From the moment that they were introduced a few years ago, stories have become one of the most effective forms of digital marketing today. They’re easy to use and are a perfect way to spotlight your newest products and brand experiences!

62% of people say that they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories

Source: Instagram

There’s a certain energy around this particular content form. It’s exciting and powerful. Let’s take an inside look as to what makes Social Media stories so special and some of the changes to expect this year!

The Beginning

Today, stories are a vital part of the social media funnel. It’s intuitive, easy to share and let’s you get your message across in small chunks, leaving consumers wanting more.

The start wasn’t as pretty however. When Snapchat introduced the world to their stories back in 2013, people weren’t too sure of what to take of this new format.

Luckily, 3 years later, Instagram launched their stories and took the world by storm. It took the new social media giant 12 months to snag 150 million users using the stories feature. Wow! So how is this looking in 2020? Well, stories blew up in a very positive way. 500 million people use Instagram Stories every…day!

Evolution

At this point, it’s a well established fact that stories are the way to go if you’re looking to grow your brand and drive traffic in general to your business. But how did it get to this point?

If you’ve been with the stories since the start, you’ve noticed that Instagram are constantly picking away at it and adding cool new things. It’s evolution is a direct homage to Instagram and their dedication towards things that simply work.

Whether it’s the filters, or shoppable product stickers, Instagram has your business in mind. The cool thing about stories is that it’s always adapting and changing to meet how businesses of all shapes and size use social media. It’s dynamic nature is what made stories such an important tool to every digital marketers arsenal.

The Future

As mentioned above, the constant evolution of stories is unpredictable. Meaning, nobody really knows what’s in store for the medium. The good news is that, if the last years are any indication of where stories are going, we are definitely looking forward to its future.

The younger generations are all in with stories (Check out also: Generation Z Marketing ) and it’s this movement that’s dictating the marketing direction. They’re effective and constantly being utitlized by everyone.

E-Commerce

Instagram stories are a gold mine for the E-commerce industry. The ability to shop by way of stories has gotten everybody excited. There are without a doubt more opportunities in store for this industry and it’d be wise to stay updated. The monetary incentive to encourage and drive sales with checkout is real. It’s interactive (Speaking of : Interactive Video in 2020), it’s intuitive and it’s a dream for every business who’s looking to grow.

Benefits

I’m sure all of this information has gotten you excited about stories and the impact they can have on your business, right? So let’s get into the details you’ve been waiting for.

Let’s go over the most interesting benefits and what it means to integrate stories into your digital marketing strategy.

Engagement

Making stories a part of your marketing strategy without a shadow of a doubt increases engagement with current followers and future consumers. The neat thing is, stories lets businesses and even influencers ( More info : Influencer Marketing ) the chance to communicate without any interruption.

500 million Facebook stories are shared daily

Source: Socialpilot

Creating a strong bond with your audience is key to keeping a business going and driving more people towards your brand. So instead of replaying to comments or likes for feedback, you get to be far more personal with your fan base.

Less Algorithm to compete with

If you’re familiar with how things work in the media world, you’re already familiar with algorithms. And if you know that, you also know that Instagram is known for it’s…wild algorithm. Luckily, when you use stories across all of your favorite social media channels, there’s no need to try to out compete the competition. Stories are at the top of every feed, meaning it’s the first thing people see when they log on anyways. The cool part is, you can repost as much as you want. Cool!

Start Creating

Stories let you get up close and personal with your audience. Which means you should consider adapting for a more personalized approach with your content. Studies show that people in general are more likely to interact once they feel a more personal connection towards a brand.

Stories stickers enhance video performance 83% of the time

Source: Socialpilot

You’ve got a lot of social media channels to choose from when it comes to your stories, which means features to go along with it. Working with video and images gives you countless of content to choose from.

Video

Speaking of video. If there is one medium that we can’t stop raving about, well it’s video! And there’s a reason for it. It’s not slowing down, and it’s the most effective tool that you’ve got in your toolbox. The problem is, not every business seems to know this.

93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media

Source: Animoto

If you’re looking to dominate your industry anytime soon, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t include video into your marketing strategy. Sadly, a lot of businesses still think it’s too expensive and time consuming to even consider.

21% of marketers who don’t currently use video say it’s because they don’t know where to start

Source: Wyzowl

And if you were to live by that statistic above, you’d be missing out a big chunk of digital marketing pie. I’ve got a present for you and it’s callled…

Videommerce

It’s a web based video editor that lets you create professional looking video content without busting your wallet. In fact, it’s completely free to start.

Hundreds of templates to choose from. The ability to upload your own content and edit it to your liking. And that’s just to start. Videommerce is packed with features to help you establish yourself as a business. What are you waiting for?

In Conclusion

The dominance of Social Media Stories speak for themselves. Once you discover the inner designer and start creating stunning content, stories can give your marketing strategy an overdue boost.

Brands that are keeping up with today’s latest trends and integrating the latest strategies will make stories a big part of their 2020 plans. Driving traffic, increasing sales and boost engagement. That’s what’s for dinner!