Facebook Stories Hits 300 Million Users and Rolls Out Ads Globally

More than 300 million people use Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories every day.

Since Snapchat debuted the Stories format back in 2013, it has taken over the social media landscape. Facebook first introduced the format to one of its properties in 2016 with the launch of Instagram Stories and has since launched similar updates across Whatsapp, Messenger and Facebook itself.

And the format is still growing across the board. Data from Facebook IQ found that 68 percent of people say they use stories on at least three apps regularly, and 63 percent plan to use stories more in the future.

The value of Facebook Stories ads

An Ipsos survey discovered that 62 percent of people said they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story and Facebook says that “brands testing Facebook Stories ads are already seeing results”.

Stories ads also have the power to help your brand grow via word of mouth, with 38 percent of people surveyed saying that after seeing a product or service in a story they talked to someone about it.

In addition, the survey found that more than half of people said they’re making more online purchases as a result of seeing stories and 34 percent said they went to a store to look for a product they had seen in stories ads.

Facebook says that both Tentree, a sustainable, eco-friendly clothing company, and Skout, a dating app,  found that adding Facebook Stories to their Instagram Stories ad campaigns resulted in more customer actions at a lower cost.

The challenges and opportunities with Stories

The audiences on Facebook Stories could be an issue for advertisers. 300 million people use stories across Facebook and Messenger whereas more than 400 million use Instagram Stories daily, and 1.47 billion use Facebook daily.

However, the newness of Facebook Stories could appeal to advertisers seeking a first mover advantage with the format. Brandon Doyle, the founder of digital agency Wallaroo Media, has been experimenting with Facebook Stories ads for over a month, and recently told Digiday:

“CPM and conversion rates have been the best of any placements over the course of the last month, probably due to the fact that the competition is lower there”.

Digiday also revealed that flight-booking service Hopper has seen both Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories ads performing better than ads in Facebook’s news feed and in Instagram’s feed. In fact, the results for Hopper have been so great that the businesses has been “prioritizing designing ads for the Stories format, then adapting them to the other formats”.

Getting started with Facebook Stories ads

Facebook has launched Stories Ads to help businesses reach more people and Stories Ads will be available to advertisers as an additional placement to News Feed or Instagram Stories ad campaigns. Facebook reports that Stories Ads will soon be coming to Messenger soon too.

Facebook Stories ads deliver your message in a fullscreen, immersive environment. Additionally, Facebook Stories ads support every objective that’s currently available for Instagram Stories ads, including:

• Reach
• Brand awareness
• Video views
• App install
• Conversion
• Traffic
• Lead generation

Facebook Stories ads have been rolled out globally today. To get started with Stories ads, head over to Facebook Ads Manager and create your ad, then when it comes to selecting ‘Placements’ you’ll see the option to include Facebook Stories:

Want to learn more about the Stories format?

With more than one billion people using Stories and vertical video formats across Facebook, Instagram, IGTV — and even YouTube… Have you wondered what this means for your business? We recently partnered up with writer, maker and marketer, Owen Williams, to share everything you need to know about vertical video and how to get started in a four-part email series.