Stories are a feature which first made their debut on and contributed to the success of popular social media platform Snapchat.

Since then, Stories have been a notable feature on many platforms including Facebook and Instagram, with other platforms such as Twitter and even LinkedIn looking to incorporate them where they can.

Why are stories so successful?

Users like having the ability to share snippets of their lives without the need for them to be permanently saved to their account.

Through being available for just 24 hours (or longer if saved to a highlight), it means that content does not have to be perfect and can provide raw, live footage of events, someone’s day or anything a user would like to share with their following.

What does this mean for the grid/feed?

As Stories are continuously taking more focus away from the grid, platforms are testing out ways they can enhance the users experience with Stories.

One feature that Instagram is testing is the ability to quickly switch between different users’ Stories, making it easier to find the content you want to watch.

Similarly, to reflect the growing popularity with Stories, Instagram is also trialing out double row story feeds for some users. This could be the start of Stories taking over from the classic feed, with their dedicated space at the top being doubled.

Could we see Stories completely taking over from the feed?

With the previously mentioned initiatives and continuous updates to the Stories feature, it is very unlikely that their presence and impact will halt.

Especially when platforms known for their professionalism like LinkedIn are looking to incorporate Stories into their offering.

We think that the growth of Stories is great for marketers as it provides another opportunity for them to both organically, and through ads, engage with their desired audience.

However, we don’t see Stories making the feed extinct just yet.

What do you think of Stories? Do you think that they will eventually take over the feed?