Trends: Let's talk about Stories

Part one in a three-part series looking at the trends in digital marketing to keep in mind throughout 2019 and beyond. Ideally, none of what I'm going to cover should come as any surprise, however, what I hope to bring to the conversation is additional insight and ideally, actionable takeouts.

Each trend article will cover three main areas:

1. Why are we here? Background. Facts. Figures. Key drivers. 
2. What does that mean today? The trends and proof points we can see around us right now. 
3. What should you do tomorrow? Actions. It's all well and good knowing this stuff but if you walk away and do nothing, then what's the bloody point? 

So... let's talk about the first marketing piece to be completely across for 2019: Stories.

Why Are We Here?

Stories as a product are not a new thing. I remember writing about ephemeral content way back in December 2013 when Snapchat first launched its 'Stories' offering. At that time the thinking was to steer well clear: you couldn't ask clients for production budget for content that doesn't last! That would be crazy.

Fast forward a few years - to August 2016 in fact - and (the by now Facebook-owned) Instagram lifts the Snapchat feature set for Stories wholesale and launches its own offering, Instagram Stories. 

They didn't even change the name.  

In fact, so blasé was this 'borrowing' that in an interview with TechCrunch shortly after launch Kevin Systrom said this on record: 

TC: “Let’s talk about the big thing. Snapchat pioneered a lot of this format. Whole parts of the concept, the implementation, down to the details…”

KS: “They deserve all the credit. Totally.”

In short: Facebook dgaf. A recurring theme perhaps?

Speaking of Facebook, at the start of Jan 18 (in the 4th quarter earnings call - I love a good earnings call), Mark Zuckerberg said: 

"We expect Stories are on track to overtake posts in Feed as the most common way that people share across all social apps"

I believe him.

According to a Facebook source, as of June 2018, 40% of time spent on Instagram is in Stories. That is a huge shift in eyeballs. 

FWIW: I've explored and unpacked this a lot in a separate Twitter thread that examined if IGTV was worth a punt (it isn't but the thread itself is worth a look as the numbers are pretty astonishing).

What does that mean today?

I'm glad you asked. There are two charts that tell this story in a much better way than I ever could. The first one is from 2017 and comes via Recode, and plots the astronomical growth in IG Stories users vs Snapchat.

Six months it took Instagram Stories to match Snapchat DAUs and in the months that followed? WHOOSH.

This second chart, this time coming via TechCrunch, is from September 2018 and shows not only just how far Instagram Stories has come but also how much Facebook is going ALL IN on Stories across ALL of its products and services. Look.

Three things to notice about this chart: 

1. IG Stories now has over double the amount of DAUs than Snapchat has in ITS ENTIRE APP. 
2. Stories as a featureis now everywhere. 
3. Err... Hello WhatsApp 'Status'.

If you've never heard of this (and if you're in Europe, you probably haven't) this is basically the WhatsApp equivalent of Stories. If you've never seen it, open WhatsApp on your phone right now, go to your main/home screen - aka 'Chats' - and from there, swipe left.

There it is!

Yeah, no one you know uses it BUT IT IS BIGGER THAN INSTAGRAM STORIES AND THAT IS INSANE. 

I get asked a lot 'Where and how will Facebook make money next?' The answer is a) Stories, b) Whatsapp, and c) Stories in WhatsApp. 

Let's move on.

As I said, Facebook is investing BIG in Stories. The feed is done. Over. Well, not over, but as far as Facebook is concerned, it is yesterday. Tomorrow is Stories. Everywhere. Late last year, The Verge reported that Stories would be even coming to Facebook Groups (and I believe this is now live).  

And, as we all know, where eyeballs go, advertisers follow. 

In March 2018, Facebook rolled out ads for IG Stories. Six months later, it did the same for FB Stories. With Stories now available in Messenger, WhatsApp (ish), and soon Groups, you can begin to see where the rich creamy dollar-flavoured milk from this particular cash-cow will start to flow from next. 

Which begs the question:

What should you do tomorrow?

First thing first: TEST TEST TEST

If you're running any kind of advertising programme on Facebook or Instagram - whether that’s in-feed, carousels, portrait videos or whatever, then DO take a look at Facebook’s Story products. You'd be silly not to. Some of the stats around Instagram Stories on their own make the experiment worthwhile.

Next thing, have a look and see what assets you have that can be chopped into story-format and then test and learn with organic and paid.

As I mentioned in the Twitter thread I linked to earlier - at the time of writing, IGTV feels like a waste of money. I can't think of any major successes in this format and cannot recommend it as a viable ad platform (and please don't comment with that one killer case you've seen on it because dude, and it will be a dude, dude, that's exception not the rule). 

Second thing second: ORGANIC? JUST SAY NO (MOSTLY)

Given both Facebook and Instagram’s algorithmic content serving – the wasteful budget that can be lost on organic content for feed also applies to Stories.

Why waste money creating content that'll never be seen? 

That said, posting organically can be a good way to store experiences, as pinned Stories, for fans and followers to find out more about you (and test what works and what doesn’t). 

Third thing third: USE THE TOOLS AVAILABLE

Facebook, for all its shortcomings, does actually have some great tools that it lets advertisers take advantage of. Facebook ad manager has a feature called 'Placement Optimization' - that literally does all the work for you. 

What you do get is the ability to squeeze and sweat one asset/key visual across multiple channels, ready to use for Messenger or Stories or whatever (although, if you use it in Messenger I will hunt you down and kill you).

Of course, this comes with the obvious downfall of not actually having any kind of creative oversight or direction. However, from a budget standpoint, this is hella useful if you're spending pennies and not pounds. 

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In closing, it's undeniable how much bigger Stories are going to grow in 2019. WhatsApp Status advertising will become a huge money-spinner for Facebook and others will follow. Be that YouTube rolling out its own version of the product for creators or even Netflix getting in on the act as well (true story).

Stories are here to stay and you should be ready for that.

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This is part one of three trend pieces I'm publishing before the end of January 2019.

Thoughts, comments, and builds are all welcome here, or on Twitter (@whatleydude).

Thanks for reading,

James