What does Instagram stories mean to your business?

One that they are not even trying to hide is a copy of Snapchat. But the real question is, what does this mean for your business.

Here is exactly what Instagram Stories is:

“The feature feels much like Snapchat Stories, a Snapchat feature that was introduced in 2013 and a pivotal part of the company’s growth.

And like Snapchat, the photos and videos shared in your Instagram Story are ephemeral and can’t be viewed once 24 hours have elapsed. Content shared to stories also won’t appear on your profile grid or in the main Instagram feed.” (Buffer, 2016)

My gut feeling the moment this happened was that of excitement. Snapchat has always been a challenging place for marketers, as they try and find a way to create content that fits the space. But that wasn’t the real issues, the core issue was the fact that you had to get your user base on the platform in the first place. Something that is easier said than done. Snapchat has no discover section, so finding new people on the platform is hard. Where Instagram is easier in this sense as it allows you to engage with other users and utilise hashtags to make your brand or profile relevant to sectors. Made even easier in the last year with Instagram advertising being launched.

Adding Instagram stories to the mix means one thing. You now have the discover functionality, within what is a snapchat like feature. So you as a brand can now showcase your personality in a much easier way. Draw over the images, show comic events in the office and show that you are a real company behind the corporate branding.

If you as a company aren’t yet on Instagram now is a perfect time. With stories, it will allow your content to be more engaging, and will help you build stronger relationships with your prospects through showing more of a personality to your company. You will also be able to use Instagram’s advertising product to help drive new prospect to see the what you are doing there. Something that makes it much more powerful than that of Snapchat. Do I think that Snapchat is going to die, no, absolutely not? But what I do think is that businesses and personal brands will start making a bigger shift to Instagram than they would with Snapchat. Mainly because it is a much easier place to grow your audience and utilise its functionalities.

Only time will tell about the real changes this means to the wonderful world of Social Media. But I for one think that this is a step in the right direction for Instagram and one that will be used by many in the future.

It is only early, but I wanted to get something out as soon as possible so you aren’t left in the dark and have a point of call. If you have any questions about it, please call our team and someone will be able to advise in more detail.