Instagram Is Now Officially “Haunting” Snapchat…

Your favorite photo sharing app literally just became Snapchat’s clone by launching Instagram Stories.

Beginning today, you’ll see a carousel of your follower’s “stories” on Instagram just like you would if you opened up Snapchat. And no this is not a Snapchat integration as it’s IG’s own platform.

Of course this a ploy to draw users back into the IG app in hopes that they’ll spend more time in the app, like more photos, record more video and ultimately enjoy the platform as much as they do Snapchat.

This move is not surprising for many reasons:

1) Copy and Paste

Social media platforms copy each other all the time as they evolve from day to day. I’m honestly surprised it took Instagram (or Facebook) this long to launch this feature as they’ve been known to copy Snapchat before and since Facebook acquired the face-swapping app Masquerade back in March.

2) Ad Money

I’m 100% positive Instagram execs were sitting back watching all of the ad money Snapchat was making from brands on a daily basis and wanted in. Think about all of the brands that already use Instagram and haven’t figured out how to get the hang of Snapchat yet. If Instagram Stories goes the monetization route (which it will) and places the ability to run ads in Power Editor, social media managers will be able to run all of their ads in one place. Iconic.

3) Video is GOLD

I’ve been saying this for months now but video is the way to go this year. With major Periscope updates, Instagram launching longer videos, Facebook Live (and Facebook preferring to post live streaming on your news feed over other content), longer Vine videos and Snapchat live streaming major events, it’s beyond safe to say that video is it right now and if you ignore it as a social media manager you’re going to stay a few steps behind.

So what’s next for Snapchat?

I really don’t think Instagram Stories is going to kill Snapchat. With so many teens using it already, I can see Snapchat remaining their “safe haven” for now. Since Instagram has a much wider demographic (and 500 million active monthly users) , I can see more adults using the platform since it is more accessible to them and on a platform that they recognize.

Expect to see tons of brands trying out this feature in the next week. If you’re a social media manager, I’d suggest asking your CMO / CFO to up your marketing budget next year.

Can’t wait to hear what Gary Vaynerchuk thinks about this…

What do you think about Instagram Stories? Will it take Snapchat down? Tell me how you feel about it in the comments or by tweeting me at yeahitslex.