The ABC’s of Google AMPs

By Bethany, Social Media Strategist | December 4, 2019

It’s no surprise that storytelling continues to grow on many different platforms. In fact, one billion stories are posted every day to Facebook and Instagram.

Google is following in strong pursuit of this fast growing trend, and within the last year has launched its own “AMP stories.” You may have come across these stories without even realizing it.

If you’re unfamiliar with AMP stories, here are the basics.

What are Google AMP Stories?

Google created AMP Stories to be live, immersive, full-screen experiences on the web. They’re an easy way to create engaging narratives, similar to the ideas of Instagram, SnapChat and Facebook interactive stories. They are free and open to anyone on the web to use on their own websites.

Where can I see Google AMP Stories?

AMP Stories are already embedded into Google Search queries, and may come up as an option for your searches. Companies such as CNN, USA Today, BBC and The Washington Post already use these as another method to convey their news stories. These can appear in Discover feeds under Visual Stories.

How can I use Google AMP Stories?

To get started on Google AMP Stories, you can use tools such as MakeStories, JumpRope, Newsroom, and other similar platforms to build your story creative. Google is also working to make a WordPress plugin that will allow you to build AMP Stories on your websites. Additionally, Google Ad Manager supports creating advertisements in AMP Stories, as an alternative ad format.

What are best practices for Google AMP Stories?

Think of AMP Stories similarly to how you approach your creative for Instagram, SnapChat and Facebook stories. They should be highly visual and engaging as well as interactive. Also, your text content should be broken up into easily digestible “snippets” of information, since the user clicks continuously to each story frame.

While this is still a relatively new form of storytelling in the industry, it’s important to try and test this method as another way to reach your audience. Content creation is only growing in volume, and it’s pertinent to keep up with these new trends.

Feel free to reach out to us to discuss more about Google AMP Stories, and to test if it’s a good platform for your business at smartstrategies@bbggadv.com.