Jane Harrell, co-owner of Working with Dog and founder of ’cause Digital Marketing, holds Office Hours with Jane twice a month, and members of Working with Dog can ask any burning questions they have about business or marketing.
Question:
Hi Jane, I’m curious about stories on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve never used them before but am thinking it would be nice to start incorporating them in our social media. Do you find stories an effective part of social media? And what do you recommend for the frequency of posting those?
Expert Jane Harrell responds:
Yes, stories can be very effective in a social media mix on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s a bit about how to think about them:
1) Stories typically only last on your profile for 24 hours, unless you “highlight” them on your profile. Because of this, they can provide a slipping of the veil and more personality from you. They don’t need to be as polished, and don’t impact the 9-square people see when they first view your Instagram profile.
2) That said, they don’t have the same benefits of regular posts (they go away in 24 hours unless favorited/highlighted). So, I’d add them to your mix, but not spend as much time on these as you do your regular posts. Think of these as little bonuses, or fun ways to let people see behind the scenes.
3) As for frequency, this changes by brand and by channel. Start with what’s easy, whatever that is for you, and then let’s look at the results during our next office hours. From there, we can determine whether to increase, decrease or stay the same based on the impact you’re seeing and what our team is recommending for frequency based on the algorithms at that time.
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