Instagram Stories Vs. Snapchat
Last week Instagram caught the social media world by surprise with a feature called “Stories”. As you’ve probably already heard, it is a direct copy of Snapchat’s 24-hour photo/video story format. Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrome, is not shying away from that fact either. In an interview he said, “they (Snapchat) deserve all the credit”. Well, at least he’s honest.
He’s also strategic. The past year Instagram has been arguably the hottest platform with Snapchat quickly gaining on it. Instagram, which began as a daily photo-log had turned into a platform of “life’s highlights” and often professional quality photos & videos. On the flip-side, Snapchat was breaking down social barriers and giving raw, unproduced insight into the lives of people and the stories of brands.
The two platforms fulfilled separate roles that allowed people to show different parts of their lives. So why not bring them together? That’s exactly what happened. Instagram capitalized on the opportunity to bring the two separate functionalities into one platform.
Was this smart move for Insta?
It’s too early to tell for sure. The overall mood seems to be a skeptical chorus of, “Seriously? But why?” Which, in the world of social media platform updates is pretty good for Instagram. Generally, platform shifts have a largely negative responsive before users get used to the new version and eventually forget the way it used to be. (If you don’t believe me go back and look at the old versions of Facebook). In this circumstance a neutral response is certainly a positive one.
What do the numbers say?
Since Snapchat showed up on the social scene people have been following their friends, family, and brands one by one. Followers trickled in slowly. The only real way to promote was to shamelessly post you Snapcode on Insta or Facebook in hopes that someone would take the time to screenshot it and open it on the Snapchat app. Following others often required a 3–4 step process. For Instagram Stories it only takes 1 step, pushing the Follow button.
As a Snapchat user that was consciously growing his brand for two years, I was averaging about 120 views per Snap in a 24 hour window. On the first day of experimenting with Instagram Stories I got 300+ views. I began to prepare a private funeral for my Snapchat. Granted, I already have a decent Instagram following before the update. But, even if you were starting at 0 followers for both Instagram and Snapchat, you could more easily build your online community through Instagram.
Bottom line, if you’re looking to grow followers Instagram Stories is the way to go, hands down. If you want to send pictures with puppy dog ears to your BFFs then stick with Snapchat.
So what does this mean for brands?
For the last year I have been preaching to brands and businesses that they need to use Snapchat to show “behind-the-scenes” to build trust with their customers. In consultations now I am directing brands to continue to use Snapchat if they already have a solid following there but to also start using IG Stories. If they are starting from the ground up, then I am telling them to go all in on Instagram, at least until Snapchat steps their game up.
In Conclusion
In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook & Instagram, offered Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snapchat, $3 billion for his platform. Yup, billion, with a “B”. Apparently Spiegel wasn’t interested in retiring at the age of 24 to a mansion on tropical island and never work another day in his life. Instead, he decided to challenge the social media titan.
Someone get me some popcorn, because the fight is on and Zuckerberg just landed a blow with one of Spiegel’s own moves.
