Getting started with Stories: Part 1—The Breakdown

Facebook and Instagram Stories have been around for a while, but they may pose some challenges for your brand’s social media strategy.

• Posts can be scheduled in advance; stories have to be posted on the fly
• Posts have a much longer life span; stories disappear after 24 hours
• Posts come in many forms; stories rely heavily on video

So why should your brand be posting stories?

Facebook and Instagram stories are growing at 15x the pace of the newsfeed because Facebook algorithms are placing meaningful relationships (cultivated by short, daily stories) over passive content (newsfeed posts). Stories are at the top of your audience’s feed, and everyone else is there. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect.

Think of all of these interactions as a business deal. It takes time to build trust, a relationship with buyers/customers on and off of social media. So while creating stories may ask a little more time from your schedule, you’ll see that it’s worth it when you start making meaningful relationships that convert to sales. Quick Tip: Look at your calendar each Monday morning and make a quick list of what is going on that you can post a story about. Set a reminder in your phone every other day or so to remind yourself to post.

Below is a quick breakdown of how to use stories to grow and connect to your audience:

Humanize your brand—40%—Who YOU (Brand) are to THEM (Audience)

• Humanize your brand
  • Tell the story of the brand
  • How you got started
  • What you believe
• Create Common Ground
  • Ex: Day in the Life

Product Posting—40%—What you do and Why it Matters

• Preemptively eliminate objection
  • You may not think this product is for you, BUT have you thought of…
  • This is how this product can help you
• Make the audience feel like insiders
  • Behind the Scenes video
  • Ask for their opinion with polls
  • Ask them to DM you with thoughts on a specific decision you’re making
  • Meet the team
  • Join the office meeting/morning donuts convo
  • On the production floor
  • Let them see the work being created for the next campaign
• Show them the value your brand provides

Promotions—20%—Make the offer

• Start the sales conversation
• Use Testimonials
• Ask followers to DM as the call to action
  • Must have a plan in action if you aren’t the salesperson.
  • What are next steps to close the sale?
  • Does this happen once a week? Every Tuesday for a month, then Every Wednesday for a month? Have salespeople on call to help facilitate sale.

We’re going to dive deep into each of these three categories plus, additional steps you should be taking to connect and make sure your efforts aren’t all-for-not in upcoming posts, so stick around for parts 2-5.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, or how we can help with your social media strategy or ad creation, please reach out to the NewPoint team. If you are interested in more food marketing topics, please visit our “Food for Thought” page. Alternatively, check out NewPoint’s book: Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain.