Snapchat Vs Instagram Stories: The Debate

13th August 2016

Rarrrr, I’m so annoyed about this. Irrationally so, I am aware. I’ve loved, loved, loved snapchat for a while now. It’s a lot of fun and I can take shitloads of selfies with a pretty filter and not feel like a total twat.

Snapchat Vs Instagram Stories

I wrote a post about it recently, explaining how to use it and talking about why I love Snapchat despite being over 30. Ava, as well as most kids who have come into contact with it, loves it. She loves taking ‘selfies’ with mummy (what is the world coming to?!) and trying out all the filters but she particularly likes faceswapping with people she doesn’t know that are saved in my photos (are you worried it could be you now?? It might be; I have a lot of random photos of bloggers in there…).

I rarely write about things that are so current on here, just because they’re current. But this is something that I’m not really sure about, and I’ve been talking to friends about it and we have different opinions, seemingly based on whether we loved Snapchat before this or not.

Snapchat Vs Instagram Stories

If you have no idea what I’m talking about – Instagram have just added ‘stories’ to the app, just like Snapchat. On Instagram now you can film a short clip or add a photo, and instead of it being shown on your profile permanently, it appears as part of your ‘story’ for 24 hours and then disappears (just like Snapchat…). Except on Instagram (for now at least) there are no fun filters, so you can’t make yourself look and sound like a bee. So really what’s the point??

I love the idea that we’re already on Instagram so we don’t have to have another social media to deal with, and it’s also great that if we already have an audience on Instagram (which I do) then our ‘stories’ will be seen by a lot more people. I’ve only posted three crappy pictures on Instagram stories so far and I’ve had more than double the amount of views I’ve EVER had on Snapchat. The thing is though – I don’t really worry about the amount of views I get on Snapchat – I see it as the fun social media network, that I use for entertainment, rather than as a blogging tool.

I can imagine that Instagram stories will be great for brand collaborations – my three crappy ‘real’ photos have already been viewed by at least one brand that follows me, and I can definitely see the potential there and that is kind of exciting (although I’m still cross). Lots of brands follow me on Instagram, some I’ve worked with and some I haven’t. But if I do my stories right then it could lead to a lot more work for me, which would be lovely, especially as it doesn’t have to affect my normal Instagram profile.

A photo posted by Lou | Birds & Lilies (@louhegarty) on

I’m sure brands will quickly see the potential – the fact that adding a ‘story’ on Instagram is quick and easy, and doesn’t have to be perfect means that a lot more people will be more open to creating mini ‘vlogs’, and therefore could easily showcase a brand and it be seen by lots of people. People who wouldn’t normally vlog, but who are open to it in this quick and easy and REAL way. That’s the other big plus for brands – stories are real – we can create the perfect product placement flatlay for (the normal) Instagram, but it’s clear it’s an ad and it stays there so people will care more about what it looks like on their profile. With stories they are quick, they disappear after 24 hours and we’d generally prefer it if they don’t look perfect – which to me is the perfect way to make an ad seem genuine and real and make us viewers want to buy it.

I can definitely see the potential of stories on Instagram, and I have had heard so many people talking about how they much prefer it because they, and their audience are already there, and how they will no longer bother with Snapchat. And that does make me sad – I absolutely love Snapchat; it’s a lot of fun and I love how lighthearted it is. I have planned to start vlogging properly for years now, and I just never get round to it, and when I do actually film some content, I never get round to editing it.

Snapchat allows me to make little vlogs every day which I love sharing, and encourages me to take more photos of Ava and our daily lives without worrying about making it look perfect.

The thing is I’m ALREADY ignoring the pictures on Instagram because there’s new and more real videos to look at, plus they’re right there at the top. I can’t help clicking. And I’ve only been on four times since I updated. I just haven’t looked at the pics. I wonder how much less people are posting photos on their main feed now?

A huge reason about why I love Snapchat is the fact that you can send photos and videos directly to people. It’s lovely being sent videos of friends’ kids and to see what friends are up to in their lives. It’s not always easy to keep up with everyone when we’re so busy, and this is just another (fun) way of doing that. I love receiving photos and videos that people have sent directly to me, and I also feel like some relationships have developed more, or even started on Snapchat.

I’m still obviously going to keep using Snapchat, as I like that it is separate from Instagram, which I use to post prettier, more edited photos. And I like playing with the filters on Snapchat, and looking like a dog. But I know lots of people have already given up on Snapchat and so it feels a bit as though half of the people I want to watch (including good friends) are now posting on Instagram instead, which is a shame. It’s also a shame that Snapchat is reasonably hard to navigate at first, as I think that quickly puts people off.

I’m not sure what will happen to Snapchat now. I’m sure they will keep competing to be bigger and better, and maybe they’ll just continue to have their different audiences and will both continue to do well. Maybe I’ll be 80 and still sending (wrinkly) selfies to my best friends and not even needing to use the wrinkly old person filter, and maybe I’ll still have the same ‘best friend’ on there too (yes, that’s a thing). Or maybe it will eventually be off to join MySpace into the ether.

Either way, for now, my heart is with Snapchat, and that is where I’ll stay.

3 responses to “Snapchat Vs Instagram Stories: The Debate”

  1. Kerry says:

    I’m totally with you on this! I’ve stepped back from the blog and social media a little in the last week because my kids and other work have had to take priority, but I also feel confused about which network to post to. I don’t know whether it’s out of some misguided solidarity to Snapchat (maybe that’s a thing?), but I haven’t warmed to Insta stories. I liked that I only follow a select few on Snapchat (you inc., obvs!), whereas I follow just over 1,000 people on Insta. It’s just not as cosy. Plus, the lack of filters sucks. Seriously, why launch without comparable filters? If you’re gonna rip something off, at least do it right…

    Having said that, social media is a fickle thing and no doubt in 3 months time it’ll be my new fav x x x x x

  2. Trudy says:

    I love your snaps, I on the other and doing both poorly and when I remember but Instagram stories definitely has a different feeling to it than Snapchat. I’ll keep trying to get the hang of them both.

  3. You know I did try Snapchat…but I couldn’t get on with it, or more stopped using it as soon as I started, mainly because I kept just forgetting about it as I post a lot on IG! The stories on IG, you know my feelings about that too, I like watching other people’s but have only actually posted a couple on there myself. I do still post as many photos as I did before though! x

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