Jo Peters spent 20 years in international agencies working for brands such as Nike and Playstation. Having set up her trend consultancy, Jo volunteered with Samaritans. In 2020, she trained as a coach with the Co-Active Training Institute, helping clients make positive changes in their professional and personal lives. Jo recently studied with Climate Change Coaches, partnering with those wanting to take action on this vital systemic issue. Together with writing on consumer trends and design, Jo loves the big outdoors, from the beach in Shoreham-by-Sea where she lives to MTB on the South Downs.

First Snapchat, then Instagram, then Facebook – ‘Stories’ have taken off in a big way on social media platforms. Even WhatsApp has tried to get involved with its Status feature. Launched in 2016, Instagram’s take on the feature has revolutionised the way the app is used, with users under 25 now averaging more than 32 minutes a day on it, while those over 25 spend more than 24 minutes daily. What’s more, over half of businesses on Instagram posted their own Story in July 2017. 

Not one to be left behind, Facebook’s decision to get in on the act came after it was noticed users were sharing more news stories and external links than creating their own personal content, which had declined by 21% between 2015 and 2016. The social giant calls this behaviour ‘context collapse’ and it recognises that the camera can be more impactful than the keyboard. “People expect the world to be so much more visual than it’s ever been before,” says David Marcus, head of Messenger at Facebook. “We built a fast, feature-rich camera as a way for you to share visually everyday – whether it’s a video clip or quick selfie or a silly moment.” 

But what’s the attraction of Stories? “People always want to tell stories, whether it’s on Facebook or Twitter, but there’s only so much you can say with text,” says Liam Brennan, global director of innovation programmes at Mediacom. “What’s especially appealing to people about Stories is that we’re moving towards a movie-storytelling medium on the internet – it’s all about video. Stories allow them to string a longer, deeper story together and there’s an immediacy to it. If I’m posting a Facebook status, it needs to be worthwhile to other people, but if I’m on Instagram or Snapchat Stories, you can tell a little bit about your throwaway experience... without worrying about it.” 

 The impermanence of these clips, together with fun filters and lenses, have captured the imagination of social media users and brands alike. So, how are they using Stories, and how are these temporary digital tales evolving?

According to research conducted by digital agency L2, marketers are using Instagram Stories roughly twice as much as Snapchat Stories; in July 2017, the 89 brands analysed posted 1,347 times on the former platform compared to 614 times on the latter. 

 Despite the fact that Snapchat’s feature is the original, it would seem that Instagram’s vastly superior user base – 173 million daily users versus over 500 million – is drawing advertising spend away. 

 Influencers are similarly migrating to the larger platform; the number of influencers posting Snapchat Stories fell by 20% in Q1 2017.

“Instagram tends to be more polished than Snapchat and I think a lot of brands are using Instagram to get to the top of the bar,” says Brennan. However, he adds that Snapchat is poised to “become a TV-esque channel for teens. You can begin to see that in some of the deals they are striking up with broadcasters such as NBC Universal and Vice. That’s the offering other competitors will find difficult to emulate – big content partnerships with broadcasters. It’s got the messaging element now to get people in to talk [and] they have a captive, exclusive audience – a generation of people who may not see Facebook like those ten years older.” 

Of course, what’s pulling in many new users and keeping others returning are the regularly refreshed filters and lenses, with Brennan saying that they turn “a dull moment into something more exciting.” 

 As with Stories, Instagram’s ‘face filters’ were created in response to Snapchat’s already successful feature, with both platforms enabling brands to create their own sponsored filters for a hefty fee.

Impermanent Stories don’t need to be so polished

As of June 2017, Instagram Stories had more than 250 million daily active users, up from 200 million in April, and it seems to have become the fashion industry’s platform of choice, as demonstrated by designers’ activity on the app over the 2017 season of fashion weeks. 

 Stories offer them the opportunity to give followers a ‘first look’ at collections or provide behind-the-scenes content without having to be too concerned about the quality – after all, it’s gone in a day.

In the build-up to New York Fashion Week in September 2017, Ralph Lauren ran 24 hourly Instagram Stories, revealing everything from the inspiration for its collection to the food being served up to guests. Marc Jacobs, meanwhile, used the format to give fans a close-up look at some of the details of the clothes, make-up and accessories. And Michael Kors created Stories using ‘authentic’ street shots of bloggers wearing its latest collection, letting users buy each look by swiping up to visit an e-commerce page. 

“What Stories has really meant is that fashion is now able to be a little bit more authentic, a little bit more down to earth, funnier, scrappier,” says Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram. She adds that the top-ranked fashion accounts all provide a similar feeling to followers. “What everyone [in the list] has in common is that you have this sense of being there with someone, and feeling like the walls have come down.” 

 Influential bloggers – who’ve build their appeal by making the fashion world seem more accessible and relatable – also make use of Stories to reach out to their trend-hungry followers. For example, 

, fills hers with fashion illustrations, and 

 shares her daily outfits and front-row views from catwalks.

Haute couture has never been more accessible

While fashion can easily draw views and likes across social media platforms, Instagram and Snapchat Stories have proven especially effective for communicating about certain other sectors and subjects. 

 shows others how it’s done on Instagram with its endless supply of jaw-dropping images. Boasting over 27.7 million followers, the account encourages them to view more content by visiting the organisation’s various other digital platforms. For example, in one story, it featured employees describing what a great workplace it is, linking followers to the @NASApeople Twitter account in a subtle recruitment push. 

In a Snapchat first, Adidas launched an advert through Stories that let users in major European countries play a keepy-uppy game, with London-based users able to access it via codes positioned around the city in football cages and stores. To keep players hooked, progression through the levels unlocked new skills and exclusive geofilters, driving potential shoppers to stores or players to games. “Adidas is always looking for creative ways to engage our audience through social media, and we work closely with our partners to ensure that the brand is the leader when it comes to exciting and innovative ideas,” says Dan Bulteel, global social media director at Adidas. 

In Poland, Coca-Cola’s use of Snapchat Stories marked it as “one of the first brands to really embrace the platform,” says Brennan. The soft drink brand commissioned teens to go and cover events such as concerts, iPhone launches, and art exhibitions. The basis of the idea was that many kids don’t live in big cities and are therefore unable to access these great events, so Coke used Stories to bring them closer to cultural happenings in their country. [

Social media storytelling is bringing brands and fans closer together

In summer 2017, Facebook sought to one-up Snapchat by allowing people to share their Stories publicly – ideal for celebrities and other public figures whose followers on the platform may greatly outnumber their friends. 

 “For these platforms, celebrities are like the primetime TV shows – their content is the gateway drug for getting people on the platform,” says Brennan. “[Open stories invite] more people to engage with the celebrities, and if they’re doing it, the wider consumer will do it.” 

One of Brennan’s favourite celebrities using Instagram and Snapchat Stories is 

, whose entertaining videos garner hundreds of thousands of views. Khaled’s posts show what his life is like at any given moment and that’s what fans want, so that they feel they know a bit more about him with every Story viewed. 

 This candidness is something that many bloggers, vloggers and Instagram stars strive to maintain; 71% of online influencers say that their followers most appreciate their honesty and authenticity. 

Instagram’s latest feature, announced in August 2017, sees Stories come to web, appearing at the top of the page when viewed on a browser, as in the mobile app. It’s a move that should help expand access to Stories, which could be particularly useful for brands and businesses as they seek to increase their publicity. A fifth of Instagram Stories posted by business receive a direct message reply, so expanding the audience outside of the app could encourage more one-to-one interactions. 

The spontaneity of Stories adds authenticity for celebs and brands alike

Social media Stories can be used to complement a brand’s more permanent content on Instagram, rewarding followers with ephemeral posts. They encourage spontaneous usage and therefore help to generate huge amounts of content from events and fans. For example, 

 has access to a breadth of stunning images thanks to its community, which it curates and reposts (with permission) as Stories, helping to build a stronger connection with followers through the platform. 

The introduction of public Stories has the potential to attract a different type of content creator. High-profile journalists on Facebook, for instance, could harness the feature to tell the news as it’s breaking or provide additional commentary in a less formal manner. However, Josh Constine, editor-at-large of TechCrunch, warns that users with large followings could become an annoyance on the platform if unrestrained. “If Facebook isn’t careful about how it ranks Stories from public figures and web celebs, these self-promoters could overrun Stories,” he writes. “But if it fills the often empty space with content, it could teach people to use Stories.”

The best content shared through Stories often looks like it has been captured in the moment, even though it may not have been. “Never record a Story twice, it has to be honest and in real time,” says blogger and fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni. 

 While tweets from public figures may seem too polished at times, Stories can provide a sense of intimacy with followers. “They give you an authentic view of the celebrity, the sports star or the brand,” says Brennan. “Those influencers emerging from the likes of Snapchat and Instagram are gaining traction due to their content being typical of a standard user rather than on YouTube or Facebook, where content is pre-planned and premium. Stories is bringing that closeness back a bit, and it’s better because it’s audio-visual.” 

 has spent over 20 years working with international media agencies. She now runs The Scout trend and communications consultancy, with clients ranging from the youth to luxury sectors. Jo is based in Brighton, where she enjoys fine wines and real ales when she’s not mountain biking on the South Downs.

Global

Communications

Social networking

'We're more addicted to Instagram than ever and it's all because of Stories', Mashable

'Facebook Stories: everything you need to know about Facebook’s latest feature', Buffer

Interview with Liam Brennan conducted by author

'Brands use Instagram Stories more than twice as often as Snapchat', Adweek

'Instagram’s monthly users hit 800M, pummeling Snapchat', New York Post

'Influencers leave Snapchat to make money on Instagram', Canvas8

'Instagram by the numbers: stats, demographics & fun facts', Omnicore

'How brands used Instagram Stories during New York Fashion Week', Forbes

'Dior and Louis Vuitton are the fashion brands with best Instagram Stories engagement', Business of Fashion

'3 brands using Instagram Stories well (and what you can learn from them)', Hootsuite

'Adidas is kicking its way onto the Snapchat games pitch', Adweek

'Facebook Stories unlocks public sharing', TechCrunch

'FanBread: turning influence into income', Canvas8

'Instagram Stories are coming to the web', TechCrunch

The ‘Stories’ features on Instagram and Snapchat have proven popular among users for their impermanence, authenticity, and behind-the-scenes nature. But how exactly are they being used by brands, celebrities and regular people? And how are these temporary digital tales evolving?

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