Facebook Stories offer a unique way to share content on the platform, distinct from the regular timeline posts. They consist of short photo and video collections that can be viewed an unlimited number of times and disappear after 24 hours.
The story format, popularized by Snapchat, was introduced on Facebook in 2017. Now, every day, one billion stories are shared across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Facebook Stories revolve around the in-app camera, which allows users to enhance their content with fun filters, lenses, stickers, emojis, GIFs, polls, questions, music, and location tags. It’s an excellent addition to your Facebook marketing strategy.
To create a Facebook Story, simply tap “Create story” at the top of your feed.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Facebook Stories, including how to share them on your profile or Page, how to view Stories, and how to interact with them.
How Facebook Stories Work: A Complete Guide
Similar to Instagram Stories, the stories you share on Facebook will appear at the top of the Facebook News Feed. To view a story, users just need to tap on a friend’s story at the top of the Facebook app.
While viewing a story, users can reply by sending a direct message through Facebook Messenger or leaving a public comment.
How to Use Facebook Stories
Step 1: Access the Camera
To start creating a story on Facebook, you first need to access the camera. Tap the camera icon on the Facebook mobile app to do this.
Step 2: Create Your Content
Facebook users can share both photos and videos as stories. With the camera open, you can record a video or take a quick photo. There’s a wide range of lenses and filters available to enhance your content.
Tap the center button to take a photo, or hold it down to record a video. You can also upload images from your phone’s camera roll by tapping the album icon on the bottom left of your screen. If you’re looking to create custom story images, try out Stories Creator, a free tool we’ve launched.
Step 3: Share Your Story
Once you’re satisfied with your creation, share it to your story by tapping the Share button on the bottom right of the screen.
After sharing a post to your story, it will be visible for 24 hours before disappearing, similar to Instagram Stories. By default, videos and photos shared in a Facebook Story won’t appear in the News Feed or on a user’s timeline. However, users have the option to share them to the News Feed if they wish.
Facebook Stories for Pages
Facebook Stories are also available for all Facebook Pages. If you’re an Admin for a Page, you can post a Facebook Story by following these steps on the Facebook mobile app (only available on iOS or Android):
- Open the Facebook app on your mobile device.
- Visit the timeline of the Page you manage.
- Tap “Create.”
- Choose “Story.”
Similar to users’ Stories, your Page’s story will last for 24 hours and won’t be shared as a feed post to your Page’s timeline or the Facebook News Feed.
Over to You
Have you given Facebook Stories a try? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this update. Will you share your day on Facebook? How do you plan to manage stories across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp? Let us know in the comments!
