Web Stories are a full-screen format on mobile devices that feature a series of tappable visual slides. They offer a visual and engaging way to consume content and are powered by AMP technology.
A Web story can combine images, video and text to create a visually stunning and animated flow. A Web story can be used to inform or promote your products and services. While Web stories are optimized for mobile, they also work nicely on desktop.
Web Stories vs Social Media Stories
Although Web scould appear to be a copy of the existing social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, there are key differences between them.
- Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories are ephemeral. These Stories can be saved to your profile and reposted, but they are gone after 24 hours. Web Stories on the other hand are under your control: you decide how long they are online.
- Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories depend on the platform. This means that these Stories can only be created for their respective platforms. Web Stories are designed for the open internet. They can be used on all platforms, across the web.
- Simply by using your smartphone's camera, you can create an Instagram/Snapchat Story. You can enhance your story with specific features such as filters to animate faces or geotags to add location. Creating Web stories can be done with the help of boilerplate code samples on GitHub. However, there are tools and plugins for WordPress available that make it easy to create Web Stories.
- Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories are not available to everyone. These Stories can only be accessed on mobile devices. To access them on your desktop computer, you will need to install Android Emulator softwares, some paid tools, or enable certain plugins in your browser. Web Stories are mobile-first but Google designed them responsively. Web Stories can be accessed on any device without any problems.
- Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories can't be searched online and can only be shared on their respective platforms. Web Stories are part of the open internet and can be shared across the Internet. They also searchable by all search engines.
- Web Stories are search engine-friendly, so you can improve your rankings by positively impacting engagement metrics like bounce rate and time on site.
Web Stories are a must-have in your content marketing strategy
Stories are a favorite of many people, especially when they're good. You might have already adopted storytelling to engage your audience, whether you're an online publisher or a B2C company. B2B businesses should also consider this format since content marketing is becoming more popular in B2B settings. Through educational content, such as videos or blog posts, potential buyers and companies form a relationship.
Web Stories best practises
- Use call to actions. A call-to-action in a story can be used for a redirect to a landing page or product page to drive traffic.
- Link stories to content. An Web Story is a loosely connected piece of content that you can link with your main content. You might have long-form content like a guide. A short story that summarizes the essence of your article could be created in just a few slides. Use the "bookend" slide, which allows you to offer links to related articles, call-to-action links and text, to get users to your content.
- Be the first. Web Stories is a relatively new method of reaching your target audience. Web Stories can be integrated into any content marketing strategy. Look for the most popular searches in your industry. Find the "What / What / Why" and build stories around them. Tutorials and how-tos are also be "evergreen" content. When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), being first will give you a competitive edge.
- Use Web Stories increase your traffic on mobile. You won't be surprised to hear that mobile is becoming a more popular platform for content consumption. Mobile searches are also very popular. More than 60% of Google's organic search traffic comes from mobile devices. People are more likely to search from their mobile devices than their desktops.
Remember that a Web story is just "snackable content" and should make customers interested in more. The goal is to create interest and drive viewers to your website, products, or services.
Conclusion
Web stories help you to create fast, visually rich storytelling experiences for your customers. The format is open source and there are many tools available that let you easily create stories for your brand. Because Web stories exist on your website they appear found in search results, adding to your SEO ranking. Thei visually immersive format creates more audience engagement drives traffic.
Are you interested to see what Web stories can do for your business? Get in touch with us and learn how to build Web stories for your business.
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