Every few months a client asks me the same thing on a filming day: “Should we be doing TikTok Stories as well?” It’s a fair question. TikTok Stories have been around for a few years now, they sit quietly in the app, and most brands I work with either ignore them completely or post one, forget about it and never go back.
It’s also a question that started an argument in our office. We filmed an “Erin vs Jon” debate video about TikTok Stories at Delivered Social, and let’s just say we didn’t end up agreeing. I’m not going to put words in Jon’s mouth here, so go and watch the video for his side. This is mine, as the person who actually films and edits the stuff.
What are TikTok Stories?
At the time of writing, a TikTok Story is a short photo or video post that disappears after 24 hours. When you’ve got one live, a ring appears around your profile picture, and people can tap it to watch. You post them from the same create screen as a normal TikTok, just by choosing Story instead of a regular post.
The bit that surprises people is that TikTok Stories don’t behave exactly like Instagram Stories. Viewers can like and comment on them, and those comments are visible, rather than everything going privately into your DMs. Stories can also turn up in people’s feeds, so they aren’t only seen by the followers who go looking for them.
TikTok has tested and tweaked this feature a lot over the years, and it isn’t always identical in every region or on every version of the app. So before you plan anything around it, open your own app and check what you can see. Don’t take a three-year-old YouTube tutorial as gospel.
My case for posting them
Here’s where I land. TikTok Stories are worth posting for most brands, as long as you treat them as the casual extra and not the main event. These are the reasons I keep telling clients to give them a go:
- They use footage you already have. On every filming day I end up with clips that are too rough or too short for a proper edit. A Story is the perfect home for them.
- The pressure is off. A Story vanishes in a day. That makes it much easier for a nervous business owner to just talk to the camera without overthinking it.
- They show the real you. The van being loaded, the kitchen before service, the messy desk before a launch. That kind of behind-the-scenes content builds trust in a way a polished advert can’t.
- They keep you visible between posts. If you can only manage one or two proper TikToks a week, a quick Story on the days in between keeps that ring around your profile picture.
A Story isn’t a smaller TikTok. It’s the bit of your day you’d never bother editing.
Where do TikTok Stories fall down?
I’m not blind to the problems, and to be fair, this is roughly where the debate got lively. There are some real reasons to be cautious.
First, a lot of your audience simply doesn’t use them. TikTok is built around the main feed, and plenty of people never tap a profile picture in their lives. If you’re expecting Instagram Stories levels of habit, you’ll be disappointed.
Second, they disappear. Something brilliant you post as a Story is gone tomorrow, while the same clip as a normal post could keep picking up views for weeks. If a moment is genuinely good, it probably deserves to be a proper TikTok.
Third, there’s the time. For a small business with one person doing all the social media, another thing to post every day can be the straw that breaks the routine. If Stories mean your main TikToks start slipping, they’re doing you more harm than good. We’ve written before about why you probably don’t need to post every day, and that applies here too.
How I’d use them for a small brand
If you want to try them, keep it simple. This is the approach I use with clients who are new to it:
- Film on your phone, in the moment. No ring light, no script. Stories that look too produced feel like adverts, and people skip adverts.
- Talk to the camera or add a short line of text. One clear thought per Story. “Packing 40 orders before lunch, wish me luck” is plenty.
- Tie it back to your main posts. Tease tomorrow’s TikTok, show the setup behind your latest video or ask a question you’ll answer in a proper post.
- Reply to the comments. Because comments on Stories are public, a quick, friendly reply can be seen by other viewers too.
- Give it a month, then check. Look at whether Story viewers are people you actually want, and whether your main posts have suffered. Then decide.
So, are TikTok Stories worth it?
My honest answer: yes, if they’re easy for you. If you’re already filming, already on TikTok and already getting your main posts out, Stories are a low-effort way to squeeze more out of footage that would otherwise sit in your camera roll forever. They’re the casual chat between the planned conversations.
But if TikTok itself isn’t working for you yet, Stories won’t rescue it. Get your main content right first. Make sure TikTok is even the right platform for your customers, because your brand doesn’t need every platform. Then add Stories once the basics are in place.
And if you disagree with me? That’s fine. Jon does too. That’s exactly why we filmed it.
