Snapchat vs Stories: The Battle Is On

The recent launch of Instagram Stories seems like a below-the-belt blow to Snapchat, to say the least.

With Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom’s confirmation that they owe all the credit to Snapchat for the idea, Instagram Stories seems to be a blatant copycat attempt to one-up their competitor and get ahead in the game.

So what are Instagram Stories? Essentially, users can now watch multiple real-time updates from the accounts they follow at the top of their news feed. Just like Snapchat, these can be photos or videos of up to 10 seconds long, will last 24 hours and can be enhanced with comments and drawings.

The content is combined into one ‘story’ in a slideshow format that can be hidden from specific followers. It will be organised in order of whose content the user most frequently engages with on the app as well as on Facebook, according to its algorithm.

And what does this mean for influencer-brand relations? Both influencers and brands have been investing a lot of time and money into building a following over on Snapchat where the target audience is only getting broader.

Now that Instagram have adopted ‘in-the-moment’ alongside highly-quality feed content, what does that mean for social influencers? Will we see content creators jump ship? Let’s weigh up the odds...

Instant Updates In-house 

There are 300 million active daily users on Instagram compared to Snapchat’s 150 million. In general, influencers and brands have larger followings on Instagram, meaning that their Instagram Stories could reach a bigger audience than their Snaps.

Now, users don’t have to leave Instagram to get playful, real-time content from their favourite content creators. This is giving brands a unique chance to put organic content in front of their followers, for free.

However, the order in which these stories appear at the top of your main feed is determined by how much the user engages with your account. Snapchat has yet to adopt an algorithm, meaning it is much more likely that your content will be viewed by someone who follows you. 

Users also tend to follow more accounts on Instagram than on Snapchat, meaning that influencers and brands must now fight to appear top-of-feed and top-of-mind.

Engagement? It’s On

Content created on both Snapchat and Instagram Stories disappears. So that’s pressure for the content to be good enough to be seen, and pressure for followers to consume it before it’s gone. Perfect for contests or other mini-campaigns that require consumer involvement. But it has to be worth watching.

The drawing and text tools for Instagram Stories (emojis, brush styles and colours, more text space etc.) may not be as engaging as Snapchat’s (lenses, geofilters, in-video emoji placement etc.) but they allow users to get more free-spirited with what they share. Good thing they can, too, because they need to find a way to get to the top of their followers’ feeds or stop them from being unfollowed altogether. 

What does this mean for influencer marketing? The spontaneous, transparent nature of Instagram Stories may open a way for you to connect with a younger audience on Instagram that you haven’t been able to reach yet. Plus, you can even see who watches each piece of your story so you can understand what works with different segments of your audience. 

However there’s no opportunity to see likes or public comments with Instagram Stories, only direct messages. If you have an Instagram Business profile, you will be able to check your reach and impressions to see whether your Stories are affecting your average engagement and reach.

What is important to note is that within Instagram Stories, it’s possible to direct viewers to click on a link in the bio of your Instagram account. This kind of interaction isn’t possible on Snapchat, but is very valuable to marketers.

This kind of content is successful because it allows users to feel a kind of intimacy that Instagram feeds and Facebook pages wouldn’t allow for. It offers marketers an opportunity to leverage the social followings of influencers in new ways. The battle for eyeballs and finger clicks is now well and truly underway.

What Now?

If you are a brand or an influencer using both Snapchat and Instagram, then we recommend you keep your eggs in both baskets. For now, Snapchat users are also using Instagram and vice versa, so this is an opportunity for you to mould the way you use both platforms around your business objectives. 

As of now, try Instagram Stories and measure your performance on both platforms to see what kind of audiences are viewing your content and how they consume it. By determining how you can use both platforms, you may even be able to grow a whole new audience and increase your reach. We are already seeing influencers using Instagram Stories to drive traffic to Snapchat where they can see the extended content. 

Why? Snapchat is still a more engaging platform that started out as an intimate way to feel connected with others - such as influencers. There are also a lot of opportunities for brands within its format, such as sponsored geofilters, lenses, video ads and more.

Influencers may be required to label branded content #paid #ad #sponsored to avoid FTC violations, however this was already happening on Instagram and will probably follow soon on Stories.

The bottom line is that live content is important for influencer marketing. We may see influencer rates rise for this reason, but it’s an investment worth making. Only time will tell where and how we’ll be consuming it.