We live in a fast paced world, where people’s attention span is getting shorter and shorter. This is one of the explanations of the major success of Stories, both on Facebook and Instagram. Since business accounts have access to this type of content, marketers have been trying to attract prospects with original branded content.
Disappearing Content, the King of Interactions
What makes the Story format special is the fact that it disappears 24 hours after being posted. This means that brands use this type of format to promote micro-moments and micro-interactions, such as flash sales and special short term deals.
If you haven’t used Facebook Stories so far, here are a few relevant facts and statistics:
- Facebook Stories integrate 10 country specific slangs for text-overlay filters, including Australia, Canada and Ireland;
- Creation of Story content grows 15 times faster than News Feed sharing;
- At the present Facebook Stories have 500 million daily active users.
Making Facebook Stories Your Marketing Weapon of Choice for Holiday Sales
Right now, you are probably starting to roll out your ads and promotions for Halloween and Christmas sales. As various statistics show, people are keen to find presents for their family and friend ahead of time. No one wants to be caught up in the frenzy of last moment purchases.
Thus, most of your clients are usually looking out for discounts and special offers. They are relying on their friends’ recommendations and the social media to find the perfect gift for the best price. With the right Facebook Story, you can capture their attention and reach your holiday sales targets.
To help you create the perfect Story that attracts your prospects’ attention, Facebook has recently rolled out a new feature: Story templates for business accounts.
How Can You Use Facebook Story Templates?
Just like any other content creation tool developed by Facebook, using Story templates is simplicity itself. Here is how to create your holiday branded ads and promotions for Facebook Stories with these templates.
1. Create Your Image in the Ads Manager Platform
The first step is to create your image. If you do not have it readily prepared, you can use the Facebook Ads Manager platform you already know.
2. Select a Placement to Customise
After your image is ready, choose the option “Select a placement to customise”. You can choose between: Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories.
3. Select Change Template from the Pop-up Window
Once you selected Facebook Stories, a pop-up window will appear. Here, you will find the option “Change Template”. Once you click on it, the gallery of holiday templates appears and you can select the one you want to use.
4. Preview Your Ad and Make Further Customisations
After applying the template, you can see a preview of your Instagram Story ad on the right side of the screen. You can use it as it is, or customise other elements, such as:
- Change the background colour
- Add music
- Add effects to your call to action button.
5. Download and Use the Finished Story
At the end, you will set the Facebook Story ad to run as paid promotional content. However, you can also download it and use it as a regular Story (to generate organic traffic).
You are not limited to Facebook Stories – you can publish the content with the holiday template on Instagram and Messenger, as well. Thus, you can expand your reach to several audience groups with the same content.
This new Facebook Story feature will help you streamline and speed up your holiday promotional efforts. Instead of spending time to create or purchase holiday inspired graphics to add to your ads, you can access them for free within Facebook Ads Manager.