Instagram vs. Snapchat: 2 Marketing Platforms Compete Over Young Ages Ads

Michael Teitelman
Trapica
Published in
3 min readJun 5, 2018

When it comes to running a marketing campaign today, it’s only natural that you want to take it straight to the people via social media. The power of social media is that it allows us to cut out the middle man and talk directly to our audience. With billions of unique users on social media, though, you can find that choosing the right kind of social media platform is as important as finding the right kind of message.

For example, there is a telling difference between marketing on Instagram and marketing on Snapchat? What is more likely to be beneficial to you in the long-term?

Instagram

Typically, Instagram is likely to be the ideal choice if you are looking to expand and grow your entire audience. Instagram is one of the most powerful solutions for helping you to get more numbers; it has more than 500m daily users, which is more than double that of Snapchat. Add in the fact that Instagram is more tailored to older demographics and people who are likely to be on there looking for something specific vs just wasting time, and you can find that Instagram better aligns with your business needs.

If you are a business that is looking to help establish a brand and build upon it with higher reach, then Instagram is probably the best choice. It’s not quite so strong on direct engagement and audience interaction, though. From helping you to post up stories to making direct product advertisements, too, you will find that Instagram is usually the more powerful solution for a standard marketing campaign.

Instagram is more aimed at businesses looking to grow the size and scale of their business, with the main concentration being on product sales, visibility and generally trying to build up your visibility as a brand.

Snapchat

Snapchat is more aimed at those who are probably looking to make the most of their business using quality over quantity. You tend to post less on Snapchat as there is less opportunity, but it tends to be more about making the use of an understated kind of content. Instagram is more about volume of promotion and passing of the message, while Snapchat is more about making a clear and impressive point.

Part of the joy of marketing with Snapchat is the short lifespan; everything on Snapchat lasts for just 24-hours. This is great for short-term and viral campaigns and going down this kind of route of making something almost feel more specific and exclusive.

That being said, you will find that Snapchat is a useful tool for those who are looking for a better guarantee of visibility. With around 70% of Instagram posts never actually being seen, you can find that you get more from Snapchat simply by posting less.

The challenge is working out what is more likely to suit your own particular business. From posting giveaways and rapid fire competitions on Snapchat to using Instagram for product promotions, both can play an important role in the way that you market your business moving forward.

Check out Gartner’s Magic Quadrant of Top AI Companies for Facebook Campaigns Marketing Optimization — March 2018

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