Are People Watching Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook Stories?

Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat Stories: Which do people actually watch? Find out and learn how to define your Story strategy.

Marketing Blog September, 20, 2019 Hi there, While Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat seem like incredibly different platforms, there's one thriving feature that all three have in common: Stories.   By now, many of us have made or viewed a Story on a social media platform. This feature allows us to creatively chronicle our daily lives, major events, and milestones through photos and videos.    Marketers have also become Story-savvy. On many of the major social platforms, you can find a number of brands using Stories to publish educational content related to their industry, show how-tos related to their products, or tell customer success stories.   At this point, the question marketers are asking isn't, "Should I publish Stories?" Instead, it might be, "Which social platform should I publish Stories on?"   Which Stories do people ACTUALLY watch? When you think of platforms with Story features, Instagram and Snapchat might be on the top of your mind.    Yes, Instagram and Snapchat were the earliest Story platforms. And, the Stories feature has been key to Instagram's growth. But, don't write Facebook off just yet.   When we surveyed 275 consumers from across the U.S., I was surprised to find that a whopping 70% said they prefer to watch Facebook Stories. The survey above was conducted using Lucid Software. What This Result Means This overwhelming Facebook preference might seem surprising, but it makes a bit of sense. Facebook Stories hit 500 million daily active users in 2018, just a few months after Instagram hit the same milestone.   Although research shows that Gen-Z favors Instagram, Facebook Stories could be growing due to Facebook's massive audience. Right now, Facebook is still the most used social network with more than 1.59 billion daily active users, while Instagram has just over 500 million.   Because we surveyed a general pool of consumers from all age groups, broad demographics might have also played a role in this result. Had we surveyed just Gen-Z, the results might have swayed toward Instagram, which has a user base that's booming with young adults.   Does this really impact brands? Facebook's feature was late to the game, but these results, combined with data about Facebook's large audience, suggest that Facebook Stories could provide solid opportunities to marketers.   If you haven't made a Facebook Story just yet, don't panic. This result came from one small survey, so we don't encourage you to pivot your entire strategy because of one stat. However, this poll does make you think more about how effective Facebook Stories could be in the future.   Ultimately, when you're deciding where you should publish Stories, you should look at the big picture for each, rather than just one or two stats.   To help you define your Story strategy, scroll down to find a quick comparison of Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat Stories.   For longer explanations, examples, and more guidance, click here to read my full blog post.    Not interested in a comparison -- or this topic? Check out these other posts that we published today on the blog: How to Run a Focus Group for Your Business How to Manage Your Contact List in Excel [Template] Facebook vs. Instagram Stories While Facebook has the most daily active users of the major social platforms, it's reportedly losing its teen audience year to year. Meanwhile, Instagram is gaining young adults but has half the user base.   Here's a quick rundown of what makes Facebook and Instagram unique:   Facebook Facebook has a broad audience, which has allowed a variety of brands -- from B2B to lifestyle to entertainment -- have succeeded on the overall platform. And, since the platform already offers strong marketing opportunities for local businesses, it might also be a great place for smaller businesses to post Stories.   With Facebook Stories, local businesses can show off their location, products, or testimonials of local customers that benefited from their product or service.    Because Facebook Stories pop up above News Feeds on Facebook's mobile app, this also could give the business some additional visibility on the platform.    Instagram Instagram also provides local business and e-commerce marketing opportunities. The app's most-followed brand and influencer accounts fall into creative or highly-visual industries like beauty, fashion, wellness, cooking, travel, and other lifestyle topics.   Branded content can also be highly engaging to Instagrammers. In fact, one-third of the most viewed Stories were posted by brands.   Successful Instagram Stories are often targeted to the younger demographic, relate to the platform's most popular topics, and usually contain interactive stickers, such as polls or questions.   Do marketers choose Facebook or Instagram Stories? Many marketers actually post the same exact content on Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories.   Recently, MIT Tech Review uploaded and posted the same story about aging on Facebook and Instagram. (Facebook is to the left and Instagram is on the right.) Because Facebook owns Instagram, the interfaces are almost identical. Both platforms allow you to add similar filters, text overlays, interactive polls, and other features to your content. Instagram and Facebook also let you link your Stories to web content once you reach a certain number of followers or get your account verified.   Learn more about this double-posting strategy and if it's right for you by clicking here.   What about Snapchat Stories? Snapchat has a much smaller user base than Facebook and Instagram, which could be one reason why only 13% of consumers we surveyed prefer to watch Stories there.   There are two ways you can post Snapchat Stories on the app. One is through an individual account and the other is through Snapchat Discover.   Snapchat Discover Stories are exclusively posted by Snapchat's contracted publishers. Landing a contract with Snapchat might be more challenging for a smaller brand, but this doesn't mean you can't watch Stories on Discover for inspiration. These high-quality Stories could give you ideas for a smaller-scale Instagram or Facebook Story.   With an individual account, users would have to look you up via Snapcode or search for you. This means that you'd need to share your username or Snapcode on other channels so people even know you're on the app.   When you post a Story, it will show up within the user's friend list, along with Stories from that user's contacts. Because of this, your content might be buried if someone has a huge friend list.   There are a number of brands with individual accounts on Snapchat, like NASA, Bustle, Forbes, and Sour Patch Kids, but they've either left Snapchat or haven't posted on the platform in a while.   When we asked our own marketers about whether they preferred Snapchat or Instagram Stories, most said that Instagram saw more engagement than Snapchat.   Producing Great Social Media Stories Regardless of whether you use Instagram, Facebook, or any other popular platform, there are a number of great tips and storytelling strategies that can be used across them all. For a quick list of tips, read the full version of this article by clicking here.   If you're looking for inspiration specifically for Instagram, check out this detailed list of branded Story examples. You can also read our Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Business to learn about boosting brand awareness with the platform. 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