How Social Media Stories Are Changing the Face of Social Video

-Riya Sen

I didn’t think much about them a couple of years ago when Instagram Stories first rolled out. Why would people be interested in fleeting stuff, disappearing-after-24-hours? And why would marketers continue to manufacture them if they only had such a short lifetime?

I was clearly mistaken. Stories have become one of the most popular social media features; and have now branched out to Facebook and now even to YouTube from Instagram (who copied the concept from Snapchat).

It is undeniable that stories are changing the face of social media; and they can have a huge influence on a brand when used properly. For advertisers, let’s take a look at how and what that entails

What Exactly Are Social Media Stories?

Mobile, full-screen, vertical videos and photographs are social media stories that appear outside of your daily feed and last just 24 hours until they vanish. They’re temporary, with a slight caveat: for later viewing, they can be arranged into collections on certain apps like Instagram.
The fleeting nature of the content creates a sense of scarcity that makes audiences want to remain in the loop; despite the fact that stories can be saved. They don’t want to miss something their favourite brands have to tell; so if you have loyal followers who love your material; stories allow you to give them more of that in a way that allows them to see and connect until it disappears, probably for good.

Not only are stories immersive because they are full-screen, but also because they are shared with the audience at the moment. You give your followers a peek into what’s happening in your life right now by using stories, particularly impromptu videos and photos. A moment in your day, they get a look; and they feel like they’re part of it because you invited them in.

Why They’re So Popular & How They’re Changing the Social Landscape

Stories are first-mobile features that are both mobile-optimized and produced via mobile devices. A recent Statista study reported that users access mobile social media applications much more frequently than any other application. The proportion of users who access Stories feature apps includes:

• Facebook: 76%
• Instagram: 83%
• Snapchat: 87%
• Youtube: 76%

In part, stories are unbelievably popular because they are so immersive and interactive. Using app-specific lenses, animations, stickers, and even music; you can create photos and live broadcasts that give viewers a peek into your day, and you can add a little flair.

Instagram has additional interactive features such as lists, survey questions, polls, and even a prompt that encourages other users to ask their own questions about you. This gives you a wide variety of potential ways to keep your crowd involved.

All in all, stories bring to the online brand experience an extra dimension of honesty and authenticity-attributes that millennial and gen Z consumers are now requesting from brands and influencers. The perfect-looking story is much harder to set up, and that reality facilitates a relaxed approach that reveals more of who you really are to your audience.

Stories’ short, easy existence is shifting the way we consume social media and altering the social video consumption landscape. Viewers watch stories in bulk sizes, so it’s great to have a huge amount of story material. In reality, sharing frequently and often is the secret to story success, so don’t be afraid to create a lot of material.

Stories’ immediate and fleeting existence draws users to see, interact; and be part of a moment in time that will not hang around forever. Since audiences don’t want to miss anything from their favourite brands and influencers; when they see it, they are more likely to look for storey content and participate.

Conclusion

Stories from social media are here to stay, much to the surprise of my 2017 edition. For both companies and consumers, they are actively becoming increasingly relevant in usage, so you need to adapt now and start integrating modern, flexible video into your ASAP strategy. You’ll be left behind if you don’t.