Facebook has recently publicised how many people are using the Facebook Stories feature within the app, and surprisingly, it is a significant number.
The social media site has announced statistics relating to the feature for the first time since September, and after a rocky start, the company has stated that over 500 million users are posting to the storyboard each day. It also revealed that the number of monthly users for Facebook as a whole had increased by 8%, taking it to 2.38 billion users.
The company first introduced Stories to the mobile version of its apps in 2017, with the concept being created by rival platform Snapchat. After being an instant success on the photo-messaging platform, Facebook adopted the feature and integrated it into the majority of the services it controls, including WhatsApp and Instagram. The feature rocketed with the latter, being a largely image based network. However, it did not take off with the main Facebook app for a long time, with it remaining unpopular compared to other platforms.
In September last year, Facebook revealed an upturn in the fortunes of Facebook Stories, announcing that it had 300 million users on a daily basis. It showed a similar rate of use to Instagram Stories, which hit 500 million users in January this year, two and a half years after being added to the app.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder and CEO, revealed the statistic while on a call with investors alongside its earnings report for the first quarter of the year. In this report, the company stated that it has set aside around $3bn (£2.3bn) for a potential fine from US authorities over its poor privacy and security record.
Facebook Stories is becoming an increasingly pivotal part of Facebook’s revenue thanks to the massive popularity it is now showing among users of all age demographics. During the call, Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, stated that around three million advertisers have been using this feature of the app, which will generate a significant sum for Facebook.
These latest statistics would suggest that the company is finally doing something right, even though it has plenty to work on in other areas of the site.
While Stories may not be an original concept from Facebook, its continued success across multiple platforms shows that it will remain an important part of social media sites for a long time, and could possibly influence the direction that it takes in the future. Could temporary posts become the norm?
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