Last month Instagram launched it’s new “stories” feature, and it is eerily similar to Snapchat’s story feature. Truth be told, when Snapchat launched the stories feature it was a major boost for the app’s use, so it is really no surprise that Instagram decided to follow suit. So it is worth it for your brand to get involved, and if so, what does it take to be successful?

Let’s face it, social media already takes up a lot of marketing energy. Managing multiple accounts daily can be a task for in-house marketers, and it is always good to know where to focus your efforts. With the “stories” feature being so similar on the new Instagram update and Snapchat, it is important to understand how the two match up when compared to one another.

Snapchat vs. Instagram: Where to Focus Your Efforts

According to Simply Measured, the usage statistics between Snapchat and Instagram are slightly different for younger populations. For example, according to Snapchat’s website: “On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18 to 34 year-olds in the United States,” yet in one of their recent studies, they found that “32% of US teens list Instagram as their most important social network, more than any other social network.” Which means that Snapchat might be slightly more preferred by younger users. Below is a chart from the Simply Measured article that breaks down these statistics.

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However, according to overall social media use as pictured in the Active Users on Each Network as documented on the Simply Measured site, Instagram beats Snapchat in activity. This is something to consider greatly as a marketer because if you are going to put effort into posting a daily story on one platform, Instagram might be the choice now that this feature is available. That being said, I still think that it is important for marketing managers to use both Snapchat and Instagram for their brand’s image, and dedicate time to both. If these are your feelings as well, and you are okay splitting time between the two you can either (A) maintain a daily story on both Instagram and Snapchat or (B) use Snapchat as the platform for stories, which Instagram can remain a place for “permanently” posted photos.

A Balancing Act

As a social media marketing agency owner, I would recommend option “B” as a good starting point simply because there is not a ton of research on how businesses using Instagram stories and subsequent user interactions has an impact on business growth just yet. However, posting a photo to Instagram and getting likes, followers, and engagement on the other hand, does have positive impact. Ideally, you would have time to post stories to both, but we all know that posting “stories” daily may or may not even be relevant for businesses in the first place (do you really need to capture your office environment every day? No. Do you need to capture atmosphere, products, customer interactions, etc. with static photos regularly? Yes, absolutely).

Let’s take a look at some of the new Instagram story features/ Snapchat story features to highlight what you need to know as a marketer:

What Social Media “Stories” Mean for Marketing

Stories are really useful depending on your business and industry. I have a good friend who owns a fabric printing business, and he uses Snapchat stories to document daily production, happy customers walking in the door, and close-up captures with his employees in the shop. It is my understanding that a lot of people follow his story because he has a local business that has gotten a lot of attention. This is a great example of the kind of business that could really benefit from “stories,” and in fact, probably a great example of a business that would benefit from using both Instagram stories and Snapchat stories.

With that said, are you really going to ask customers to stop and pose for both account captures? Probably not. If you do want to use both Instagram and Snapchat, you might want to alternate between the two platforms.

Here are some other things to keep in mind if stories are relevant to your brand or business:

  • 24 hours & It’s Gone. The thing to really keep in mind with the stories platform on both Instagram and Snapchat is that the photo or video is only posted for 24 hours. That means that anything you post needs to be for the purpose of temporary content. That being said, if a piece of content seems to be getting a really good response (although without “likes” it is hard to tell on stories), then you can always save the photo and post it on the permanent Instagram stream. In most cases, you are going to want to use this platform to post environment and daily life for your brand/business—things that people wont necessarily want to revisit.
  • Followers are Everything. Unlike other feeds where you can appear when people are not following you, on both Snapchat and Instagram, people need to follow your brand in order for you to appear on their feed. This means that followers are everything with this marketing tactic. People already need to have an interest in your business to view your story, which means that there are some differences in audience approach you need to consider. The positive is that you can maintain interest with the people who have decided to follow you, and this can go a long way for retention.
  • Consider Content. With this platform being geared towards your followers, you want to make sure you are not just posting about everything and anything. Make sure your story is interesting and something that people actually want to follow. More than 5 posts on your story per day is probably unnecessary unless you have a major event going on.
  • No Likes, No Immediate Feedback. One of the challenges with this platform is that you will not be able to instantly tell how people react to the content since there is no way to like or comment on it. You might want to consider surveying or asking your followers what they think of your story, what they might want to see more of, or what they don’t like. This is a way to have engagement with this platform when it is not necessarily built into Snapchat itself.

The Takeaway

“Stories” are a great platform for very specific things, and to be honest, very specific businesses. A photography studio might have better luck using Snapchat stories over a medical software company—it is really all about what goes on day-to-day and what followers are going to find interesting. With engagement being a little more difficult, it is okay if your company is not the best fit for story usage. As a marketer, you really need to look at your brand’s image and see if you want to be posting to stories on both Instagram and Snapchat daily, or use the platforms for different things. The positive aspect is that now with the Instagram update, you have a variety of options for how and when you want to use the platform.

What do you think of the new Instagram stories update and how it compares with Snapchat? Let us know in the comments section below! We would love to hear from you.