Snapchat vs. Instagram: Which One Is for You?

By Joe Sesso, National Speaker for Homes.com

RISMEDIA, Friday, July 21, 2017— Social platforms are always battling it out to determine who will be today's top contender. This seems to be the "Story" between two social platforms that share similar features: Snapchat and Instagram.

As a real estate agent utilizing social media to drive leads to your business, you can't help but wonder which of these two social sites—Snapchat or Instagram—is better. Here's a quick overview of some of the features and comparisons to better inform you on which social platform is better suited for you and your business.

The Bigger, The Better
It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; unfortunately for Snapchat, imitation has lead them to being second best in terms of daily active users.

Instagram's decision to copy Snapchat's My Story has paid off with 700 million daily active users and more than 250 million now posting to their Stories every day. In comparison, Snapchat reported its highest ever daily active users in their May 2017 Q1 report with 166 million daily active users, of which around 40 million post Stories to the platform daily.

In terms of growing your brand's awareness and reaching a wider audience, Instagram is the clear winner here.

Engagements on the Rise
When marketing your business on social media, it is not all about how many people you can reach, but how many are engaging with the content you are sharing. Snapchat reported users spending over 30 minutes daily on their app, which has gone up since February's reports of 25-30 minutes daily.

Back in 2014, Instagram reported users spending an average of 21 minutes daily on its app; however, Facebook has not recently released an updated amount, which we can assume is because the numbers aren't favorable.

So, in terms of engagement, Snapchat is clearly the winner here, but not by much.

The Demographics
Both Instagram and Snapchat skew to younger generations, especially millennials. Instagram reported that the majority of its audiences are less than 30 years old, while Snapchat says their audience is under 34, with over 60 percent under 25. In addition, women users make up the majority in both Instagram and Snapchat.

When it comes to demographics, Instagram and Snapchat are equally comparable. If you want to focus your marketing towards millennial buyers, then having a social presence in one of these networks is the way to go.

Features and Functions
Instagram's Stories is practically a direct copy of Snapchat's My Story. They both let you record short videos or images and put them into your story for followers to see and engage with. With each platform offering its own features and tools to edit images and videos, neither of them is impressive enough to sway users.

A key difference is the discoverability of posts. Instagram has created more search options by allowing users to tag other profiles, include hashtags, and add searchable location stickers on all story posts. Snapchat recently released Snap Maps to their My Story, which allows location-tagging on posts and can be utilized by agents showcasing a listing or having an open house.

When it comes to features and functions, there is no conclusive winner here, as both platforms provide useful tools within their Story feature that agents can take advantage of.

So the question becomes Snapchat, or Instagram? While the Story features on both platforms are equally comparable, Instagram's seamless integration to Facebook gives this social platform an edge over Snapchat. Instagram's content can be viewed in two places, by two audiences, which is a major plus. Additionally, Instagram's images are also around to stay for good, so users can scroll through your past posts long after you've posted them—the hard work doesn't just go away in 24 hours. So the winner is…Instagram!

While you focus your attention on creating enticing Stories, either on Snapchat or Instagram, don't let your Facebook Ads fall behind. Homes.com's Social Fuel handles everything from account setup, content creation, engagement, and even manages your Facebook Ads. We will even monitor your business' ranking in major search engines while giving you the peace of mind to focus on selling real estate.

For more information, please visit connect.homes.com.

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