It’s official. The new addition to the popular social media platform, Instagram, has Snapchatters everywhere conflicted on where to post their in-the-moment pics.
On August 2nd, 2016, Instagram rolled out their brand new feature– Instagram Stories. Almost 100% the same as Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories allows users to post photos while on the go that are more so for fun, spontaneous usage, rather than the normal over-filtered pictures. Like Snapchat, the stories last for 24 hours and can be viewed by anyone who follows you. To find out more about Instagram Stories and how your small business can use them, keep reading.
How to Access Stories:
Instagram Stories will appear in the top of your “new posts” feed. The stories that will show up will be from anyone you follow that has posted within the last 24 hours, just like Snapchat. You can read more about Snapchat, how it works, how your business can use it, etc., in my post here.
How to View a Story:
Thanks to TechCrunch
To view a story, simply tap on their profile photo that will show up when they post to their story, and their story of posts will appear with all of the content they’ve posted in the last 24 hours. Also just like Snapchat, the content posted will play for the viewer in chronological order from the oldest to the newest.
While viewing a story, you’re able to go back to a photo or go forward to another photo. You can also skip to another person’s story by swiping. A big question that was asked was if you were going to be able to like or post public comments. The answer to this, would be no. As of right now, there is no option to like and publicly comment on someone’s story, but you can, however, privately comment on someone’s story. Your comment will be visible to the user in their direct messages box.
How to Create a Story on Instagram:
To create a story of your own on Instagram, simply tap the “+” in the top left corner of the screen. You can also choose to swipe to the left, which will expose a camera specifically for Stories. By using the Story camera, you can take a photo or video (like normal) and add filters and text to your heart’s desire!
You can also choose to add a photo you’ve already taken from your Camera Roll to your Story by swiping down on the Story camera, which allows you to choose a recent snap from your Camera Roll.
How to Track Engagement and Views on Instagram Stories:
Instagram Stories allows you to track how many times each of your Story posts has been viewed by followers and which of your followers checked your story. Remember: If your account is set to “private”, then your stories will also be private. If you’re worried about troublemakers, you can block those you don’t want seeing your story, even if your account is set to “public”.
How Does Instagram Stories Compare to Snapchat?
Both Snapchat and Instagram allow general users and brands to post great visual content in a fun, community environment. When Snapchat introduced Snapchat Stories, the idea of being able to post photo updates of what you’re doing in the moment became a huge thing. Now you could share with your followers what you were doing right when you posted the photo- like you’re there together!
Instagram, on the other hand, was always somewhere where you wanted to pot visually stunning content. You would apply filters, change contrast, add sharpness, remove unwanted blemishes and then post your photo. With the introduction of Instagram Stories, the Instagram team is trying to encourage users to be more in the moment like Snapchat is.
Also, it’s been said that the Instagram Stories aren’t super user-friendly for those who are not as tech-savvy or newer to Instagram, so this may be an issue.
How Can My Small Business Use Instagram Stories?
Thanks to TechCrunch
It’s been stated more than once by marketing experts that brands will likely move to Instagram for their Story ventures. It makes sense, right? Why use two social media apps when you could eliminate one and focus solely on a single platform? The only issue is; it seems like Instagram Stories hasn’t been working as well as it could be. Understandably, it is in its infant stages, so bugs like this might happen frequently until enough updates are done to perfect the new feature.
Furthermore, due to the new algorithm that Instagram set in place, the Stories could be a simple solution to making sure that your followers see your post, since the Stories are not affected by the new algorithm. If you’re looking for a way to get your photos in front of your followers, these Stories could really be a helpful solution.
It’s official. The new addition to the popular social media platform, Instagram, has Snapchatters everywhere conflicted on where to post their in-the-moment pics.
On August 2nd, 2016, Instagram rolled out their brand new feature– Instagram Stories. Almost 100% the same as Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories allows users to post photos while on the go that are more so for fun, spontaneous usage, rather than the normal over-filtered pictures. Like Snapchat, the stories last for 24 hours and can be viewed by anyone who follows you. To find out more about Instagram Stories and how your small business can use them, keep reading.
How to Access Stories:
Instagram Stories will appear in the top of your “new posts” feed. The stories that will show up will be from anyone you follow that has posted within the last 24 hours, just like Snapchat. You can read more about Snapchat, how it works, how your business can use it, etc., in my post here.
How to View a Story:
Thanks to TechCrunch
To view a story, simply tap on their profile photo that will show up when they post to their story, and their story of posts will appear with all of the content they’ve posted in the last 24 hours. Also just like Snapchat, the content posted will play for the viewer in chronological order from the oldest to the newest.
While viewing a story, you’re able to go back to a photo or go forward to another photo. You can also skip to another person’s story by swiping. A big question that was asked was if you were going to be able to like or post public comments. The answer to this, would be no. As of right now, there is no option to like and publicly comment on someone’s story, but you can, however, privately comment on someone’s story. Your comment will be visible to the user in their direct messages box.
How to Create a Story on Instagram:
To create a story of your own on Instagram, simply tap the “+” in the top left corner of the screen. You can also choose to swipe to the left, which will expose a camera specifically for Stories. By using the Story camera, you can take a photo or video (like normal) and add filters and text to your heart’s desire!
You can also choose to add a photo you’ve already taken from your Camera Roll to your Story by swiping down on the Story camera, which allows you to choose a recent snap from your Camera Roll.
How to Track Engagement and Views on Instagram Stories:
Instagram Stories allows you to track how many times each of your Story posts has been viewed by followers and which of your followers checked your story. Remember: If your account is set to “private”, then your stories will also be private. If you’re worried about troublemakers, you can block those you don’t want seeing your story, even if your account is set to “public”.
How Does Instagram Stories Compare to Snapchat?
Both Snapchat and Instagram allow general users and brands to post great visual content in a fun, community environment. When Snapchat introduced Snapchat Stories, the idea of being able to post photo updates of what you’re doing in the moment became a huge thing. Now you could share with your followers what you were doing right when you posted the photo- like you’re there together!
Instagram, on the other hand, was always somewhere where you wanted to pot visually stunning content. You would apply filters, change contrast, add sharpness, remove unwanted blemishes and then post your photo. With the introduction of Instagram Stories, the Instagram team is trying to encourage users to be more in the moment like Snapchat is.
Also, it’s been said that the Instagram Stories aren’t super user-friendly for those who are not as tech-savvy or newer to Instagram, so this may be an issue.
How Can My Small Business Use Instagram Stories?
Thanks to TechCrunch
It’s been stated more than once by marketing experts that brands will likely move to Instagram for their Story ventures. It makes sense, right? Why use two social media apps when you could eliminate one and focus solely on a single platform? The only issue is; it seems like Instagram Stories hasn’t been working as well as it could be. Understandably, it is in its infant stages, so bugs like this might happen frequently until enough updates are done to perfect the new feature.
Furthermore, due to the new algorithm that Instagram set in place, the Stories could be a simple solution to making sure that your followers see your post, since the Stories are not affected by the new algorithm. If you’re looking for a way to get your photos in front of your followers, these Stories could really be a helpful solution.
Published on August 24, 2016
About the Author: Olivia Haymond
