Facebook Gets a New Look, Focusing on Stories

At F8 last week, Facebook unveiled a redesign that’s simpler, faster, more immersive, and focuses strongly on Stories.

Stories, first released in 2016 on Instagram, was designed to compete with Snapchat’s “disappearing” content. In the months after, Instagram users were engaging more with Stories than the traditional News Feed. With this success in mind, Facebook is hoping that the Stories platform could boost engagement on their main app.

Facebook users should begin seeing the new look in the mobile apps this week, with it expanding to the desktop site in a few months.

For marketers, this push to Stories presents an opportunity to deliver your message in a full-screen, immersive environment on Facebook and/or Instagram. Here are some stats that shows why Facebook believes the Stories platform is the future of their business:

• 500M+ people use Instagram Stories every day
• 300M+ people use Facebook Stories every day
• 1 billion+ stories are shared every day across the Facebook family of apps
• 62% of people said they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story (Ipsos)

A major reason for the success of Stories is the format matches how people are already interacting with their phones – vertically. People hold their phones vertically about 90% of the time, and stories are optimized for a vertical, full-screen view that feels natural. With simple tap or a swipe, people get to consume videos and photos quickly.

Test Stories In Your Next Campaign

Integrating Stories into your marketing plans is a must for the second half of 2019. Click here for our Facebook / Instagram Stories Best Practice Guide.

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