Instagram is pushing hard to get its “Stories” feature in front of audiences. The social giant is hoping that the recently introduced feature which is a clone of “Snapchat Stories” will help it draw a more engaged audience.
The stories feature in the Explore tab is different from the Stories featured in the company’s main feed. The difference being that Stories featured on the Explore tab will be curated from people that users don’t already follow on Instagram. Instead, the Stories will be curated based on what Instagram considers prime areas of interest of the reader.
Currently, approximately 100 million people check out the Explore tab and by placing the Stories feature on the tab, Instagram will find it easier to optimize on a wider audience base and divert the attention of users to its new feature.
Although the company has 100 million people viewing at least one Story on a daily basis, this section of the audience only accounts for a third of the 300 million people who use Instagram every day. That means the site still needs to capitalize on the rest of the 200 million people who don’t bother looking at Stories featured in the app’s home screen.
Curating Stories based on user preferences will perhaps help in addressing this issue. It may kick-start a process where in users might not only start following curated accounts but also actively start exploring more stories, help drive more views for their friend’s stories and maybe even feel encouraged to upload their own stories.
Clearly, if Instagram can give its Stories feature the right kind of exposure, the company might be able to compete with “Snapchat Stories” and tap into the absent 200 million audience base.
