Instagram Stories has hit the 250 million daily users milestone and in doing so, taken a wider lead against Snapchat, which averages 166 million daily users.
Instagram Stories is growing at a rate of 25% per quarter, while Snapchat Stories growth is declining (17.2% in Q2 2016 to 5% in Q1 2017). Instagram is continually looking to expand their features, recently adding the ability to share completed live streams to your story for 24 hours if you chose.
Social Media analytics company Delmondo found that the engagement with Snapchat Stories this June compared to the same timeframe in 2016 experienced a 50% decline in engagement across 50,000 stories posted by a variety of brands, publishers, and influencers. Snapchat is now differentiating themselves from other platforms by highlighting the fact 60 percent of interactions on the platform are between close friends., according to a Snap-commissioned study by research firm Sparkler. This is a stark contrast with Instagram, where users are increasingly seeking to engage with a larger audience outside their direct network of friends and family.
