Instagram stories vs web stories

When talking about story content, people often confuse web stories with Instagram stories. While the two are similar, they cannot be used interchangeably as there are some notable differences. Furthermore, if you plan on using story content for your marketing, you need to know when to use Instagram stories vs web stories. So, let's take a more in-depth look into Instagram stories, web stories and their intended use.

Main differences between web stories and Instagram stories

If you plan on running a content-based marketing campaign, you need to make good use of both web stories and Instagram stories. While they are fairly similar when it comes to content type, each of the servers has a different purpose. The most notable between them differences are:

24-hour expiration

No matter what your Instagram stories are like, they can only remain on your profile for 24 hours. Once their time is up, you can either reupload them or choose to upload a different story. Meanwhile, web stories can remain active and visible for as long as you like.

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Platform dependency

Instagram stories are platform dependant. This means that you can only post them on Instagram and that you cannot repost them on different platforms. On the other hand, web stories are platform-independent. Therefore, you can post and promote them on any platform you see fit.

Ease of creation

Instagram stories are fairly simple to create. You simply install the Instagram app on your phone, and with a couple of clicks, you are done. Meanwhile, Web stories are usually a bit more complicated. While they give you more freedom, they do require a bit more work and skill in order to look good. Platforms like StorifyMe make creating web stories easier. But, you can hardly beat the simplicity of Instagram.

Device friendliness

While you can view Instagram stories on any device, they are most suited for mobile. After all, Instagram was created with mobile devices in mind. Web stories, on the other hand, can be tailor-made for any device you see fit. You can even make different versions of your stories so that they are more suitable for different devices.

SEO and SERP

This is, arguably, the main point to remember when it comes to marketing. Namely, your Instagram stories don't affect your SEO results. Nor can they appear in your SERP. If you want to tackle SEO you need to utilize web stories, which you can letter showcase in SERP.

When to use Instagram stories vs web stories

If you don't have much marketing experience you may think that you should only focus on web stories. After all, once you consider the differences, web stories seem like a straightforward choice. But, as we mentioned before, both Instagram stories and web stories have a role to play. And the better you understand their respective roles, the better you'll be able to optimize your marketing efforts.

Using Instagram stories

With over 1.3 billion users, it is fair to say that Instagram is quite popular. Out of those users, you have around 200 million business accounts. Therefore, if you wish to have a decent online presence, you really ought to consider creating an Instagram account.

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Instagram stories can serve as a great way to gain a new audience. One of the many reasons why story content is so effective is that it is bite-sized, easy to understand and oriented around fun. So, if you can manage to promote your brand via short, fun stories, Instagram is the platform to use. Instagram allows you to put links in your stories, which means that you can easily use them to drive traffic to your website. Furthermore, since Instagram stories are fairly easy to create, you won't have to invest many resources in designing them. Of course, quality shows, even with relatively short content like Instagram stories. But, when compared to other types of content, Instagram stories are far easier to create and post. If you are still searching for your style of brand storytelling, Instagram stories can be a great testing ground.

Using web stories

A good way to look at web stories is as a more robust, more weighted version of Instagram stories. A good web story can do wonders for your online presence and your SEO ranking. You can use a web story to tell a much more in-depth tale about your brand and showcase your company in an engaging way. When creating it, you can use interactive elements, animations, video and audio content, as well as text blocks to push the message you deem worthy. And if you manage you design your web story properly, it will be much more engaging than even a top-notch blog post.

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While all this is true, you can hardly hope to create such stories on a regular basis. Good web stories take time to create, design and promote. Therefore, they tend to be a much more costly investment than your Instagram story. If you do plan on using them, we suggest that you first promote the core ideas of your company through web stories. This will not only familiarize you with the web story design but will also help your audience understand what your company is about.

Conclusion

A good marketing manager uses all the tools at their disposal. From relatively simple social media posts to robust SEO management tactics. So, if you plan on developing a marketing strategy for your company, you need to keep all the available tools in mind. When comparing Instagram stories vs web stories try to focus on what your company needs most. That way you can focus your resources on the vital aspects and ensure that your marketing efforts are effective.