Figure out what is the difference and similarities between Snapchat and Instagram and how to use each social media platform to your company’s advantage!
Both Snapchat and Instagram are social media platforms that can enhance your business, but people tend to favor one over the other. Snapchat is a social media app where users are able to share videos and pictures on their “story” which is the user’s main feed that is visible by the user and all their followers. Originally Instagram was a platform to share pictures and videos on your profile page, but now they have added the feature Instagram Stories which is similar to Snapchat. Instagram stories lets users share moments of their day on their story feed and will not remain on their profile like a regular photo or video would. So now that we know the basic difference of the two social media dynamites, let’s take a deeper look into how each platform may better suite your company.
Snapchat
- Tends to have a younger audience
- Regularly used for a more creative company. Users on Snapchat can create their very own filters to be used with pictures or videos. For example, users can create their own geo-tag for an event if partnering with a PR firm to promote an event (a geo-tag is a tag that assigns a location to a photo or video).
- Tends to have an older audience
- Regularly used to sell products for a company or to promote a company’s brand. Companies are starting to pay celebrities, or “influencers”, to post a picture of a product they want to sell to the public. For example, Sugar Bear Hair company has used celebrities and influencers such as Kylie Jenner and James Charles to promote hair vitamins which is now regularly seen on convenience store shelves.
One in the Same
While I have given you key ways each platform may be more useful than the other, don’t forget that they can be used simultaneously! Usually, the photos that are formatted to fit the screen of an Instagram story can also be formatted to fit the screen for a Snapchat to followers. If parts of the picture cannot be seen on Instagram, pinch the photo on the screen until it is small enough to fit on your Instagram Story. Users can upload photos from their camera roll right on their Snapchat story for all their followers to see!
Neil Patel (found here) has posted a great YouTube video explaining why he thinks Snapchat and Instagram should be used together – and I agree!
Both platforms can be used to upload the same pictures, or videos, to tell a consistent story. Consistent stories allow for your company to reach a larger audience while still allowing them to follow along with updates about your company.
Lastly, both platforms can have pictures and videos on their story feed without the pressure of getting like or comments on a post. Both social media apps allow for a company to let their followers see what they are doing as a company throughout the day (week, month, year, etc) without adding unnecessary fluff to their audience’s feed.
So if you can, add content to both social media apps. Both Snapchat and Instagram are useful to your company to allow for your audience to keep up with what’s going on with your business. While you may prefer one app over another because of the target audiences that tend to use the app, note that we are lucky enough to be living in a generation that posting to social media is just a click away!
Morgan's Moment 