Instagram and Snapchat are two of the biggest market leaders when it comes to photo sharing apps. While their are similarities, there are also significant differences between the two. Not only do people use these apps on a personal level, but a lot of companies have started to use them for marketing purposes. But who is doing the best?
Instagram – the story so far
Instagram launched in 2010, initially as an app for Iphone, and an Android app came along two years later. From the offset, users could use filters to make their pictures look better, which at the time was a massive game changer in the market. They could also use hashtags to bring their pictures to the attention to people that were not in their social network. Instagram sold their company to Facebook in 2012, a move which hasn’t had much effect on usability but has made integrating the two platforms a lot easier.
Snapchat – the story so far
Snapchat was initially released in 2011, but took a little bit longer to get off of the ground than Instagram. The photo sharing app has one large difference which see’s pictures disappear after they have been sent. Since it’s inception of the ‘snapchat story’ in 2013, which lets users send a multiple number of pictures that all of their users can look at, it has increased in popularity and market share, so much so that Instagram and Facebook now copy this feature.
Instagram and Snapchat – Similarities
Instagram and Snapchat are both ultimately photo sharing applications. one of the main similarities people are using now is the ‘stories’ feature. This lets people update through the day, and you can go onto your feed and look at anyone’s ‘story’.
Another similar feature they both share is the filters feature. While Instagram focuses on the more basic filters that can change the colour and the hue of the photo to make it look better, Snapchat favours more silly filters, like the infamous dog filter. Although both of the apps are usually used by one person, it is for a very different photo sharing experiences.
Instagram and Snapchat – Differences
The biggest difference between Instagram and Snapchat is that Instgram holds your photo’s on it permanently on its ‘wall’, but with Snapchat when you send a picture to someone it disappears after a few seconds unless you actively delete it. The only pictures that stay on your Snapchat are your stories, but even these disappear after 24 hours. There are also a few features on Snapchat that have been recently added, like chat and video calling. While Instagram has DM’s, these features in Snapchat are a little bit more instant. The video calling on Snapchat works much like Skype, and you can call any other user that is online at the time. If you are doing this over WiFi it is free.
Who’s winning
At the moment, because of the strong brand it has built up, and it’s used favourably with bloggers and celebrities to promote themselves with ‘arty’ images. Another benefit for Instagram is that it’s pictures are held on a wall, so if brands use it their advert or sponsored post won’t ‘disappear’. Saying this,a Instagram seemed to have invested a bit more heavily in advertising lately – to the detriment of the user experience. Many people have taken to social media to complain about the ads, although this is also something Snapchat is exploring.
In the future, there is no telling how Instagram will hold on to it’s market share. In the past year, it has been accused of copying Snapchat with some features, and one massive benefit that Snapchat has is that it targets a younger market. A lot of Snapchatters are school age, and while Instagram is favoured now with celebrities, influencers and bloggers, it is worth remembering that all of the kids using Snapchat at the moment will be the next generation of this. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if Snapchat were planning attack, and were set to release a feature like Instagram’s where you can keep the pictures on the app for other to see.
