Social media stories are the big thing these days – Facebook has even gone so far as to predict stories and videos will be the only two things people post in the future. But now Google is getting into the stories game.
Google has tried and failed a few times to create a social option, and you may have noticed they have been making an efforts to keep you on their own site longer. (Think of the way you can look at a restaurant menu, or check the status of a flight on Google without having to click to another site.) Google Stories would allow them to further those efforts with content designed specifically to be featured on Google.
In this episode of 5 Business Rules, Monika and I cover 5 basic elements of Google Stories. Spend 6 minutes watching the video, or read on for the tips!
#1 What is a Google Story?
Google Web Stories are a new form of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It is content that is meant to be consumed in small chunks by mobile users on the go. Their goal is to entertain people who only have a few minutes, like someone on a subway or waiting for a friend to join them at lunch. In fact, they are calling it “snackable” content.
The story itself is a slideshow, very much like the stories on Instagram.
#2 Where do people view Google Stories?
When you’re cruising through your phone, stories could show up in the Google web app, Google News, Google Discover or even as part of the images that Google often displays in their search results. If it takes off, chances are Stories will become a dedicated section of the search results (somewhat like videos).
This is a mobile-only feature; you won’t see this content on your desktop. {Though you can view an example of a story on the bottom of this post, even if you’re on a desktop.}
#3 What will Google Stories do for me?
In theory, it’s a way to get your content in front of people and build your brand.
That said, the jury is still out on whether or not they will actually drive traffic, since the point of the content is to be consumed on the fly.
Yet any chance to show up in Google is generally seen as a good thing, and not too many people are talking about, or focusing on Google Stories. That limited content may give you an opportunity to bring some visibility to your brand.
#4 What should a Google Story include?
Like many other things these days, it’s all about visual content. In fact, they’ll only allow a max of 10 words on each slide. You can include videos in your slides, but they must be less than 15 seconds (and must have captions).
They are recommending that each story have between four and 30 slides. So if you look at the story below, you’ll see it includes:
- Cover slide
- Slide for each of our five tips – headlines only (no explanation)
- Final slide that encourages people to watch the video for more detail, and contains a link.
It’s worth noting that your whole story can only contain a single link, so make it count.
#5 How do I create Google Stories?
Technically, you can create stories through AMP code, but that’s complicated – especially if your coding skills are limited. The best way to create stories is through the WordPress plugin.
The story editor is pretty simple to use to add images and overlay them with text.
Note: since the recording of this video, a drag and drop tool has been released that will allow you to create stories for any website, without having to use code.
If you’re wondering if Google Stories is worth your time, try creating a couple and see if you gain any traction from them. Though truthfully I’ve know about stories for months, and I have yet to come across one during my own web surfing, so perhaps it’s something to keep an eye on, but not rush headlong into.
Have more questions about Google Stories? Give us a shout!