In-app stories, first introduced by Snapchat, are now seen frequently in mobile apps across industries. They are a captivating feature within mobile apps that draw users into an interactive narrative and foster anticipation.

Let's look at what in-app stories are and a few examples of how they are used in mobile apps.

What are in-app stories?

In-app stories pertains to a series of temporary, automatically playing vertical videos. Each video within this series usually remains visible for a duration of 24 hours standardly. But this duration can vary in each mobile app.

Why use in-app stories?

In-app stories work well to drive home key messages or share special offers because they are short, simple, and easy to consume. They use multimedia elements to encourage users to swipe, tap, and explore, creating a sense of suspense as the story unfolds.

Whether for brand storytelling, news updates, or product showcases, in-app stories enhance user engagement, making them a powerful tool for keeping users engaged.

Types of stories

• Stories with images
• Stories with videos
• Circular thumbnail stories
• Rectangular thumbnail stories

Examples of in-app stories

Decathlon

Decathlon employs personalized stories within its app, enticing users to engage for extended durations.

These stories, featuring product details, effectively channel traffic to specific products and directly enhance conversion rates.

Swiggy

Swiggy Dineout provides curated stories for its users to explore different restaurants, reviews of other users, and different offers provided by restaurants. This improves the engagement and adoption of the Dineout feature amongst the users.

Stable Money

Stable Money, an app that lets its customers book fixed deposits digitally, introduced Stories to communicate its value prop and build trust with its users.

They have tailored the Stories content to the app's specific goals and the needs of its user base. This appeals in a quicker way for the users.

Mudrex

Mudrex provides in-app stories that have a range of content that users can learn from. By organizing content into different story groups, Mudrex has successfully boosted their engagement and conversion rates.

Turtlemint

Turtlemint, an app that lets its users buy different kinds of insurance, used Stories to build trust with its users - by showcasing its wide reach (used by 2.8L+ users), its insurance partners and its partnership with Dhoni.

Challenges faced while creating in-app stories

Developers need to build the core mobile app. They don't really have the time to keep adding and changing in-app stories (designs, content, etc).

On top of that, every new experiment with a story takes 2 weeks to build, another 2 weeks to make the app release, and another month or so to understand whether your in-app story achieved the desired engagement.

Plotline enables creation of in-app stories, fully no-code

Plotline helps product and marketing teams in high-growth consumer companies create and deploy in-app stories that match your design theme. It also provides powerful event-based targeting and user segmentation to help the right user take the right action at the right time.

Apart from stories, you can use other UI elements like tooltips, spotlights, PiP videos, etc., to engage your users effectively.

In case you want to deploy in-app stories in your mobile app, start your free trial with us.

FAQs

1. How do in-app stories compare in effectiveness to other forms of in-app advertising or engagement tools?

Ans: In-app stories often show higher engagement rates compared to traditional in-app advertising because of their interactive and dynamic nature. They blend seamlessly into the user experience, making them less intrusive than other ad formats.

2. What are the specific metrics or KPIs to measure the success of in-app stories?

Ans: Metrics such as view rate, completion rate, click-through rate, and the level of user interaction are used. These KPIs help in understanding how users are engaging with the content and can guide future content strategies.

3. Can in-app stories be personalized for individual users, and if so, how does this personalization process work?

Ans: In-app stories can be personalized using algorithms that analyze user data and behavior, tailoring content to individual interests and enhancing engagement.