way to allow followers to see your casual and ‘unofficial’ brand, and hence form a stronger relationship.
More interestingly, research has found that the majority of Instagram users scrolling down their feed will watch videos on the mute setting, whilst 70% of stories are viewed with the sound on. So if you have some great audio or a narrative then make sure it features on your story!
Shortly after Instagram released their story feature, every other social media platform and their dog jumped on. Apart from Twitter.
Until November. So what do you think? Have you written a ‘Fleet’ yet?
