Long gone are the days when Facebook was the unrivalled, number one, social media platform. Nowadays, there are countless platforms in existence, all of which offer something ever so slightly different for ever so slightly different audiences.

Competing with the likes of Instagram and Twitter, arguably much flashier and cooler platforms, Facebook is struggling to maintain its dominance and ensure that younger users don’t abandon it entirely.

In the hopes of maintaining its authority, last week Facebook announced it’s following in the footsteps of Snapchat and Instagram, and rolling out ‘Facebook Stories’.

Like Snapchat, users can add photos and videos, complete with selfie and geo-filters, to a story that friends can tap through to watch. Facebook Stories will appear at the top of the newsfeed and, most importantly, disappear after 24 hours, without appearing in their own, or friend’s newsfeeds.

Facebook has introduced Stories in a bid to curb Snapchat’s popularity and keep older age groups, who are perhaps not yet on Snapchat, loyal to Facebook. Although this move could have a negative effect on Snapchat, there is no doubting that the start-up has disrupted the industry and Facebook’s uncontested dominance, for the better.

So, what can us PRs take away from this Facebook update?

  • The introduction of Facebook Stories marks a shift from text-based updates to short-lived photo and video sharing.
  • Snapchat and Instagram Stories have paved the way and unlocked revenue opportunities that are of huge PR value. For instance, Snapchat’s latest report shows that 50% of Snapchat users open a brand’s story and more than 85% of them watch the entire story.
  • While Snapchat has 160 million daily active users, Facebook has a whopping 1.23 billion. Imagine the potential PR value of reaching half a billion Facebook users with your brand’s story!
  • It’s time to ditch YouTube, as Facebook is fast becoming the go-to place for brands to share videos and content.

The gradual roll out of Facebook Stories is something that we at Approach are very excited for.  As for the effect on its rivals, Snapchat and Instagram, we will have to wait and see. One thing is for sure though, gone are the days of status updates in text-form, welcome to the world of video content instead.

On that note, perhaps we should have vlogged this?

Imaged sourced from Pixabay