Instagram Stories Vs. Snapchat Stories: Which One Is For You?

Every good Story has a battle.

That’s certainly been the case in the dual between Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories.

One of the latest social media marketing trends to emerge is the rise of the ephemeral or disappearing content, content that disappears after a 24-hour period, whose roots are credited to Snapchat but has now spawned its own social media battle.

Facebook even tried to buy Snapchat years ago. It wasn’t until Instagram launched ‘Instagram Stories’ on its already popular platform that the balance finally tipped in their favour.

Why should you care, you ask?

Ultimately, businesses need to be wherever their users are. A lot of them are on Snapchat and Instagram, if not both. Every social media marketing strategy inevitably should include some disappearing content, it’s just a matter of which one (or both).

Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories have the same foundational functions: you can post photos and videos that can be viewed for 24 hours. After that, they disappear forever. You can also add text, emojis and filters to your content.

Businesses only have so much time to invest in social media marketing, so knowing which platform is going to be more valuable in the end is pivotal. Take a look below.

Why Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Needs Social Stories

As we said above, first and foremost businesses need to be where their users are. And right now, that’s Instagram Stories and Snapchat, where ephemeral content is king.

This type of content offers an opportunity for businesses to show a behind-the-scenes look at your business and who, exactly, is behind the brand. It gives your customers an exclusive look. This type of content creates trust and builds a bond.

Moreover, the content has a short lifespan, which results in a lot of engagement. Users are pressured to consume your content before it disappears forever.

An added benefit of these platforms is that less time is spent curating a beautiful feed.

The content has a shelf-life and is meant to be causal, therefore making this platform a lot less time consuming than other mediums. In short, there’s a lot of return without a ton of investment on your part.

Instagram Stories Versus Snapchat Stories

Instagram

  • You Can Take Advantage Of Your Current Instagram Following

One of the leading benefits of Instagram over Snapchat is that it allows businesses to take advantage of their current Instagram following. Instagram already has a built-in audience.

You can take advantage of the benefits of disappearing content without having to request that your current followers follow you on another platform. This gives Instagram a lot of immediate edge over Snapchat.

  • Instagram Has a Larger Reach & Higher Open Rates

Although Instagram Stories came after Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories was able to generate a lot more engagement from the beginning given that so many people were already using the platform.

Instagram Stories now has 250 million daily users and this number has been on the sharp incline, gaining 50 million users in the past two months. Snapchat, on the other hand, has 160 million daily users.

On top of Instagram’s larger reach, it may also have higher open rates. The Amplify’s CEO reported that Instagram Stories has a 28 percent higher open rate than Snapchat.

What’s more, Snapchat may actually be on the decline in general. This must be taken into consideration when investing in a new platform, with many experiencing a decline of 15 to 40 percent.

When it comes to social media marketing, Snapchat isn’t dead yet, but it remains to be seen whether it can outpace or even keep up with Instagram, especially given Instagram’s strategy to clone nearly every one of Snapchat’s features.

  • More Ad Targeting Capabilities, More Ad Buying Options

    Instagram affords greater targeting capabilities given the fact that users’ data comes from both Instagram and Facebook.

Instagram’s ad buying options are also more flexible than Snapchat’s, both purchasable through cost-per-click and cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM). This makes Instagram the more cost-effective route given that businesses only have to pay for the ads that users interacted with.

The combination of greater targeting capabilities and more ad buying options gives Instagram the edge yet again – an edge that Snapchat would be unlikely able to match.

  • Older Demographic 

Every social media marketing strategy should always assess its user base when deciding if a given social media platform would be a good fit.

If you don’t, you’re just wasting valuable time on something that isn’t going to give back a lot of return.

If the majority of your audience isn’t using a particular platform, you are essentially promoting to thin air.

Instagram’s demographic is slightly older than Snapchat’s. While nearly 60 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 use the platform, 33% of those between the ages of 30 and 49 use Instagram as well.

  • More Stats

When it comes to social media marketing, and just about every aspect of your business in general, it is important to keep tabs on the results so that you can appraise how well your efforts are doing. Then you adjust accordingly.

This is another area of social media marketing where Instagram has a much bigger edge. Instagram provides all of the metrics you would need, such as website clicks, impressions, reach, engagement and more.

Snapchat, in contrast, offers its users much more limited analyses, merely providing its users with unique views, stories viewed and the number of screenshots that were taken.

  • Better Quality Videos

Although Stories are meant to be ephemeral and therefore more casual, Instagram makes it possible to also produce more high-quality videos for those who want to.

This is made possible by the fact that users can add edited videos that you’ve saved to your phone, a feature not possible on Snapchat. This is great for those who want to use Instagram Stories to share upcoming product launches but have their products look a bit more stylized and professional.

However, it is important to note you can only share photos and videos that were taken 24 hours or less prior.

  • Easier to Grow Your Audience

Many influencers are leaving Snapchat Stories, or at least posting more on Instagram Stories, due to the fact that it’s easier to grow your audience.

This is because Instagram’s search function is much easier to use. For one, users don’t have to type in an exact user name. Secondly, Instagram suggests users based on likes and followers, giving people a lot more opportunity to follow others than on Snapchat.

Moreover, its ‘Explore’ page also makes it easier to find both larger influencers and regular people or small businesses.

Snapchat’s search function is not as easy to use. They also don’t make as many suggestions as to who to follow. As a result, it becomes more difficult for users to find you.

  • The Ability to Link To Your Other Social Media Pages

Another reason why those concerned with their social media marketing strategy are navigating toward Instagram Stories is due to the fact that Instagram makes it possible for influencers to link to their other social media pages and landing pages via their stories and bios.

This is an absolute essential when it comes to social media marketing, so the fact that Snapchat currently doesn’t have this feature is another disadvantage for the platform.

  • Greater Hashtag Functionality

Hashtags are a great tool for businesses to be able to create engagement at branding events. They get the conversation going and are ultimately a great way to promote your event. This is where Instagram outperforms Snapchat yet again.

On Snapchat, while you can add the name of a hashtag over your photo or video, you can’t currently click on the hashtag to see all of the responses related to that particular hashtag. You have to search for the hashtags manually via the search function.

Instagram Stories makes it possible to not only add clickable hashtags to their Stories, but you can also manually search for hashtags via the search function as well.

SnapChat

  • Higher Engagement

Snapchat users are highly engaged. The average user spends between 25 and 30 minutes on the app. People spend 15 minutes on Instagram in comparison. More time spent on the app ultimately gives you more time to get your message across.

  • More Geofilters, Face Mapping Filters and Motion Filters

One advantage of Snapchat is that it has a lot more filters that you can use to customize your photos and videos. Snapchat offers more geofilters, face mapping filters and motion filters.

The fact that Snapchat has more options for customization makes it a great option for businesses that are a bit more quirky or creative in nature, and presents more opportunities in terms of branding at various events.

Instagram, in turn, has less of these filters at the moment. However, they are quickly catching up, cloning many of Snapchat’s features at quick rates, including in the area of location filters and AR stickers. Snapchat won’t have the edge for very long.

  • Popular with the Younger Demographic

Snapchat’s demographic is primarily teens, with 60 percent of its users under 25 years old. It’s penetration rate is among 18-24 years old and is almost twice as high as those using the platform between the ages of 25-60.

If your audience is younger, Snapchat may be a better option for you.

The Bottom Line

In the battle of the Stories, Instagram is the clear winner. But what does that mean for businesses?

Ultimately, Snapchat users are still highly engaged and if you already have an audience, you shouldn’t throw it away. Keep your eye on Snapchat in the future and adjust accordingly.

Remember, social media marketing trends never stay the same.

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What’s your social media marketing plan for the future? Whatever you decide, you will definitely want to avoid these social media behaviours.

Remember, too, that a large driving force behind social media marketing is that it allows businesses to get noticed. If you want to increase your reach and grow your business, Yocale is here to help. We are the people behind the best scheduling software.

Not only have we developed the best scheduling software, but we also offer numerous other business tools, like a custom Yocale profile that acts as a Google-optimized mini-website to help you increase your online visibility and grow your business.

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