Why it is important to have a Facebook and Instagram page

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In this blog I will explain the importance of having both Facebook and Instagram and their importance in the business world.

One of the questions that our clients ask à Why is it important to have a Facebook or Instagram account ”, and the answer is clear and I will tell you below.

It is clear that today many people have this type of social networks and they are used in order to interact with your friends, family, but in reality you can go further.

Although we know that today social networks have a great impact worldwide, for some years both international and small companies have been using these platforms as a way to publicize their brand, products or services.

Social networks are a good, simple and intuitive tool to use, and I believe that there is no person in the world who currently does not have some of them.

Currently having a business Facebook or Instagram page helps a lot to grow in business.

Even if you don’t use Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories, you’ve probably seen them: those short screens of photo and video snippets that appear at the top.

Maybe you are a novice, or maybe you are already an expert in stories, but maybe you are wondering what is the point of stories when you can already post videos and photos.

Why should your business use Instagram or Facebook? Here are our top 5 reasons.

1. Your story appears at the top of your followers’ feeds.

When you make a regular Instagram or Facebook post, it’s up to the algorithm who sees it, and as new content is posted, your post moves further and further down, where people are less likely to see it.

Our main reason for using Stories is that they automatically appear at the top of users’ home feeds for as long as they’re available (usually 24 hours). You get an optimized location without having to pay for it just by making an Instagram or Facebook story.

On Instagram, you can keep your Stories visible even after they expire by adding them to your Highlights. They will then live at the top of your profile page, just below your profile picture.

2. Stories can take your followers behind the scenes.

Maybe it’s an event (safely social distancing), maybe it’s your business’s server room, or the kitchen where your restaurant team is preparing takeout orders. Showing your followers something they might not otherwise see can generate interest in your business.

3. Stories can get more people to engage with your brand.

Therefore, your followers can find your Stories easily, right at the top of their feeds, and they can feel like they are with you doing something interesting. That leads to the reason for marketing with stories: more audience engagement.

What we found is that people engage more with our Instagram Stories than regular posts. There are more comments and more responses to surveys, for example. It’s probably because there are more interactive Story elements, like stickers.

4. Stories can increase your click-through rates.

When people engage with your brand more, they often want to learn more. You may find that you are getting more clicks through your profile link as you create story content.

As the number of followers increases, you can unlock more features that can increase clicks. For example, once you have 5,000 followers on Instagram, you can include a link in your Story posts, something you can’t do in a standard Instagram post.

With 10,000 followers, Instagram allows you to add its Swipe Up feature to your Stories. That allows followers to go directly from your story to your store or blog.

For example, followers can swipe up on this story to learn more about website updates and then read our blog post.

5. Stories allow you to market on a shoestring audio/video budget.

Unlike most promotional videos, product portfolios, and podcasts, a story can be successful even with low-fidelity production values.

The idea is that your story is something that is happening at the moment, filmed on your phone. You don’t need to invest in a graphic designer and video producer, making the story quick to create and cheap.

How to create stories for your business: 11 smart ideas

When you’re ready to start using Stories in your marketing, you may be wondering how long they should be and how often you should post them. This is what we recommend for most new story users.

1. Tell a true story.

Even a fifteen second story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. For an artist, a story about a mural project might be three images: the sketch, the midpoint, and the finished product.

2. Keep your stories short.

Within each story, you can create individual pages that display for up to five seconds for an image and up to 15 seconds for a video. We recommend including between three and six pages in each story.

3. Mix your media.

Mix and match videos and still images in your Stories. A little of both in each story can boost views and get your audience more engaged.

4. Go vertical

Instagram and Facebook posts have a square format. Stories use a portrait (vertical) format that fills the screen. When you’re taking photos and videos for your feed and Stories, remember to take a couple of different sizes to have content for both formats.

5. Use content you already have.

When there’s something timely from your feed that you can include in your Stories, do so. For example, you may have posts from past holidays that you can incorporate into a story for the upcoming holiday season. Or maybe you have a series of photos of related products that you can stitch together into a story.

6. Bookmark your stories

The brand always matters! You can create story backgrounds on another platform like Canva to include your brand colors and fonts, rather than relying on the fonts and colors available in story. It’s a great way to make sure all your content looks and feels like your brand.

7. Use #hashtags in your Stories.

Some marketers put hashtags front and center on their Stories, while others scale them back so they’re not obtrusive. The important thing is to use at least one tag on each post, because they make your posts findable in hashtag searches.

8. Be brave and go live with some posts.

Maybe you are at an event, maybe in your workshop or office, show your followers what is happening right now. If something really interesting happens, you can make a quick video for your story.

You can also live stream videos for up to an hour on Instagram and up to 90 minutes on Facebook. Then you can take advantage of repetition. On Instagram, you can save your video to IGTV if it meets the length and format requirements. You can also include your IGTV video in your Stories, though Instagram doesn’t give all users that option.

9. Add your best Stories to your Highlights.

Instagram will display them near the top of your profile page, long after they’ve left the Story feed

10. Start small with Stories.

It’s tempting to try to be everywhere with stories, but it’s best to take baby steps when you start. If most of your audience is on Facebook, focus your story efforts there. If they’re on Instagram, start there. If you have followers on both, you can set Instagram to share your Stories to Facebook automatically.

How often should you post? Once again, baby steps are the best. One or two stories a week is a good starting point. However, don’t feel like you have to reach that goal every week.

Remember, stories are part of a conversation with your audience. Maybe there is a week where you go out or have nothing to talk about with your audience. It’s okay. Maybe next week there will be three cool things you want to turn into Stories. That’s good too! Don’t avoid Stories just because you don’t stick to a schedule.

11. Engage with your Stories audience.

Stories are great for getting more engagement from your followers. They are also great to get more information from them. Use those story conversations and polls to get feedback from your customers and have real conversations that can build those relationships and strengthen your brand.