• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Virtual Event Consulting
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
    • Mike Allton, Virtual Event Consultant & Speaker
  • Search
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Virtual Event Consulting
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
    • Mike Allton, Virtual Event Consultant & Speaker
  • Search

Instagram Update Adds SnapChat Capability

You are here: Home / Social Media Articles / Instagram Update Adds SnapChat Capability

December 12, 2013 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 2 minutes

It seems everyone wants a piece of the SnapChat phenomena.

Google recently attempted to outbid Facebook acquire the social startup and was rebuffed, depite offering a King’s ransom for the business, and Twitter has incorporated a similar feature into Direct Messages. And now instead, social giant Facebook has just built their own version. But instead of buying SnapChat or building a new app, they’ve simply added the capability to Instagram. It’s called Instagram Direct, and is availbale via app udpate today.

If you haven’t used SnapChat, or if your kids haven’t shown you, the idea is simple. The app offers an ability to send messages direct to your friends that have an expiration attached to them. Quick notes or images are snapped off and are automatically deleted shirtly thereafter.

Instagram Direct

With Instagram Direct, users can choose to share images or videos with friends and followers, or choose to send them directly to someone specific.

When creating a new image or video post, just switch from FOLLOWERS to DIRECT above the caption field for the post. When DIRECT is selected, you can choose from or search for one of your followers to send it to.

And now, in the upper right corner of Instagram, you’ll see a mailbox icon that will contain all of your sent or received chats. Unlike SnapChat, they won’t expire though. They’ll remain there and like traditional chat conversations, you can reply to your friends and contacts. You can leave a simple text comment, or reply with a new image or video.

What’s the Big Deal?

Instagram is just following the trend and demand for more and more cability and flexibility when it comes to images. With the proliferation of smartphones has come a dramatic increase in picture taking and sharing. But not everyone wants to share every picture to everyone. And since most cell phone plans charge extra for text messages that have images or video attached, being able to upload and share an image and dramatically restrict who can see it is a big deal.

If you use Facebook Lists or Google+ Circles, you can share an image to those platforms and restrict who is capable of seeing it, but that doesn’t ensure they will see it. If you really want to make sure someone sees your image or video, sending it to them directly is the only way. Thanks to yesterday’s Twitter update, you can send someone a direct message that includes an image, and of course you can now use Instagram to send images or 15 second videos. At the same time, Apple and Google have been working to make it easier to send rich media directly to other people using your phone via iOS or Android. But it’s still not easy and more importantly, the process isn’t universal. Most of the current methods have requirements and limitations, but greater proliferation of apps and capabilities will begin to overcome that.

Will you use Instagram Direct? Or are you waiting for the capability to come to different app or platform?

Related

Category: Social Media ArticlesTag: Instagram, SnapChat

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse.

Mike is a Virtual Event Consultant and has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Free Virtual Event Webinar

10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands
Hosted by  Mike Allton
Most people are hesitant to try virtual events because they don’t understand all the benefits. They think it’s just a webinar or a conference call, but there’s so much more that can be done! 10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands is the answer to your questions. In this webinar, Mike Allton will teach you everything you need to know about virtual events. You’ll learn how to make them work for your company and get everyone on board with the idea.

Join The Community!

17 savvy marketers sign up every day to get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « List.ly Unveils Smart Twitter List Management Tool
Next Post: Freelancers Fishing for Work With Social Media »

Primary Sidebar

LISTEN to The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day

Meet Mike

Mike Allton is a Virtual Event Strategist, and an award-winning blogger, speaker, and author at The Social Media Hat, where he has been educating businesses and organizations on the best use of content marketing for reaching and converting target audiences. Mike is proud to serve as the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse, where he builds relationships with influencers and brands around the world.

Since 2012, Mike has has spearheaded hundreds of live shows and virtual events, reaching tens of thousands of potential customers on behalf of represented brands. He has established a reputation for being able to explain complex tools or topics in easy to understand ways, all while bringing a necessary sense of overall brand strategy and business purpose.

Featured Posts

Virtual Event Strategy: How To Rally Resources To Help You

May 25, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Season 01 Episode 04 of the Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

Leverage the Power of Social Media For Your Next Virtual Event

March 6, 2022 //  by Prakash Rawat

Promote your virtual event through social media to inform, engage, and ultimately reach wider audiences.

How To Create Highly Engaging And Memorable Virtual Events

January 30, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Create space for networking opportunities called Magical Moments.

More Like This

  • How To Plan A Virtual Event Successfully
  • How To Make Money With Virtual Events
  • Stay Calm And Virtual Event Plan On

Footer

Recent Posts

  • What is WCAG, and Why is it Important?
  • What Else Can You Do With A Virtual Event Platform?
  • How to Maintain Audience Engagement after a Successful Virtual Event
  • How Do You Determine Virtual Event ROI
  • How To Plan A Virtual Event Successfully
  • How To Make Money With Virtual Events
  • Stay Calm And Virtual Event Plan On
  • How Influencer Marketing Managers Can Stay Efficient in a Competitive Space

Key Topics

Agorapulse Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest Podcast ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Pulse Summit Strategy Tailwind Triberr Twitter Video Vine Virtual Event Plan Virtual Event Planning Virtual Event Speakers Virtual Event Strategy Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Virtual Event Strategy
  • Mike Allton, Virtual Event Consultant & Speaker
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

  • Listen on Apple
  • Listen on Spotify
  • Listen on Amazon
  • Listen on Stitcher
  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing Articles
  • Social Media Tools & Resources
  • Virtual Events Articles
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved