The ‘stories’ format within social apps is now a pillar of the social-media world, having been pioneered by Snapchat, then copied and developed by Instagram and others. Facebook included: it has ‘stories’ in its main app as well as Facebook Messenger, although they aren’t talked about that much compared to Snapchat and Instagram’s versions. Anyway, Facebook is hoping to change that, announcing a new milestone yesterday: 300 million daily active users for stories across Facebook and Messenger. That compares to 400 million daily active users for Instagram the last time it announced figures (in June this year), while Snapchat’s entire app had 188 million daily active users at that point.
Anyway, the reason Facebook is announcing a new number for stories on its main app and Messenger is that it’s opening up advertising within the format: on Facebook immediately, and within Messenger in the next few weeks. It’s worth a look for music-marketing campaigns, although the message might be more that there’s a growing audience for artists’ personal stories on these two platforms – if they have an appetite to look beyond Instagram and Snapchat.
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