Blog

Facebook Stories Ads Now Available to All Advertisers & Businesses

Reading Time: 3 mins

Facebook has, at last, officially launched Stories Ads on the advertising platform across the globe.

Instagram Stories have been in place since early 2017, and in May they began to test Facebook Stories Ads.

Source: facebook.com/business/news/introducing-facebook-stories-ads

What are Facebook Stories Ads?

This is a new ad placement options for any business advertising through Facebook’s advertising platform.

Similar to Instagram Stories ads, these units include Facebook’s targeting capabilities, and will also be available through Messenger.

Many brands have been testing this in the UK, including Kettle Chips and KFC.

As Facebook describes it:

Stories are where people share and discover content they care about in fast and fun ways. And the use of stories across platforms is growing everywhere. In fact, an Ipsos survey of stories users commissioned by Facebook IQ found that 68% of people say they use stories on at least three apps regularly, and 63% plan to use stories more in the future.1 Last year, we launched Instagram Stories ads and since then, advertisers have embraced the format, creating engaging ads for people that also drive business results.

More than 300 million people use Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories every day.2 And to help businesses reach more people, we’re now making Facebook Stories ads available to all advertisers around the world.

Why use stories ads?

Facebook puts it this way:

Facebook Stories ads support every objective that’s currently available for Instagram Stories ads, including reach, brand awareness, video views, app install, conversion, traffic and lead generation. Facebook’s full suite of targeting and measurement capabilities is also available for stories ads across platforms.

Advertising in stories has proven to drive valuable business outcomes. In the Ipsos survey, 62% of people said they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story.3 And brands testing Facebook Stories ads are already seeing results. iHeartRadio, Kettle Chips and KFC are among the advertisers who have seen brand lift from their Facebook Stories ad campaigns.

Facebook found that:

  • 68% of people say they use stories on at least three apps regularly
  • 63% plan to use stories more in the future
  • 300 million people use Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories every day
  • 38% of people said that after seeing a product or service in a story they talked to someone about it
  • 34% said they went to a store to look for it

Stories are quickly becoming a very popular way of sharing content and photos between friends, and so advertising naturally follows.

This is an engaging ad format that fills a phone screen, and can really make a difference in promoting your brand online. Instagram Stories ads have already been a success and people are used to them, so this is a natural step in the right direction, for Facebook and advertisers at least.