Permanent link for Posts vs. Stories on April 2, 2024

Written by Ava Grillo

Social media is composed of many ways to share content. Two of the most common ways to share is through posts and stories, which if you weren’t already aware, are two totally different forms of media!  Although they have different purposes and formats, posts and stories can both be beneficial depending on what type of content you want to portray. People often question which forms of communication should be published in a story, and which should become a post. There are certain tips and tricks to help your decision. 

Posts

Every platform contains an option to upload a post. On Instagram, these are in the form of photos and videos. Facebook can be shared as a status (text only), photo, and video. TikTok is most likely shared as a video, but has recently begun using the photo slideshow feature more often. A post for a business or personal brand will likely contain something that attracts the eye, often containing information and/or entertaining photo/video. It is best practice to include any type of visual on posts whenever possible, as they are more likely to get higher engagement, rather than a text-only post. With platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it’s easy to find ways to attract your target audience as visuals are the only way to post on the platform.

Posts often contain longer captions. Although there are lengthy character limits for some platforms (2,200 for Instagram and over 63,000 on Facebook), it is recommended to keep it concise… we want our followers to stay engaged! Ideally, posts with visuals should contain a caption no longer than 30 words (about 2-3 sentences) (Cucu, Udescu 2024). 

Social media posts often draw to the main point of interest in promoting an event, highlighting important messages, showing off your brand, etc. They stay on your feed permanently (unless you delete the post), so it’s important to make sure your content is something people can look back on if they forget or need more information. Posts can also be casual as a form of entertainment to escape from serious topics that people see when they scroll through their feed daily. For example, your Instagram feed could consist of store sale promotions, political statements, and event promotions. But, a casual, engaging post could consist of something fun that has happened this week in your business or personal brand… something relatable that gets people to want to learn more!

Posts are also a great way to implement general engagement by asking people to comment their thoughts, as well as liking the post. They also have opportunities to share the post across other platforms.

Stories

Ever have a message you want to promote or a fun photo to share, but you don’t want to clutter your feed with more and more content? Stories are the way to go! These are the best option if you’re looking for in-the-moment content, rather than long-term. On Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, stories can be shared via photos and videos.

Stories are shared in portrait (vertical) mode. A story is uploaded for 24 hours to your profile, then it is automatically deleted. If there are certain stories you want to keep shown on your profile, you can add them to a “highlight,” which is a collective album of stories showing up on your profile page. Highlights only apply to Instagram.

One story “slide” plays for about 10 seconds, or until the user taps to the next story or slide. You can go back and view stories if it is still within the 24-hour window of being posted. Since Instagram and Facebook both being under the company, Meta, there is an option to post any Instagram story to your Facebook story at the same time, or vice versa!

With stories only shown in a short time span, it keeps them as more of a casual way to share content. Stories are a great way to promote events that are happening the day of, as well as events occurring later in the week. Stories are also a great way to have user-generated content! There are multiple features, such as the Q&A box, multiple choice quizzes, a ranking scale, and more. You can also use the link feature to make it easy for users to tap and be taken directly to the website you wish them to see. 

Now that we’ve fully explained what a post is versus a story, let’s do some quick comparisons to help you decide where to share your content.

 

Engagement Content:

• Posts: Likes and Comments
• Stories: Likes, activity buttons (quiz, Q&A), interactive links

Time Duration:

• Posts: Forever (unless deleted)
• Stories: 24 hours

Types of Content:

• Posts
  • Instagram: Photos, Videos (reel)
  • Facebook: Photos, Videos, Status (text only)
  • TikTok: Videos, Photo Slideshows
• Stories: 
  • Instagram: Photos, Videos (1-minute max), Creative Text
  • Facebook: Photos, Videos (1-minute max), Creative Text
  • TikTok: Videos, Photo Slideshows

Overall Tips and Tricks:

Is the content I want to post important in the long term, or just within the next day or so?

• Use posts for more professional content that you want to keep on your page forever.

How can I get my followers to engage with my account more?

• Stories are a GREAT way for user-generated content, quick promotions, promoting a post that didn’t get enough engagement (you can repost posts on a story)!

What’s the best way to add a link to another website? 

• Stories allow you to attach links with the link sticker that leads you directly to another website. Posts cannot provide links directly from the post itself.

How long should my caption be?

• Don’t use long captions on stories. Since they are quick, keep the words short and interesting for people to read!

Where should I upload longer videos?

• Upload longer videos on a post, rather than a story. But, you don’t want it to be too long that people won’t want to click away.

Are stories used on TikTok?

• It is usually best to POST content on TikTok, rather than make it a story. TikTok stories aren’t used as often as Instagram or Facebook.

What if I want to show something that is happening in the moment?

• Stories are a GREAT way to show in-the-moment content! It won’t clutter your feed, and it helps people see what’s happening at the exact time.

Don’t stress about which content should be applied in which form. If it’s something that doesn’t really need to be on your profile forever, it could work as a story! Keep consistency in mind, as well as having fresh ideas to split up on both, and your profile will look great. 

If you’d like more assistance navigating stories and posts, research out to our social media team for a consultation at [email protected].

References
Cucu, E., & Udescu, A. (2024, February 21). Instagram caption length study: Socialinsider. Socialinsider Blog: Social media marketing insights and industry tips. https://www.socialinsider.io/blog/instagram-caption-length/#:~:text=According%20to%20our%20data%2C%20shorter,content%20is%20likely%20to%20lower.

Posted by Sarah Dudinetz on Permanent link for Posts vs. Stories on April 2, 2024.