Facebook and Instagram Stories Updates (and Strategies)

Facebook and Instagram Updates 10-15-17

There were some big announcements and updates to both Facebook and Instagram Stories over the past 2 weeks. Are you using either of these channels in your marketing plan?

This “disappearing” or ephemeral content is a newer concept for many small business owners, and while it may seem like just another new thing to find time for, audiences are receptive and engaging.

Instagram Stories has 250 million monthly users (as of September 2017). Facebook has not published any user numbers for their Stories, but with two of their latest announcements, it’s obvious they want to get more people using them.

The big announcements:

  • Facebook Pages will be getting access to Facebook Stories
  • Instagram Stories can be cross-posted to Facebook Stories

Learn more about these two announcements, along with other news from the past few weeks in the resources shared below: 

#1: Facebook Pages Get Access to Stories

Facebook rolls out Stories for all Pages (The Next Web) https://thenextweb.com/facebook/2017/10/12/facebook-stories-all-pages

#2: New Features on Instagram Stories

(1) Instagram Adds Polls in Stories, New Creative Tools (Social Media Today) http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/instagram-adds-polls-stories-new-creative-tools
(2) Instagram Stories launches cross-posting to Facebook Stories (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/04/i…

#3: Facebook Messenger Available to More Users

Facebook Expands Messenger Lite into More Regions, Increases Audience Potential (Social Media Today) http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/facebook-expands-messenger-lite-more-regions-increases-audience-potential

#4: New Tools for Facebook Advertisers

What You Need to Know About Facebook’s New ‘Dynamic Creative’ Ads Tool (Social Media Today) http://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-facebooks-new-dynamic-creative-ads-tool

#5: Order Food while You’re on Facebook

You Can Now Order Food on Facebook (PC Magazine) https://www.pcmag.com/news/356770/you-can-now-order-food-on-facebook

#6: Facebook launches new products for Virtual Reality

Everything Announced at Oculus’ Connect 4 VR Conference (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/gallery/oculus-connect/
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Interested in learning more about Instagram? Here are 2 of our blog posts to help:
An Instagram Checklist for your Business
Instagram - Holiday Tips
Let us know if you have questions about using Instagram or Facebook Stories!
About Terry League

Terry helps small business owners with social media strategy, training and account management. With a background in marketing and training, she enjoys combining those two areas to teach business owners how to get the most out of their social media marketing. Connect with Terry on Twitter and Instagram @TerryLeague for more on social media with a mix of positive motivation and inspiration.