Story

Narratives are commonly constructed to be all-consuming and immersible, coaxing users to see, meddle, and really 'get into' the material in a yet-to-be-fully-defined casual and often fleeting manner. They pop up in a special spot on social media platforms—like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok—at the very top of the app's interface. Typically, they're shown in order, one after the other, and you're encouraged to touch the screen and go at your own speed.

Highlighted features such as stickers, music, filters, polls, questions, location tags, hashtags, and other interactive elements make stories special. Users and businesses creatively express themselves and engage with their audiences using these features. Far beyond traditional storytelling, these mandatory sci-fi features imbue stories with interactivity, requiring audiences to engage with them in more than just a passive way.

In contrast to standard posts, which stay on a user's profile for as long as they want (unless they choose to delete them), Stories are the opposite. They're temporary, and that makes them unbelievably useful for documenting the in-between moments that don’t feel like they need to exist on a feed forever. They’re not mundane enough to be posts, and they're too momentary to be considered a proper part of life’s highlight reel.

This trend has grown in digital communication. It is one of the most notable ways for users and brands to interact with their audiences in an informal yet powerful manner. In a world where audience members consume a seemingly endless stream of content, companies can harness this trend—also known as 'Stories'—to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity around their digital communications.

Viewers can also react to the content more personally with direct messages or emojis, which is a feature unique to stories. This creates opportunities for more intimate interactions than what is typically possible with public posts and commented conversations.

Due to their short-lived quality and the rising demand for visual-first content, Stories have taken on new importance as a means of establishing brand identities. They allow for an unprecedented level of user interaction and present an excellent opportunity for brands to tell their stories. And they do all of this in a straightforward, uncomplicated format that is, by design, ideal for the mobile audience.