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The Biggest Update Of Them All: Instagram Stories

The Biggest Update Of Them All: Instagram Stories

Today's guest post is by Mark Kao, department manager for COS Group, and head of COS Rental. This is the third in a three-part series on using Instagram's newest features for events.

Part 1: Power Up Your Planning with Instagram's New Features—“Save As Draft” and Multiple Account Support

Part 2: How Instagram's New Interest-Based Feed Is a Planner's New Best Friend

Snapchat, viewed by many as Instagram’s competitor, introduced Snapchat Stories in 2013. And you can’t deny that this is crucial to Snapchat’s growth. Earlier this year, however, Instagram unleashed Instagram Stories in an effort to snatch loyal fans from the competition.

Mark Kao

Instagram Stories lets users upload images and videos that only last 24 hours. The videos and photos shared using Stories are put together in a single slideshow, a great way to prevent over-posting and overwhelming followers. Once the time limit has elapsed, it’s gone for good.

Moreover, content shared via Stories won’t appear on the profile grid and main feed. And unlike the usual Instagram posts, Stories won’t have likes or public comments..

You can find Instagram Stories in a bar at the top of your feed. And when a user has a new story to tell, their profile photo will have a colorful ring enclosing it. To view their story, simply tap on their profile photo. You are then treated to a chronological slideshow of all the content they posted in the last 24 hours.

This new feature is different from the others we’ve discussed. The “save as draft” functionality and interest-based news feed, for example, emphasize the need to put extra time in editing and making photos and videos stand out.

With Instagram Stories, however, the focus shifts from “perfection” to “instant.” And its ephemeral nature can make a difference in events.

For attendees, Instagram Stories takes away the need to perfect every detail of their photos. This makes them more likely to share their experience instantly.

And that’s exactly  what we want: our attendees giving those at home a taste of what it’s like to be a part of our events.

Event coordinators and marketers, on the other hand, will have an easier time running their events smoothly while keeping followers in the loop. Simply create a story, record, and share.

Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can bet that the most creative minds in the events industry will have an endless list of great ideas for using Instagram Stories: from posting backstage content, holding speaker takeovers, to running Instagram competitions.

The feature is still in its infancy. But you can count on Instagram to tweak it to perfection in the coming months, and Instagram Stories is guaranteed to make a huge impact on events. If you are yet to give it a try, now is the perfect time to fiddle with it.

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