Snapchat vs. Instagram Stories
Why
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Over the past few months, I have found myself opening and using Snapchat less and less. I invest more time in other platforms such as Instagram or Twitter. After reflection, I decided that my relationship with Snapchat is officially over. So I wanted to explore as to why this may be.
(watch youtube video version here— https://youtu.be/oqiDnILI8mg)
A post that only lasts 24 hours—Thats the feature that grew Snapchat to 158 million daily users by end of 2016.
Snapchat Stories changed the social media game forever through offering a more informal method of sharing user created content. Previous to this new feature, leading platforms such as Instagram gained a leading audience by helping people enhance average photos to looking amazing, and share with a community. Snapchat Stories stood in opposition to this idea. Instead they celebrated the idea of unfiltered.
Facebook took serious attention of this years ago and offered to buy the app in 2012, only to be turned down by Snapchat CEO, Evan Spiegel. The company is now valued at 20 billion dollars. In response of rejection, in 2016, Facebook chose to adopt and create their own version of the story feature. They began implementing it one by one to their social platforms over the course of the past few months. This started with Instagram, then Facebook Messenger, then Facebook’s mobile wall. People at first mocked this decision by Facebook claiming that “Snapchat would always be here to stay.” However, now sometime has gone by and we finally are starting to observe the results of this competing feature.
As of April 2017, Instagram Stories was more popular than Snapchat Stories. (200 million Instagram stories were posted vs. 140 million Snapchat stories)
How Did Instagram Already Outpace Snapchat at It’s Own Game?
I have to admit I was surprised to learn that Instagram stories was already outpacing Snapchat after only 6 months. I guess I assumed adoption would be slow at first since many people on Instagram were not accustomed to utilizing this alternative method of posting. However, It seems many such as myself have chose to migrate back to Instagram and leave Snapchat. Here is why I think this maybe the case…
1. A Walled Garden vs. Connected Suite
Instagram is part of an ecosystem that gives you access to find millions of people and their content. Snapchat on the other hand has a more walled garden approach. With private friends lists, no exploration features, and heavy concentration on private messaging—Snapchat by nature serves a user base that is incapable of growing followers unless they advertise their username on other social media sites. Facebook’s network of users are automatically connected to Instagram, allowing easy integration of your existing social network. Furthermore, exploration features allow people to find each other and grow an audience.
2. Two Apps—One Place
Previous to the Instagram Stories integration, people would jump back and forth between their Instagram and Snapchat app posting different forms of content / sometimes even replicating and reposting content on both platforms. By adding the Stories feature to Instagram, two audiences of people are in the same place. No more app switching, and no more duplicate posting.
3. Snapchat Had Only 1 Leg to Stand On
Stories was Snapchat’s core feature — the only feature left to compete is their extensive suite of visual graphics and new augmented reality features. Instagram will adopt augmented reality features soon enough. Snapchat only held the leading edge of innovation when no other platform carried their features they offered. However, now that other social platforms ware implementing stories as an enhancing feature—this effectively makes Snapchat’s core offering less desirable to be apart of. Furthermore, other social giants such as Instagram will outpace the development of Snapchat.
So What is the Moral of the Story?
We will see this more and more smaller platforms innovating new competing features — only to be adopted by larger dominant existing connected ecosystems such as Facebook.
Many years ago, Facebook was the first launch the like button to market which was adopted by all other social platforms soon after. Similar to this, Snapchat’s stories was only unique until it’s feature became mainstream and duplicated by every social platform. Facebook was the first to make the leap into making stories a core feature similar to the like button. This act did not guarantee Snapchat to still be the leading owner of this feature…
How do you feel about this? Do you think Snapchat will make a comeback? Do you think Instagram will continue to grow? Let me know in the comment section below.
I make youtube videos of these blogs can which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMm1DSOesXkBbNU3yOq0l8A
