Quite recently here at Social Media Makes Sense, we were exploring the various distinctive features of Snapchat, the social media app that is quickly overtaking social media super sites, Facebook and Twitter. We especially put emphasis on the ‘Snapchat story’ aspect which is an ingeniously simple and creative way to capture those everyday moments. Unfortunately for Snapchat, trendy social media site Instagram shares our glowing opinion.
In my eyes, Instagram was always the place for my more refined photography, only the best group shots and the fanciest food. Snapchat on the other hand, was the place for drunkenly posting blurry selfies on a night out! Therefore on August 2nd 2016 Instagram launched their new ‘Instagram Stories’ function, and it wasn’t surprising that people were quick to voice their concerns.
Almost exactly the same as our beloved Snapchat , Instagram’s new feature allows you to post to a story that lasts 24 hours before your images delete themselves forever. So, when there is already an application with this function is there really any benefit from a business perspective?
Around 50% of businesses are currently using Instagram for marketing purposes, a great deal more than Snapchat which has less than 5%. Over half of business profiles will therefore already have a strong following on this site and with the new stories feature being incorporated into this application there is no need to advocate your business on a separate platform. Instagram also has key ties with Facebook, the most commonly used site when it comes to social media marketing, this provides them with a prime advantage. With Instagram, the majority of users are more focused on creating an aesthetically pleasing profile, therefore rapid posting is an Insta no-no. Enter, Instagram stories. This new function provides businesses with a way to post more without overflowing peoples feeds, perfect for advertising and promotion.
In terms of actually using the function to promote products and show off your business read our ‘Are you Snap Savvy?’ blog to find out the best way to do this.
Whilst the majority of business ventures on Instagram so far have been purely experimental, figures show that Instagram’s course of action has been widely successful. Wall Street Journal reported that, ‘a flurry of media companies including CNN, Food Network, People, Comedy Central, Cosmopolitan and Tastemade have taken to regularly producing Stories, and some say they are seeing solid early viewership numbers.’
Despite only being around for a couple of weeks Instagram stories is so far weighing up to be much better from a business perspective, however if you do want to continue dressing up with a dog filter and face-swapping with your pals then Snapchat’s the one for you.
What’s your opinion on the Instagram vs Snapchat battle? Make sure to let us know!
Thanks for reading!
