Executive Summary

Stories are spreading across social media. Twitter and LinkedIn are testing them, joining Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. With consumer usage rising, marketers are increasingly using stories for organic marketing, influencer marketing and paid advertising.

How important are stories for consumers?

More than four in 10 US Instagram users and 34% of US Facebook users watched other people’s Stories in the past month, according to a March survey we conducted with Bizrate Insights. Stories also remain a highly popular format on Snapchat, the app that started the trend.

How are marketers using stories for organic (nonpaid) marketing?

Marketers are using stories to show less-scripted or behind-the-scenes moments, and they are embracing swipe-up capabilities to drive leads, conversions and purchases. According to the Incite Group, 36.1% of B2C respondents considered ephemeral content such as stories critical to their content marketing efforts.

How important are stories for influencer marketing?

In a word: essential. According to influencer marketing firm Linqia, 83% of US marketers planned to use Instagram Stories for influencer marketing this year.

How many marketers are using story advertising?

In 2019, 51% of marketers surveyed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) were using story advertising, up from 42% in 2018. More than 4 million advertisers on Facebook properties worldwide were using Story ads as of January 2020, up from 3 million in 2019.

Is TikTok a competitor to stories?

Indirectly. TikTok videos can’t be strung together like stories can, they don’t disappear, and they can be embedded into stories on other platforms. But TikTok’s vertical format, its appeal to a primarily youthful audience and its tight integration with creators are all commonalities.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report explores the growth of stories as a social media activity and as a marketing format. It also discusses how marketers are measuring the effectiveness of their story marketing.

KEY STAT: In March 2020, more than four in 10 US Instagram users had watched an Instagram Story in the past month.