200 million Instagram users use Instagram Stories each month. With millions of daily views across multiple social media sites, the stories format is likely to become the primary social sharing feature, overtaking the News Feed layout. This is why social media marketers have to pay attention to the rise of the story feature as a primary way of information circulation.

Mobile usage and shorter attention spans will continue to increase the popularity of short-lived content in the coming year, especially with millennials and Generation Z. Those groups are thriving on relationships with brands.Social media marketing strategies should include short video messaging which encourages the user to engage and help to establish a kind of “fear of missing out” with your audience.

Ash Read of Buffer, (a software program that allows for social media management over multiple platforms), believes that social media content in 2019 will continue to become more personal. Facebook has reported that the Stories format will overtake the News Feed as the default for content consumption soon, which means we’ll see more brands embrace more in-the-moment content vs. prepackaged content. The focus will be on the people and personalities behind the brands. Using video, stories and images to connect your audience with the human – maybe even vulnerable – side of your business is key.

For example, you could “take your audience behind the scenes” by showing the work your company does day-to-day. If you’re a coffee shop, create a story of how to brew the perfect cup. If you’re a service business, take your followers on a tour of the office or show your team working. The key is to experiment. The stories format is still very young and as the content lasts only 24hrs, there are tons of chances to try new things without it lasting forever on your profile.