Why brands and influencers are leaving Snapchat for

If you've been following blog marketing, you already know there's a battle going on - between Facebook and Snapchat over the disappearing post.

And up 'Now Facebook has won the battle - all thanks to Instagram.

When the Instagram stories were launched in August 2016 , Snapchat had already been the first speaker in the 'ephemeral or vanishing messaging space since the inception of Snapchat Stories in 2013 . Fast forward to Snapchat's initial public offering in March 2017 (IPO), and the growth of Snapchat users has slowed considerably - and the growth of usersInstagram Stories keepers have been swift and nonstop in the meantime (to date there are around 40 million more Instagram Stories users than Instagram Stories users. Snapchat ).

Today, Snapchat faces an uphill battle: Instagram has more users in total, and more Instagram Story users alone. Additionally, Instagram and Snapchat are now in competition to roll out new features - and to copy features from each other. In the last month alone, both apps rolled out original features, and some inspired by the other app.

Snapchat has started the dying messaging wave, but that doesn't mean the brands remain exclusive. In fact, many brands have spoken and written about the decisions to prioritize Instagram Stories over Snapchat for ephemeral messaging and advertising.

In this article, we'll dive into which brands and marketers are making the change - and why.

Instagram Stories vs Snapchat Stories

In essence, the apps and features work the same:

• On both platforms, users and brands can post photos and videos viewable for 24 hours.
• Videos can be up to 10 seconds long.
• Photos and videos can be embellished with doodles, emojis, geo tags, goals, and text.
• Media is visible to the public unless you make your Instagram or Snapchat account private.
• Both apps allow users to search public stories andto see what other users and brands are sharing.

But there are also a few differences to note:

• It is slightly easier to search and discover new users on Instagram than on Snapchat, where you have to spell the exact username.
• Instagra m allows brands to attach links and landing pages to their stories.
• Instagram allows adding clickable hashtags and geotags to Stories - on Snapchat they can be searched manually.
• Instagram Stories are an addition to an existing photo and video sharing platform - Snapchat is only about sharing ephemeral content.

As we mentioned, Instagram Stories alone have more users than Snapchat, and some brands are starting tohundred to shift their ephemeral messaging strategies away from Snapchat to reside primarily or completely on Instagram stories.

6 Reasons Users Are Switching To Instagram Stories

1) Bigger Scale

The simple fact that Instagram has a users this large - 700 million and counting, to be exact, have automatically made it a formidable competitor to Snapchat. The creators of Instagram Stories had instant access to their audiences on the platform when they started posting pop-up posts, and it quickly spread - over 200 million of Instagram users post stories.

When compared to Snapchat, where brands had to create new followings from scratch, Instagram gives some brands more reach and scale to connect with people on social media .

This is what Ben and Jerry discovered when he started creating content on Instagram Stories. Global brand marketing manager Jay Curley told Digiday about the success he has seen in achieving better results on a larger scale on the platform. He said the ads on Instagram Stories were particularly successful and had a "higher CPM (cost per impression) rate than usual. " In general, Curley told Digiday, the large number of The brand's Instagram followers were already engaging and interacting with. Instagram Stories, so they can keep creating content there to " deliver relevant stories to [their] fans wherever they are. "

2 ) Better Targeting

Instagram is part of the Facebook ecosystem, which means its content and ad targeting capabilities are part of Facebook's platform - which is robust, pTo say the least (just look at all the ways you can target the ads shown in this Wordstream infographic ). It also means that Instagram ads can be targeted and organized based on user data on Instagram, and on Facebook.

Snapchat just launched a self-serve advertising platform in May 2017, making it easier for advertisers to purchase and create ad space on the platform, so we can't say for sure which one provides a better user experience for brands. But if you consider the wealth of data behind billions of Facebook and Instagram users combined with Snapchat data of just 166 million users , Instagram targeting is the cake.

Mediassociate Ben Kunz, senior vice president of marketing and content, told Digiday that Instagram also gave users more flexible ad buying options. Instagram Ads can be purchased on a cost per click basis, in addition to the Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) basis - which makes Instagram Ads potentially more valuable, as brands only have to pay for the ads they do. users actually interact with.

The bottom line for Kunz is the data. He told Digiday: " it's not the 'billboard' space that matters; it's the quality of the data behind it. Better audience data always equates to better ad performance. "

3) More traffic

Another benefit for the larger audience of Instagram is its ability to generate more traffic to brand websites and landing pages. Social media are helping to increase brand awareness on their own, and Instagram Stories hasAlso added the ability for brands to link to web pages, which undeniably makes it easier for brands to find and interact with their sites.

Instagram also offers brands a unified dashboard where they can easily view performance analytics for stories and ads in one place - and see which stories are driving visitors to websites.

Marissa Emanuele manages social media at Pegasystems, and she moved from Snapchat to Instagram Stories for these reasons. "Analytics on Instagram cannot yet be matched by Snapchat. Plus, Instagram Stories allow you to link to blog posts or landing pages, so you can drive traffic straight away. from social networks. "

4) More visibility

Snapchat and Instagram are eager to innovate againfeatures - and copy features from each other. Snapchat created a search bar and Universal Stories to help users find new content and accounts to follow, and Instagram rolled out Location and Hashtag Stories > to do the same - with one essential difference.

Users can tap geotags and hashtags on Instagram stories, and browse to see what other users are posting on the location or topic - on Instagram or in Stories. Snapchat users can head to the search bar to choose locations and events, and see what Stories users are posting ... but they can't do that directly from Snapchat's Story which 'they're watching.

This additional manual step makes finding and discovering on Snapchat much more difficulte than Instagram, which makes Instagram more appealing to brands looking to create and engage larger audiences.

5) More Authentic

Snapchat's ways of monetizing can be found in the Discover tab and in Snapchat Stories, and some users have cited a better and more authentic experience on Instagram Stories. Instagram users can easily switch from ephemeral content on Instagram Stories to stunning organized photos on Instagram feed, and automatically advance through Instagram Stories without being interrupted by ads. Additionally, Instagram's Explore tab suggests new content and users, so the experience isn't interrupted or flooded with shoddy ads.

Owen Williams cited lack of authenticity as the reason for switching from Snapchat to Instagram Stories. " You are now forced to choose which stories to watchend to end before you even start, and they're filled with commercials in between or ... bait. "

6) More user-friendly

Perhaps the most compelling reason brands move from Snapchat to Instagram is that it's easier to use than Snapchat.

Instagram has made made it easier to add new followers, view (and re-watch) content, share stories and responding to stories. The discoverability discussed previously makes it easier to attract new subscribers, and for users, it is easier to find and connect with the content they want to view. The enormous power Instagram network makes it easier for brands and users to get what they want from social media: being social.

Social media influencer Erica Moss switched to Instagram because she got a better experience there.ilizer:

Snapchat is not over yet

Just because Instagram might be better suited for brands and social media marketers in particular, it not doing that necessarily means you have to give up your Snapchat efforts completely. Audiences on Snapchat are highly engaged - users spend an average of 25 to 30 minutes per day on the app . So if you've built an audience there, don't give them up entirely, but see if you can keep them engaged while building a following Instagram Story.

noted Emanuele the importance of meeting your audience where they already are. "If you've built an audience on Snapchat, you should still post every now and then to keep it engaged. "

Whether you're fully invested in Instagram Stories, or are still engaged with your Snapcha audiencet, our tips for social media strategy are to experiment, analyze the results, and make changes from there. We'll keep you posted on new innovations on both platforms to help you make an easier decision. For more information on how to grow your ephemeral messages, download our guides for us on Snapchat and Instagram for business.

Have you switched to Instagram Stories or are you a Snapchat devotee? Share with us in the comments below.