Future of Instagram: Instant Video Sharing

In 2010 Stanford graduates, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, were named, “The nerds who made a billion in 551 days from camera app” when Mark Zuckerberg purchased their app, Instagram for $1 billion. Since day one the app has been a hit, and today it is a leading social media network with over 500 million users, including 300 million of them being active daily.

The app has changed immensely throughout the past five year. It has even expanded from its original platform of only giving the ablating to share photos, so it was a very big deal when Instagram started allowing users to upload videos, and an even bigger deal when the app released their new “Stories” feature in August 2016. Basically, since the new feature was created Instagram users can now shoot photos or short videos, add text, emojis or a drawing, and then share them to their ‘story’ which lasts for 24 hours. This feature created some backlash since the concept is much like that of the app Snapchat. Blogger from Box Chilli stated, “The Stories feature is undeniably successful and is largely responsible for Snapchat rising to the elite rankings of social media, but surely Instagram could come up with an original idea that was just as successful without copying? If Instagram are willing to adopt Snapchats’ concept, does it show that in attempt to stay relevant and to maintain user numbers, they are willing to risk their individuality in order to compete. It’s possible that this could be a reflection of what to expect for the future of all social medias”.

Although Instagram’s new feature so call “copies” the platform of Snapchat it is evident that instant video sharing is the way of the future for social media. Huffington Post has predicted, “that by 2018, approximately 69 percent of all Internet traffic will be for video content, and even now, users watch hundreds of millions of hours of video every day”. Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live are both app features that have also moved in the direction of instant video sharing. Although Instagram could have put more effort into creating a more original feature, the already flawless app is heading into the right direction for the future with “Stories”.

Lessons for Others

If the trending apps are already applying feature for it, social media marketers should be catching on too: video is the way of the future. Lisa D. Jenkins, author from Social Media Examiner quoted, “The big trend I see in 2016 is putting your face in front of your audience. The best way to reach your audience and connect with them in 2016 will be to use videos and/or live-streaming tactics as a way to really connect in a more face-to-face way”. People are all about connection, so what better way to connect over social media than by putting a face to the words.

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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