The Difference Between Social Media Stories, Posts, and Reels

With different social media content forms at our disposal, it’s good to know the distinction between each of them as well as how to best leverage each form for discovery, engagement, and conversion.

First, let’s define the essence of each content form.

• Stories are meant to give a more candid view of your brand to only those who follow you, although someone who visits your profile can see your Story in real time. Stories disappear 24 hours after posting unless you delete them sooner or permanently feature them on your account.
• Posts are typically a thought via text, photo, or video intended to appear on your page forever (unless you delete them) and can be viewed by anyone on the platform.
• Reels are short-form, vertical videos that can be up to 90 seconds long, can live online forever, and are designed to be distributed to more non-followers than followers.

The Purpose of Stories: Keep The Current Audience Engaged

• In The Moment – What you’re doing right now, unpolished, behind-the-scenes, unexpected observations
• Interaction – Questions, Polls, “Add Yours,” New Music, Quizzes, Rate Something, Tagging Products, Countdowns
• Pinballing – Use links to blogs, ticket sales, giveaways, etc….to pull people onto the assets you own.

What a “Story” might look like:

The Purpose Of Posts: Provide A Lasting Presence (Snapshot) To Current & Potential Followers

(But there’s a big difference between Facebook posts & Instagram posts.)

Facebook Posts:

• Memorable Moments – Unexpected experiences from interviews, your show, etc…. Occasions that live online forever, reminding people why they follow you.
• Interaction – Questions, Polls, “Add Yours,” New Music, Quizzes, Rate Something, Tagging Products, Countdowns
• Pinballing – Use links to blogs, ticket sales, giveaways, etc….to pull people onto the assets you own

Instagram Posts:

• Make Them Feel Something – Inspiring, Informative, Encouraging, and/or Entertaining Content. No links, no questions – keep it highly visual.

The Purpose For Reels: Growth And Greater Discoverability

• Brand Consistency – no matter what type of content you create with Reels, make sure it aligns with your brand – you can’t be all over the place.

Here’s why:

Reels receive wider distribution. So, when non-followers get exposed to your content and they like it, they go to your account to see more of what they liked.

If the content has no real consistency – you’ll never convert views to new followers.

Being brand-aligned also increases the chances of getting your content in the “explore” tabs to reach new audiences.

Just don’t always make it about you. This Reel (below) is a masterclass in teaching how to also include others – people like to see themselves or someone like them in the content, too.

This is from Deanna Cruz with MOVin/Seattle

The social space is certainly not easy – but it can get easier to manage when you have the right people and skill sets in place to make sense of it all.

 

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