Instagram Stories feature allows users to edit pictures and videos, which will disappear after a certain amount of time. Source: Instagram

In just two months, Instagram Stories has hit 100 million daily active users

INSTAGRAM Stories, the Instagram feature that everybody thought was a ripoff of Snap – formerly known as Snapchat – when it was first rolled out in early August, now has 100 million daily active users. To put that in perspective, Snapchat has just 150 million daily active users globally.

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Instagram founder and CEO Kevin Systrom said that the growing success of Instagram Stories is down to “ephemerality”: the idea of things existing only for a brief amount of time. It sounds overly philosophical for a social media network, but the proof is in the pudding, or rather, in 100 million Instagrammers.

Instagram has the added advantage of having been around for six years, a year more than Snap, as well as garnering an audience of over 500 million monthly active users. The potential for Instagram Stories to become a far bigger success is very real – which is why brands are beginning to sit up and take notice.

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Brands already active on the image-driven social network are not likely to have missed out on this stat. Some of the major companies on Instagram include National Geographic and Nike, who have both amassed over 60 million followers, stand to gain millions of views by using Instagram Stories.

National Geographic is already using the feature to its advantage – by posting up short videos and pictures with texts, they’ve been using it to give viewers an almost first-hand experience of stories they’ve been working on.

national geographic instagram stories

National Geographic’s Instagram Stories. Pic: Instagram

Surprisingly, Nike doesn’t use Instagram Stories – yet. But other international brands like Asos, and even local brands like HappyFresh in Malaysia are using the tool to engage their audiences.

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HappyFresh, a grocery delivery company based in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, uses the tool to show the inner workings of the company as well as alert users to quick-fire deals and discounts on its online store – which is great when you want people to view your Stories every day so they don’t miss a bargain.

Even software providers like Salesforce, which makes CRM and cloud computing products, are utilizing Instagram Stories. Most recently, they’ve used the tool to highlight a corporate social responsibility (CSR) effort, in which they join AIDS awareness organization RED to raise funds for the cause.

With companies using Instagram’s tool in so many different ways, Instagram users have tons of content to choose from – not that the same can’t be said for Snapchat, but there’s something about the way Instagram Stories works that can feel more accessible and straightforward. There are no dog filters or face swappers in Instagram’s version, but perhaps that’s best used by friends rather than brands.