If you're like me and addicted to Instagram and Snapchat (along with other social media platforms), then I'm sure you noticed something familiar on Instagram's platform last week: Instagram Stories.
According to Instagram's blog, the "Story" is "new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format." Now if I'm not mistaken, that sounds surprisingly familiar.
Wait -- is this Snapchat?
These are all thoughts hundreds of people across the country are having. When it first came on the scene, some Instagrammers posted stories that simply advertised their own Snapchat accounts, which was the best tongue-in-cheek thing I've ever seen.
However, on the flip side, older Instagrammers have claimed they will probably use Instagram stories just as much, if not more, than Snapchat. One claimed in her first Instagram Story she would probably ended up using the new feature instead of Snapchat because one app was easier to juggle than two.
Great for marketing: Snapchat for adults
The new feature is being more commonly marketed as the "Snapchat for Adults" and brands are loving it way more than Snapchat. According to AdAge, marketers are finding that they can generate up to 12 times the number of views and engagement with Instagram Stories than they ever could with Snapchat ads.
AdAge continues with its argument for marketers who love Instagram Stories, saying, "Instagram makes searching easier, and it lets brands buy ads that directly link to their accounts, where people can follow them." This is definitely true, as Snapchat is made for the ephemeral and vague -- that's why teenagers and young adults are addicted to the almost carelessly easy picture app.
Small businesses can easily offer coupons, rewards, and broadcast their own products, as well. Like Megan Bowensaid in her own Story: it's easier done all on one app.
So is it a rip off?
A TechCrunch interview with Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom cited him saying that Snapchat "deserve[s] all the credit" and that "This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”
Systrom told TechCrunch that “ basically solves a problem for all these people who want to take a ton of photos of an event or something in their lives, but want to manage what their profile looks like and not bomb feed, obviously, as that’s one of the no-nos on Instagmram.”
He's not wrong. This new generation are whizzes at ad-filtering, so whenever someone is flooding a newsfeed on any social media platform with ads or redundancy, we'll click that Unfollow or Unlike button faster than you can double tap their ad.
The New Yorker claims Snapchat's downfall was its "illicit" reputation in the beginning and its less-than-user-friendly platform. Many of my non-Snapchat-savvy friends have complained about the interface and how you need a tutorial to use the app or else you'll be lost in the dark.
What are your thoughts?
I'm not sure what to think about this new feature, anymore. When I first saw it, I thought for sure it was a rip-off and wouldn't last. However, it may seem like Instagram made a smart, if not sneaky, move copying the Story idea from Snapchat. Whatever the case may be, Instagram is certainly reaping the benefits and showing the online world how competitive a player it is in this image-addicted world.
Let me know what you think in the comments below, because I seriously haven't reached a conclusion on my feelings toward Instagram Stories.
