After stealing ideas from Snapchat by implementing stories, stickers and Snapchat’s other best features, Instagram has once again stolen from Snapchat. The new update allows users to apply fun face filters to photos, videos and boomerangs that can be posted either in stories or through direct messaging. Instagram continues to steal ideas away from Snapchat in the hopes that users won’t venture away to other apps. Their competition with Snapchat isn’t slowing down their growth. Instagram recently just surpassed over 700 million users, making it the 3rd most used social media platform behind YouTube and the leading Facebook.
What Does This Update Mean for Businesses?
Sure, this update is fun for personal lives, but you might be wondering how this is going to help your social media marketing efforts. The face filters are great for showcasing how fun your workplace can be. These filters help you create a perfect excuse to take a selfie with patients or coworkers and can apply a little humor to your usual serious marketing. Theses filters can help you get creative with your marketing as well as have fun while doing it. Currently, there are filters that give you glasses, change your nose, place a crown on top of your head, give you animal ears and more. It works just like Snapchat’s face filters; just point the camera at a face and your camera should easily recognize it and give you the ability to choose filters.
Another New Fun Feature: Rewind Videos & Hashtag Sticker
In addition to stealing face filters, Instagram now lets you play videos in reverse for a new fun effect—another Snapchat feature. This is another feature that can help you get more creative with your postings. Instagram also made a new customizable hashtag sticker. This helps users more easily see and click on hashtags that you place on your pictures. This is great for marketing, especially if you use a unique hashtag that you have on all your postings. This will cause users to see everything you have posted under this hashtag and as a result spend more time on your profile.
What About Snapchat?
Instagram already has more than double the users than Snapchat, so it’s only a matter of time before Snapchat users make the final switch to just Instagram. Although stealing ideas is frowned upon, it seems to be working out in the favor of Instagram.
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