Facebook Stories have just been unlocked for public sharing as confirmed that it was rolled out "a few weeks ago" without the majority of the platform's 1.2 billion population noticing. While Snapchat stars and figures are the remaining pillars of the platform, Facebook seems to undermine it by luring big time users for a shift.
The social media giant's decisive move to allow public viewing of Facebook Stories could put an end to Snapchat's reign. Talking to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson has confirmed that the feature's privacy can now be modified.
"This is something we rolled out a few weeks ago", says the spokesperson. "The public setting allows your followers to see your story, in addition to your Friends".
Increased engagement
The public sharing feature of Facebook Stories allows social media stars and public figures to increase their posts' popularity and viewership. The engagement one gets from publicly sharing Facebook Stories is expected to double than sharing on the news feed.
While private Facebook Stories only appear in friends Stories section just above the feed, TechCrunch predicted that the company might be showing posts from public figures as well in the similar section once the post is switched to public. This feature works almost similar to Instagram and Snapchat's Stories.
How to turn Facebook Stories public
Facebook Stories can be shown in public by tapping the 'more' button in the top right. Select Edit Story Settings, then select Public. Existing and future Facebook Stories will then be turned public or visible to anyone, not just friends. Viewer count reveals the names of friends who viewed the Stories; however, followers who view the Stories will remain anonymous.
Like Instagram, content creators, photographers, journalists, entrepreneurs, and more professionals are expected to leverage this feature to their advantage. Currently, Facebook has 1.2 billion users around the world, while its own Instagram has 250 million daily users for its Stories feature. Snapchat, on the other hand, only has 166 million daily users.
