Snapchat or Instagram Stories? For a minute it seemed as though the two social media platforms might actually be different enough to coexist. Then, much to Snapchat’s dismay, came Instagram stories – the same insta-edit-video feature but on Instagram. And it has certainly caught on.
Already by August 2017, the new-user pool had seen a 52% to 48% split between Snapchat and Instagram respectively. But the difference is marginal and solely within the United States. On a global scale, Snapchat has invested little effort in growing user markets, allowing Instagram to far outnumber the more recent platform in new users worldwide at a staggering 61.5% to 38.5%. And another note? That 52% of new American users on which Snapchat so prides itself has been on a continuous decline from 78% over the course of the entire last year!
The fact is that in an age of social media and influencer marketing, online platforms are nothing unless they can facilitate growth. After all, influencer value is a product of follower engagement, which is nonexistent without a following. In order to grow a following you have to be able to be found. Herein lies Snapchat’s deficiency. The platform does not promote organic influencer discovery, suggest new users for following, allow for people to be tagged or even for links to be shared outside of your follower group. In sum a Snapchat story has limited reach, and when it comes to the question of that or Instagram, the data pretty much speaks for itself.
