Instagram Not ‘Killing Snapchat’

Predictions that Facebook-owned Instagram will “kill Snapchat” may be premature, if not incorrect. Instagram announced that its Instagram Stories has gained 200 million daily users, more than the 161 million daily users Snapchat reported in its IPO filing in December.

Instagram introduced disappearing messages last November and continued to copy Snapchat, gaining users along the way. Its increasing popularity has impinged Snapchat’s growth, some say.

“Snapchat’s growth sank 82 percent after Instagram Stories launched,” states TechCrunch. “Now all eyes will be on whether Snapchat can get user growth back on track when it has its first earnings call next month.”

Instagram Stories allows users to post photos and videos to a timeline that disappears in 24 hours. It’s an obvious Snapchat copy. Commentators say the Instagram mimicking of Snapchat proves that companies don’t necessarily need to innovate; copying competitors can work. They also say PR pros, marketers and advertisers may wish to reconsider investing resources in Snapchat.

Getting Better at Copying

Instagram has become faster at copying Snapchat. It just introduced more Snapchat-like features. Selfie stickies let users turn their selfie into a sticker and attach to their posts. Instagram now offers the ability to pin a sticker to an object within a video, additional geofilters and shortcuts to favorite stickers – abilities practically identical to Snapchat’s.

Some observers saw Instagram’s announcement as Snapchat’s obituary. Vanity Fair stated that Mark Zuckerberg had officially crushed Snapchat.

“Given the rising pressure, it seems like Snap Inc. might need a Plan B, beyond just improving their ad products and discovery options,” writes Andrew Hutchinson at Social Media Today. “What form that might take will be interesting to watch.”  This week Snapchat introduced 3-D features for messaging.

Comparing Apples and Oranges

Tech reporters love a battle between titans, but comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges, says Taylor Lorenz at Business Insider. Instagram Stories is not its own app. It’s a feature in a pre-existing app. Instagram already has more than 400 million daily active users, so its announcement merely means that half its users have seen its heavily promoted Stories feature, which is not surprising.

People use the apps differently. The average Snapchatter spends about half an hour on the app a day and 60% of users create content. The average Instagramer spends just 15 minutes a day within the app. “It’s highly unlikely that all 15 of those minutes are spent engaging with Instagram Stories,” Lorenz says.

Snapchat is unlike other social media networks. It’s a cross between a social network and a messaging app. It’s a communication platform, not a broadcast platform. There’s no incentive to grow follower counts. Instead, it facilitates deep connections between small groups of friends.

Lorenz also questions how Facebook calculates “daily active users.” It might just count everyone who clicks on Instagram Stories. Facebook has faced criticism over its measurement practices.

“Although Instagram did win some would-be Snapchat users, it’s unclear if many of them would have ever joined the platform,” Lornenz writes.

People Still Love Snapchat

Surveys indicate that Snapchat remains popular, even as Instagram grows. The two apps may coexist. A quarter of adults aged 35-44 said they’ve increased their use of both Snapchat and Instagram over the last six months, and 19 percent said they’ve increased their use of just Snapchat, according a recent Jefferies survey.

A poll by Episode, a content marketing network, finds that girls and young women are not moving to Instagram. A poll of 50,070 of its viewers, who are mostly females ages 13 to 25, found that 69 percent said their Snapchat usage has not declined since Instagram Stories, Adweek reports. In addition, 7 percent said they send between 50 and 100 snaps (messages) daily, while 9 percent of them send more than 100.

“Based on the data we are seeing, young consumers are still keen on Snapchat,” Michael Dawson, Episode’s head of studios, told Adweek.

Decision-makers in PR, marketing and advertising should take note.

Bottom Line: News that Instagram Stories claims more daily users than Snapchat prompted predictions of Snapchat’s demise. A more in-depth analysis reveals there’s more to the story. PR, marketing and advertising professionals should not abandon Snapchat.