Facebook tests a new story feature that increases engagement

Facebook is testing a new ability for users to be able to write comments on other peoples stories. This has never been seen before on any social media platforms. The closest thing to this is probably commenting on Facebook Live’s.

This is a small change of adding a chat box with stories that can make a huge difference to your engagement. 

There are two ways you can leave a message. The first way is to leave a comment that will be displayed publicly. Or option two is to write a message and send it directly to the user’s private inbox (the existing way that stories and messages work). 

The comment box look could change over time. From the screenshots shared by Matt Navarra, we can see the simple dark box where comments go. But a more transparent look could come be made to allow more of the story to be seen, just like how Instagram Live comments work. The comment could also pop up at the same time in the story that the person commented on it like Facebook Live works after the video gets posted. Although, this is unlikely as stories are quick and people have low attention spans. Alternatively, Facebook could change the comment box to the side of the screen, so users can swipe to access comments if they wish to see them.

In addition, the comments section could turn into a ‘feed’ instead. This could show public ‘reactions’ used as well instead of the reactions going to the users private messages. This could encourage more viewers to also react and share their thoughts on the story.

This is still in the testing phase, with only a small number of users. It will be interesting to see what other functionality comes out with its release.

Do you post regularly on your story? What functions do you want to see? Let us know in the comment section below. Are you interested in finding out how we can help you increase your social media engagement? Contact us now https://bombshellpr.com/contact/