Instagram Stories was launched this week, directly competing with Snapchat Stories. Instagram has made this feature far better and easier to use. With over 500 million active users, Instagram has continued to improve and grow. Snapchat, however, has remained the more complicated social media platform with about 130 million daily users. Instagram has taken what Snapchat started, and improved it.
Why is Instagram Stories better, particularly for marketing your business? Let’s take a closer look.
Position of Instagram Stories
Your Instagram Stories will appear at the top of the feed, for anyone who is following you. This means that all customers following you, will have an icon, identified by a colour ring around your profile, appear at the very top of their feed. It’s unmissable! You will be sure to stay top of mind with your followers.
Easy User Interface
The interface is simple with hints and tips of how to use it. Most people still struggle to use Snapchat, or shy away from it, due to its lack of intuitiveness. Instagram Stories has buttons that are clearly labelled and users are guided; something that is missing from Snapchat. These simple inclusions create a more enjoyable, user-friendly experience.
Finding Users
Snapchat still lacks the ability to find others unless you know their username. Instagram gives you the ability to find and follow anyone. Using Instagram Stories, people can now get an extra glimpse into the lives of people they are following. With a large network of people following each other from all over the world, Snapchat simply does not compete with this feature.
Content Disappears after 24 hours
Similar to Snapchat, the disappearing content creates urgency for people to view your posts. However, with the ability for anyone to find and follow your business (see above), this allows you to create mini-campaigns or offers on Instagram, that are valid for a short time only. Your followers will need to react quickly to claim your offer. And with your Stories appearing at the very top of their feed, they can’t be missed.
Learning about your Followers
You can see how many people and what type of people are watching your Stories, or pieces of them. This will help you understand which content your followers respond to, so you can keep giving them more of it.
If you have an active Instagram account for your business, you should enter the world of Instagram Stories. You could be missing a very simple way to communicate with followers and gain more customers.
