On August 2, a row of small circles appeared across the top of Instagram. Tapping one opens a slideshow of photos and short videos that disappear after 24 hours. Anyone familiar with Snapchat recognized the format immediately, and Instagram did not claim otherwise: Kevin Systrom essentially acknowledged that Snapchat deserves the credit. Instagram also kept the name: Stories.
The initial reaction in the industry was skeptical, and ours was as well.
Three weeks later, our assessment has changed. Stories are likely to change how small businesses use the app, largely for the better.
What is the problem with the Instagram feed this year?
The feed has become overly polished, and its ranking now penalizes infrequent posting. Large travel accounts, with their carefully graded colours and matching tones, have set a standard that small businesses feel obliged to follow. A dive centre takes fifty photos during a trip and posts one, perhaps, after twenty minutes of adjusting filters. Several days can pass without a post because nothing seems good enough.
This is also the year Instagram stopped showing posts in chronological order. The feed is now ranked according to what Instagram predicts each user wants to see. Instagram states that users will not miss the posts that matter to them. Our observation is that accounts that post rarely are seen by fewer people, while accounts that post many average photos to stay visible lose followers who become bored. This is a difficult position for anyone running a business and handling social media alongside it, which describes most small business owners.
What do Stories change for a small business?
They remove the pressure to be perfect. Because Stories disappear the next day, nobody expects them to be polished. A business can post the boat leaving at 8, part of the briefing, an unsteady video of guests entering the water and the post-dive noodles. Ten items in a day, none of them polished, without cluttering the profile or tiring followers.
Stories also appear at the very top of the app. A business's circle is visible to followers before they begin scrolling. For a small account that the new feed ranking is beginning to push down, this is a real way to regain visibility, and it may be the most significant aspect of the change.
The following content appears to work well for a dive centre, based on our observations so far:
- The morning: weather, sea conditions and the boat being loaded. Prospective guests value this information highly.
- The crew, as they are. Guests book people as much as places.
- Short clips of the day's marine life, even when they are not perfectly sharp.
- Behind-the-scenes content that would never go in the feed: filling tanks, repairing a regulator, a beach cleanup.
Instagram's own announcement of Stories is worth reading. Its message is very close to this: share more of the day without worrying about posting too often. In this case, the marketing message accurately describes the product.
What role should the Instagram feed play now?
It should become the portfolio of the best photos. The feed is not disappearing; its role is changing. With Stories handling everyday content, the grid can showcase the business: the best manta photo, the group picture from an exceptional day, the smiles at certification. These are the images a first-time visitor to the profile should see, since that visitor decides within about three seconds whether the business appears professional.
Many small businesses are likely to apply this division incorrectly for some time. Some will move everything to Stories and let the grid become outdated; others will continue posting daily filler to the feed out of habit. The recommended division is simple: everyday moments in Stories, the best content in the feed.
What is missing from Instagram Stories so far?
Links, permanence and meaningful statistics. The creative tools are currently minimal: text, a drawing brush and a few colour filters.
The absence of links is the most significant limitation for a business. A Story can show a perfect day on the water, but there is no way to send the viewer from the Story to the booking page. The viewer must go to the profile, find the link in the bio and hope it leads somewhere useful, and most will not. Instagram will likely add some form of link for businesses eventually, since that is how it will also want to sell advertising in this format.
There is also no way to keep a Story. An excellent Story about the Open Water course disappears after a day. The ability to pin a few Stories to the profile, as a permanent menu covering hours, directions and a typical day with the business, would be very useful. At present, that content must be posted again and again.
Finally, measurement is limited to the list of viewers. Seeing the names is interesting at first, but it does not indicate whether a Story generated a booking.
One feature is particularly valuable: replies to a Story arrive in Direct messages. A guest who reacts to the morning conditions clip is therefore starting a real conversation with the business. We recommend answering every reply, because that is where bookings are made, not in the view count.
Should a small business choose Snapchat or Instagram?
For most small businesses, Instagram. Businesses that were considering Snapchat no longer need to. Their customers already follow them on Instagram, and there is no need to build a new audience from scratch on an app where discovery is difficult. For a small business with a single person handling social media, this settles the question.
Snapchat will not disappear; younger users are strongly attached to it. For a dive shop or a café, however, the audience is already on Instagram, and the informal format is now available there as well.
Our recommendations after three weeks: post a few Stories on days when something happens, without scripting them; keep the feed for the best content; and answer every message. For owners who find this too demanding alongside running the business, social media management can be delegated. That said, most owners can produce everyday Stories themselves with a phone and five minutes.
Stories allow businesses to show an ordinary day. For a small business, the ordinary day is often its most compelling content.