Hi Everyone! I hope your week is going well and moving along swiftly! I don’t know about you but recently I’ve been seeing so many conversations with regards to the whole Instagram Stories Vs Snapchat debacle and which one is better! Working full time in social media means that things like this are always at the back of my mind and I’m constantly wondering which one I should focus more on, etc! So I wanted to break down what I like and dislike about each and also my 5 favorite people to follow on both platforms!
Snapchat
I have to say that personally snapchat still holds a dear place in my heart. A lot of influencers and brands seem to abandoning the app in favor of Instagram which I can understand seeing as it’s the shiny new toy, BUT in my opinion it’s a little foolish to put all of your eggs in one basket. Unlike Instagram Stories, people who follow you on snapchat are pretty much guaranteed to see your content whereas on stories, you have to be constantly sharing to make sure your icon appears in the top 5 of people’s trays. And personally, I think snapchat is far more engaged than IG stories. I feel 100% comfortable talking and sharing aspects of my life on snapchat because I know that people specifically added me there to see that. The best thing about snapchat is that it’s such a great way to connect and chat with the people who follow you, I feel like those more intimate interactions are less frequent on Instagram
Here are my faves to follow on Snapchat
- Tar Mar (@tarmarz): Tara is a fellow Irish girl living in NYC and her snaps are real and honest about what it’s like to live in the city while working freelance! She also always has great beauty tips and the DL on all of the latest products!
- Claire Balding (@Claire.Balding): I talk about Claire way too much but she gives me endless laughs every morning on the subway ride to work when I watch her snaps! Claire is an Irish Mom sharing her daily life after suffering from a terrible bout of alopecia. She’s utterly hilarious and just amazing in general
- Rebecca from Haute So Fabulous (@HauteSoFabulous): Rebecca has the prettiest snapchat account that is literally aesthetic goals. She shares beautiful images from her travels and her seemingly perfect lifestyle!
- Hallie from Among Other Things (@CoralsnCognacs): Hallie is an American blogger/Soul Cycle Instructor who has the best snapchat series called Tinder Tuesdays. Every Tuesday she shares the craziest things that she or her friends have come across on Tinder and they are utterly ridiculous and hilarious all at once.
- Lauren Arthurs (@LaurenArthurs): Lauren is an Irish blogger that literally makes me think that life in Ireland seems to be heavenly! She shares her day to day activities from going to fun blogger parties to traveling around Europe on some amazing weekend getaways! Since I started following her my travel bucket list has grown a mile!
Instagram Stories
So stories is obviously pulling ahead in the race between the platform. Statistics released this week actually show that there are now more daily users on IG stories compared to snapchat, which is amazing considering how relatively new the feature is. I love the idea that everything can be streamlined in one place on Instagram between your stories and your feed, but there’s something that holds me back from opening 100% on IG stories like I do on snapchat. At the moment, I don’t talk on IG stories, instead I just share images and boomerangs from daily activities. There’s just something about the platform that’s a little more “profesh” where it doesn’t really feel natural for me to go on my rants there! The more you use Instagram stories however, the more engagement you’re likely to see on your feed images because the algorithm favors people who actively use all of it’s features (read more about my tips for conquering the algorithm here)
Here are my faves to follow on IG Stories
- Olivia Muenter: Olivia is a fashion and beauty editor here in New York who always has the cutest IG stories that feature her adorable NYC apartment as well as her trying all of the latest beauty treatments.
- Kristie Dash: I used to follow Kristie religiously on snapchat before she switched to IG stories. She used to live in New York where she worked as a beauty editor at Allure, but now she lives in London and quite frankly her stories make me want to move there and live happily ever after!
- Virginia Nam: I first met Virginia at a meeting with Instagram where she works. Naturally, her stories are ALWAYS on point as she travels the world to every event you could imagine on behalf of the brand. She works closely alongside one of my other favorite grammers, Eva Chen who shares her life as a mom to two gorgeous kids and as a New York fashion scene staple!
- Mollie from a Stylish Side Project: Mollie is a fashion blogger who not only has the cutest stories sharing her adventures which include a lot of travel but also has the most picture perfect instagram feed.
- Galia Lahav: AKA the designer I want to get my wedding dress from (If I ever get married AND if I ever win the lottery). This brands dresses are literally out of this world and nothing gives me more kicks than watching their IG stories which show them travel to different fashion shows around the world to showcase their dresses. A little random to include in this list, but if you like pretty things and weddings then you’ll love this.
My verdict is that I’m going to try to maintain both for now, and try to make myself a little more comfortable with IG stories, because as much as I hate to admit it, I think that’s where the future lies! Let me know what you think by adding me on Instagram or Snapchat (@Michaelabear1)
