The story format was introduced to social media in 2018 by Snapchat, and soon after the other platforms followed suit.  This unique little approach has been highly popular, particularly among Millennials:  nearly 68% of millennials read stories on Instagram.  On Facebook, it is just under half. 

The immense popularity of this format is also turning heads with social media marketers and content developers.  And why wouldn’t it?  True content development is unique, interesting, personal and original.  Whereas it is easy to forward a meme and hope for a large following to develop, creating online stories is, by its very nature, a personal process.

Stories are more than just writing blogs, they tailor issues and topics to show a personal perspective.  Their ease of creation have been a primary driver of their popularity, but the authenticity is what engages readers and help them form an emotional connection with the writer. 

Story content is short-lived, so businesses which make use of this format can do so as a one-time effort to gauge response, and then if positive, may re-align their marketing budget (most likely weighing its effectiveness against blog writing) to enable the best possible engagement with customers. 

Because stories are of a personal nature, they can be more effectively used to make a personal connection with customers over time.  They are not necessarily calls to action if an immediate online transaction is your primary goal.  Nonetheless, if building relationships with customers over time is seen as a value-added marketing strategy, stories should be considered and then tested as a routine marketing activity.