How to Create a Story on Facebook

Facebook Stories let you connect with your audience in a genuine, bite-sized format that disappears in 24 hours. Gone is the pressure for perfectly produced content, Stories thrive on in-the-moment authenticity. This guide walks you through exactly how to create your first Story, with plenty of ideas and best practices to help you build real connections and engagement.

So, What Exactly Are Facebook Stories?

Think of them as a temporary, visual status update. Positioned at the very top of the Facebook app and desktop feed, stories are hard to miss. They are full-screen, vertical clips - either images or videos - that remain visible to your audience for just 24 hours. Unlike a permanent post on your timeline, Stories are designed for more casual, behind-the-scenes, and interactive content.

For brands and creators, this is prime real estate. It's an opportunity to stay top-of-mind, share timely updates, gather feedback, and show a more human side of your operation without cluttering your main feed. Because they're ephemeral, Stories encourage immediate viewing and interaction, creating a sense of urgency that standard posts often lack.

How to Create a Facebook Story: The Step-by-Step Guide

Making a Facebook Story is primarily a mobile-first experience, as the vertical format is designed for phone screens. While you can post from your desktop, the app gives you access to the full suite of creative tools like stickers, music, and interactive polls.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Find "Create Story"
   Open the Facebook app on your phone. At the top of your feed, you'll see a row of existing stories from your friends and pages you follow. The very first tile on the left will have a large plus sign (+) and your profile picture labeled "Create Story." Tap it.
2. Choose Your Content
   Once you tap "Create Story," you have a few options:
   • From Your Camera Roll: The interface will immediately display the most recent photos and videos from your phone’s camera roll. Simply tap on an image or video to select it.
   • Use the Facebook Camera: To capture something new, tap the camera icon. From here, you can switch between several modes at the top: Boomerang (a short, looping video clip), video, a standard photo, or hands-free video recording.
   • Text Story: Don't have a photo or video? No problem. Tap on the "Text" option to create a pure text-based story with a colorful background.
3. Get Creative with Editing Tools
   This is where the magic happens. After you’ve selected or captured your content, you’ll be taken to the editing screen. Here you'll find a range of tools on the right-hand side to make your story stand out.
4. Adjust Your Privacy Settings
   Before you hit share, check who can see your story by tapping the gear icon or "Privacy" button in the bottom left corner. Your options typically include Public, Friends, or Custom (allowing you to show it to or hide it from specific people). For brand pages, stories are public by default. For a personal profile, you have more control over the audience.
5. Tap "Share"
   Once your masterpiece is ready and your privacy settings are correct, just hit the blue "Share" button at the bottom right. Your Story is now live for the next 24 hours!

Mastering the Creative Tools: Make Your Stories Memorable

A plain photo is good, but a well-decorated Story is better. Interactive and visually interesting Stories get significantly more engagement. Let's break down the editing tools at your disposal.

Stickers, Stickers, and More Stickers

Found by tapping the smiley face icon, stickers are the engine of Story engagement. Some of the most valuable ones include:

• Poll: Ask your audience a simple two-choice question. It’s an incredibly easy way to get immediate feedback and make people feel involved.
• Quiz: Test your audience’s knowledge with a multiple-choice quiz. People love a simple challenge.
• Questions: Use the "Ask me a question" sticker for a Q&A session. You can collect questions and then answer them in subsequent Stories. This is fantastic for building community.
• GIFs: Add some personality and humor with an animated GIF. Just search for a keyword to find the perfect one.
• Location: Tagging a location makes your story discoverable to people searching for that place. Great for local businesses or travel bloggers.
• Countdown: Building hype for an event or product launch? Add a countdown timer that people can follow and get a reminder for.

Text and Fonts

Tapping the "Aa" icon lets you add a text overlay. You can change text colors, add background highlights for readability, and choose from a variety of fonts to match your vibe. Don’t forget that many people watch Stories with the sound off, so using text to explain what’s happening is a great accessibility practice.

Music

Want to set a mood? Tap the music note icon to add a song from Facebook’s extensive library. You can search by genre or artist, choose the exact 15-second clip you want to feature, and even display the lyrics on the screen in different animated styles.

Effects and Filters

Swipe right and left on your photo or video to apply basic color filters. For more advanced options, tap the wand icon for AR (augmented reality) effects created by Facebook and other creators - from dog ears to glittery sparkles, a good effect can instantly make your content more fun and stylized.

Adding a Link

Initially reserved for accounts with large followings, the "Link" sticker is now more widely available for business pages. This is a game-changer for driving traffic. Use it to direct viewers to a new blog post, a product page, or a sign-up form. If you have this sticker - use it!

10 Engaging Ideas for Your Next Facebook Story

Knowing how to create a Story is one thing, knowing what to post is another. Here are ten great ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

1. Go Behind the Scenes: Show your audience how you make your product, package an order, set up for an event, or just your morning coffee routine. People love feeling like they have an inside look.
2. Run a Q&A Session: Use the "Questions" sticker to invite queries about your business, your niche, or your personal journey. It builds trust and lets you address common questions directly.
3. Feature User-Generated Content (UGC): Do you have posts from happy customers? Get their permission to share their photos or reviews on your Story. It's powerful social proof.
4. Promote an Offer or New Content: Announce that a new YouTube video or blog post is live or run a "24-hour flash sale" exclusively for your Facebook followers.
5. Mini-Tutorials or Quick Tips: Break down a simple "how-to" into a few Story slides. For a fitness coach, this could be “3 Steps to a Perfect Squat.” For a baker, “How to Keep Cookies from Spreading.” It provides immediate value.
6. "Fill-in-the-Blank" Prompts: Use the text tool to create a prompt like "My favorite weekend activity is ______." Share your answer and encourage people to screenshot it and share their own.
7. Before-and-After Shots: This is a classic for a reason. Great for interior designers, home organizers, personal trainers, or anyone in a service focused on transformation.
8. Interview a Team Member: Humanize your brand by having a different team member "take over" the stories for a day or answer a few fun questions.
9. Conduct a Poll: Can't decide on a new logo color or your next product design? Let your audience help! Polls make people feel heard and give you valuable market research.
10. Tease an Upcoming Announcement: Use the countdown sticker to build anticipation for a product launch, a new website, or a big announcement you have planned.

Essential Best Practices for High-Performing Stories

To get the most out of your efforts, keep these simple guidelines in mind:

• Embrace Authenticity: Stories are not the place for corporate gloss. Use a conversational tone, show your face, and don't be afraid of the occasional imperfection. People connect with that.
• Hook Them Immediately: Attention spans are short. Your first Story slide needs to grab interest with a strong visual, a compelling question, or dynamic movement.
• Tell a Complete Story: One slide can stand alone, but a series of 3-5 slides that tell a simple narrative arc (beginning, middle, end) often keeps viewers tapping through to the end.
• Always Include a Call-to-Action (CTA): What do you want people to do after watching? Tell them! Use prompts like "DM us for more info," "Swipe up to shop," or "Click the link in our bio."
• Design for Sound Off: Remember to use text captions or explain key points visually because a large percentage of users browse social media without audio.
• Keep It Consistent: Posting regularly keeps you at the top of your followers' feeds and builds a routine. Aim to post a few Stories throughout the week to maintain momentum.
• Cross-Post to Instagram (and Vice-Versa): In your Story sharing settings, you can automatically share your Facebook Stories to Instagram. This saves time and ensures your content reaches the widest possible audience on both platforms.

Final Thoughts

At its heart, creating a great Facebook Story is a blend of simple mechanics and authentic creativity. By using the tools thoughtfully and focusing on providing value or a bit of fun, you can use these short-lived videos and images to build lasting connections with your community.

We know that staying on top of daily Story content, especially across a few platforms, can be a lot to handle. That’s precisely why we built Postbase with a clean, visual-first approach. Our content calendar makes it easy to plan and schedule all your social posts - including short-form videos for Stories and Reels - so you can maintain a consistent brand presence without the daily scramble of what to post.