The fall of Snapchat

Social media is a strange world. Once you think you have finally figured one platform out, another one emerges. And while the new outlets are taking over, the old ones are quickly being forgotten about and are ultimately being left to fall into extinction. The big three platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) are always going to be there, but the smaller platforms are forced to come up with new and innovative ways to keep their users engaged otherwise they will quickly be left behind.

It wasn’t long ago where it seemed that Snapchat was the newest and hottest app/social media platform out there and brands were looking to do whatever it took to start to develop their voice on there. It was a unique platform as there was nothing else like it. The idea was simple yet effective: Find a new way for friends to talk with each other while also having messages disappear after a span of ten seconds. The edition of stories added another element that made the platform stand out above the rest. When all of the millennials flocked to the platform, many corporations did the same as they looked to keep this demographic interested in what their company had to offer.

While the effort was put in from the brands, it wasn’t necessarily reciprocated by Snapchat. Coming from the sports industry myself, I have heard and seen stories of professional sports teams trying to partner with Snapchat as they look to grew their presence only to be turned away or completely ignored by the platform. A recent article by digiday.com spoke with a Snapchat executive who told the write that Snapchat “Was a platform for friends, not brands.” Maybe it’s just me, but those don’t sound like the words you should be telling several companies that are paying you a fair amount of money.

While the organizations continued to use Snapchat in order to keep up with the current trends, the way they were treated was not forgotten and it was only a matter of time before another company would come around and create the newest social media platform, or at least that’s we thought. No one could have guessed that an already established platform would be the one to take down Snapchat.

Instagram rolled out their own version of stories in 2016 and it was initially met with negative feedback. They didn’t take Snapchat’s idea and try to switch it, they copied it to a tee, minus a few additions such as location stamps. However, Snapchat did nothing to combat the new competition and Instagram would slowly roll out new features almost every week. As time passed, more users became bored with Snapchat and decided to post their stories onto Instagram. The trend grew and brands followed suit all of a sudden, Snapchat were the ones that found themselves trying to keep with Instagram, however it was and is too late now.

Just a few days ago, Snapchat fell behind their IPO price which leaves investors terrified and is forcing the executives of Snapchat to try to come up with some new ideas. However, the only thing about Snapchat that people are talking about is the new dancing hot dog filter. Instagram will never be the communication tool that Snapchat is which should help Snap stick around for a bit later, but then again, we never thought that Instagram would make stories either.