What Happened
Although Instagram only launched its Snapchat Stories-esque feature on Tuesday, a number of brands have started using the ephemeral sharing feature and are already seeing great results. According to AdAge’s report, Nike has received 800,000 views in 24 hours for its Instagram Story posted on Tuesday. For comparison, Nike says its most viewed video on Snapchat got 66,000 views. Besides Nike, brands like Mountain Dew, Quaker, Coach, and GE have all gotten started with Instagram Stories. In addition, major cosmetic brands including Covergirl, L’Oréal, and Maybelline have all jumped on this new Instagram feature to share content with their followers, with many opting for behind-the-scene looks or sneak peeks at some of the products they are working on.
What Brands Need To Do
The consensus among brand marketers so far seems to be that Instagram is more brand-friendly than Snapchat, as the former offers better ad products and measurement tools for marketers and has a referral-based discovery system that makes it easier for brands to build followers. Given that most brands have a bigger follower base on Instagram than on Snapchat, it is not surprising that brands are seeing better results from Instagram Stories.
Although Instagram has not specified whether it will insert ads into Stories as Snapchat does, it seems safe to assume that Stories will start carrying ads sooner or later. For now, Instagram Stories remains a shiny new tool that brands should use to connect with followers.
