Dive Brief:
- Instagram’s new Stories feed will use an algorithm that's driven by Facebook data, an Instagram spokesperson told Marketing Land.
- Based on engagement data from Facebook and Instagram, the algorithm will order Stories according to how likely users are to check them out.
- Snapchat's Stories feed is shown in reverse-chronological order. Instagram only shows five Stories in its feed, meaning that an algorithm "should mitigate [the] possibility" that the feed will inadvertently hide the most interesting stories, Marketing Land points out.
Dive Insight:
Facebook and Instagram are taking on Snapchat with Stories, and the companies are using their most powerful resource – data – in order to make that feature a success. With a combined monthly active user base of over 2 billion, Facebook and Instagram's social data could give it a leg up over Snapchat.
Algorithmic feeds help social media platforms maintain control over the user experience in their apps, especially as social platforms shift toward a pay-for-play advertising model. While Snapchat's Stories feed appears in reverse-chronological order, Instagram's new algorithm will help surface the most interesting Stories to users, giving Instagram Stories a better chance to win over first-time users. However, Snapchat has been developing an algorithm for its feed, sources told Digiday in May.
An algorithmically-driven Stories will be more attractive for marketers than a simple chronological Stories feed. But for now, Instagram won't place any ads in its Stories feed, unlike Snapchat. If the feature pans out with users, Instagram could then add advertising to the feed.
