Instagram Stories vs. Facebook Stories for Businesses

Are you debating whether you should focus your business's marketing efforts on Instagram Stories or on Facebook Stories? In this guide, we will give you tips for when to use which platform and look at the most important differences between the two.

Key facts at a glance

• Which interactive stickers live on Instagram Stories but not Facebook Stories
• How Instagram Highlights change what "a Story disappears" actually means
• The cross-posting defaults that change what "post to Facebook Stories" actually means
• Why the age gap between Facebook and Instagram Stories users matters for your targeting

Which is better for your business, Facebook Stories or Instagram Stories? Or, should you even use both? When it comes to Instagram Stories versus Facebook Stories, many businesses wonder which platform to focus on. The truth is, there is no right or wrong answer. Each platform has different advantages and disadvantages, so the best marketing strategy will depend on your individual business and your specific target group.

The first step in deciding which platform to focus on is to understand the differences between Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories.

Different platforms, different features

Even though Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories are both part of Meta, and Stories on the two platforms have a lot in common, there are still some important differences between them.

Highlights

The biggest difference that you will probably notice right away is that Instagram Stories offer a lot more options. For example, instead of letting stories disappear after 24 hours, which is the default setting, you can also save stories to your Highlights. Instagram Highlights appear right between your bio and your feed, and users will be able to access your highlighted stories from there.

Highlights can be very useful for businesses to emphasize certain topics, such as new launches, collaborations, social issues, or FAQs. On Facebook Stories, it is possible to archive a story, but there is no way to leave a story on your profile for users to see for a longer period of time.

Interactive Stickers

Also, Instagram offers more interactive stickers than Facebook, such as hashtag stickers, countdown stickers, and GIF stickers, just to name a few.

These features are not only very popular with users, they also give businesses more options to engage with their followers, direct interested customers to a website, or encourage followers to make a purchase.

Different engagement numbers on Facebook vs. Instagram

Since stories are more versatile and offer more interactive elements on Instagram, user engagement with stories is higher on Instagram than on Facebook.

In addition, Instagram's story interface is more intuitive to use than Facebook's. Instagram Stories also blend in seamlessly with other features on the app, whereas Facebook's home screen is busier. So, stories tend to stand out more on Instagram, while they can be easier to overlook on Facebook.

Due to higher engagement numbers on Instagram, in the past, many businesses opted to post stories on Instagram rather than Facebook.

However, especially if you are running a small business, it might still be worth it to consider Facebook Stories, because fewer businesses on Facebook Stories also mean there is less competition. And with less competition from other brands, your content has a better chance of being seen by your followers.

Facebook and Instagram attract different audiences

Another key difference between Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories is that they attract people from slightly different age groups. Facebook users are on average older than Instagram users. Most Facebook users are between 25 and 34 years old, while most Instagram users are between 18 and 34 years old.

So, depending on your business and your target audience's demographics, one platform might be more worthwhile for you than the other.

Facebook Stories vs. Instagram Stories, try cross-posting

If you are still not sure which platform might be the better choice for your business, we suggest starting out by using both for a set period of time, and then compare the results. Set key metrics that you want to analyze, such as engagement numbers or website traffic, and then see which platform renders the best results for your business.

In order to minimize the time, effort, and resources for creating content for two platforms, consider cross-posting your stories. Cross-posting now works in both directions via Meta's Accounts Center, though you'll lose some interactive stickers along the way.

One easy way to do this is to use a third-party planning tool like Storrito. You can create Instagram Stories on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop, collaborate with multiple users on the same story, schedule posts in bulk, and cross-post automatically to both Instagram and Facebook. Try it free.