Instagram's Snapchat replica begins monetizing (FB)

BI Intelligence

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Digital Media Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Instagram’s Stories section, which is near-identical to Snapchat Stories, will start rolling out five-second photo and fifteen-second video ads between different stories, according to the company’s blog. As stories auto-advance between different profile’s, users may see a full-screed sponsored story, which can be skipped by swiping the screen.

Earlier this week, we reported on Facebook’s intention to start offering mid-roll video ads, and Instagram’s announcement represents Facebook’s intention to increase ad loads in ways that don’t annoy users.  

Here are some implications of the launch:

• Instagram Stories’ audience is growing quickly. Instagram also updated user metrics for Stories, announcing over 150 million daily active users (DAUs) use the feature, up from 100 million DAUs announced in October. The Stories section launched in August, and the growth is staggering considering 50% of Instagram’s 300 million DAUs and 25% of its 600 million MAUs use the new feature after just five months.
• And the feature’s audience could surpass Snapchat’s soon. As a comparison, Snapchat announced 150 million DAUs in September, and Instagram Stories’ DAUs could surpass Snapchat’s total audience in the next few months if it stays on this growth trajectory. Now that Instagram has matched Snap’s user count, the company could lure some of Snapchat’s largest customers away, which could cause investors to be more skittish as Snap prepares for a rumored 2017 IPO.  
• Is Instagram gaining on Snapchat’s cool factor? As of late August, 45% of 18-34 year olds preferred Snapchat Stories to Instagram Stories, compared with only 21% who voted for Instagram Stories over Snapchat, according to a survey conducted by YouGov. However, given the new DAU metrics and recent product upgrades like ability to tag other users, link to webpages, and add Boomerang effects could be keeping younger audiences on Instagram.  
• Brands are popular on Instagram. Nearly 70% of all Instagram users follow a business, and one-third of the most viewed stories on the platform are made by businesses. This is a good indication that Instagram can monetize these brand stories without significantly hindering the user experience. The new ad format is being tested by over 30 clients, including Capital One, Nike and Netflix, with a global rollout due over the next few weeks.  

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on social media demographics that unpacks data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics and preferences are still shifting.

Here are a few of the key takeaways from the report:

• Pinterest has tremendous reach among women. Among US female internet users, 42% reported being on Pinterest in Pew's late-2014 survey, compared to only 13% of men.
• Instagram has become the most important and most-used social network for US teens. 32% of US teenagers cited it as their most important social network in Piper Jaffray's twice-annual teen survey, compared to only 14% saying that of Facebook.
• Snapchat, Vine, and Tumblr had by far the most youthful user bases of the social networks we looked at. 45% of Snapchat's adult users are between 18 and 24, followed by Vine (28%) and Tumblr (28%), according to comScore.
• LinkedIn enjoys high adoption among highly educated and high-income users. LinkedIn is used by 44% of Americans with income of $75,000 or more, according to Pew.
• Messaging apps also have become more broadly popular, but still skew young: 7% of all people in the US aged 12 and older use WhatsApp, according to the Edison Research and Triton Digital survey.
• The aging of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest is more apparent than ever. That's especially true of Facebook: Less than two-fifths of Facebook's adult user base in the US is aged 18 to 34, according to comScore.

In full, the report:

• Looks at overall social networking adoption in the US and globally
• Assesses the most important demographic skews at the top social networks, including Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Tumblr
• Examines the rise of image-sharing social networks like Instagram and Snapchat
• Compares how demographics have changed over time as older social networks have matured

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of social media demographics.