Stories keep, reels fetch

In one month of insights, two numbers sit directly under each other: reels 120,300 views, stories 4,024. Same profile, same period, same effort per post.

Concluding from that that stories are a waste of time is reading the number wrong. The two formats have different jobs, and you cannot weigh them against each other.

Reels fetch, stories keep

A reel goes to people who do not know you. It is the only format that reliably reaches new people. That is where the big number comes from.

A story goes to the people who are already there. It reaches few, but the right ones: people who already follow you and are close to writing to you. A story showing a bit of the process brings no reach and still brings enquiries.

That is why I never drop one of the two on a company channel.

The split I work with

For a small company that does not have time for social media every day, a realistic month looks like this:

• Eight to twelve reels, two or three of them deliberately as a test for a new format or a new opening
• Stories on the days when something is happening anyway, without a fixed plan
• One feed post a week, mostly as a place for information people look up later

The order in the calendar matters. The reels get shot first, because they carry the effort. The stories happen alongside on the shoot day, otherwise they do not happen at all.

What this means for you

Do not measure the two formats with the same yardstick. For reels you look at views and at the share of non-followers. For stories you look at replies and profile visits.

If your stories bring no reach, that is not a mistake. If they bring not a single reaction, that is.