Social Media Stories are a powerful way to communicate your message in the form a “sound bite” or a quick visual snapshot. Stories are the “behind-the-scenes” of your brand. It’s a way to show the world all the tiny things that you have to offer and what you are up to. Your audience gets to be a “fly-on-the-wall” of your life via Stories.
One of the fun things about Stories is that you can be as creative as you’d like when posting. The story panels only last for 24 hours, so there is no real commitment to your posting. Have as much fun as you want. The only caveat I would throw in is….KEEP IT SIMPLE! There is some strategy to it.
Remember…people are goldfish. They cannot take in too much as once. Their attention span is INCREDIBLY short. They go through Stories just as fast as their regular newsfeed, so you will need to apply the same understanding to Stories as the newsfeed when it comes to posting. People won’t read a ton in Stories. They just won’t. If you post a photo and pair that photo with text, understand that if the text is too busy, they won’t read it, so you have wasted your time in typing it out. Make it SUPER easy to read and keep it short. There are exceptions to this.
It has a lot of text, BUT the story panel BEFORE it will be incredibly simple, and will intentionally lead into the busier one. It might have a solid background with one word and arrow pointing right. That way, they know what is coming. Often times, they will save the flyer highlight to their camera roll, so they can read all the info later or will send it to a friend via PM.
Today, I am going to talk specifically about GIFs and how they can enhance the Story experience and messaging. You can use GIF’s in SO many ways.
You can use them:
- to create a fun little scene on the panel.
- to enhance a word or bring attention to a message.
- for calls to actions…like adding GIF arrows.
- to add humor and playfulness to the panel.
- to draw special attention to something already on your panel.
- to decorate the panel.
- to show your creativity.
Here’s how to ADD A GIF to your panel. When you go to post a story, look for the SQUARE with the SMILEY FACE in it. Click on that.
FACEBOOK >> You will see tabs at the top that say “Stickers” “GIFs” & “Emojis.” Click on GIFs. Then, you will be able to search by type or category of the GIF you are wanting. Remember, these GIF’s are not like the ones in your keyboard. They are just small, moving objects that you can add. They are like moving stickers.
INSTAGRAM >> You will see the GIF feature on the panel. Click on it. Then, you will be able to search by type or category of the GIF you are wanting. Remember, these GIF’s are not like the ones in your keyboard. They are just small, moving objects that you can add. They are like moving stickers.
I am always looking for fun GIFs to make the experience of adding a panel more fun. See below for some that are really great! Simply type these into the search and explore the GIF options.
HAVE FUN!!!