Instagram Stories change and become more like Reels. The new platform update extends their duration: let’s find out all the details. The Instagram developer team never stops. Insiders are always looking for new solutions to make the user experience on the platform as pleasant as possible, to facilitate the work of influencers and creators, and encourage subscriptions on the social network.
Among the most popular features of Instagram are the Stories, which remain visible for only 24 hours and are one of the formats most appreciated by users, especially those who want to communicate immediately with their audience. For this reason, the platform has decided to give them further relevance and, through an update, to improve them.
Instagram Stories, What They Are, And Why They Are Appreciated
Competition in the field of social networks is becoming more and more pressing. The platforms are constantly releasing new features to increase the number of subscribers and prevent users from choosing other solutions on the web. Even Instagram, one of the most popular social networks, tries to stay up to date and offer increasingly enjoyable navigation and the possibility for influencers to create captivating content in the simplest possible way.
Among the most popular features are the stories. This content remains visible for only 24 hours and consists of short vertical videos or images. In the stories, you can add stickers, texts, filters, effects, and many other elements that allow users to vent their imagination and creativity. Instagram has decided to give further importance to video content and to update the stories with a fascinating novelty for those who create content and for all users who love to entertain themselves on the platform.
Instagram Stories And How They Have Changed
Since their debut on the platform, the stories of Instagram have had a characteristic that distinguished them from other formats: the short duration. Videos could be up to 15 seconds long, after which they were cut. With the new update, there is a radical change. The duration of the stories changes and is tripled. Users can now create content of up to 60 seconds uninterrupted.
The tests, which were conducted on a small circle of subscribers to the social network, were successful. The possibility of creating longer videos in the stories was extended to everyone. The novelty has been warmly welcomed by most users, both in the ranks of creators and in those viewers, but there are also some criticisms: the greater length of the stories makes them less distinguishable from the Reels.
The Differences Between The Stories And The Reels
The differences between the two formats are not few; both formal and substantive. Let’s see them together.
Format And Duration
In Stories, you can upload/create a photo or video of 15 seconds maximum. In the Reels, only video and up to 30 seconds (I don’t rule out it can go up to 60 seconds like Tik Tok).
Longevity
The stories last up to 24 hours (ok, you can highlight them), the Reels, on the other hand, last forever and have a special section in each profile (see mine, for example, @techglobalonline; the area is created after you have completed your first Reel).
Distribution
The Stories are distributed only in the “Stories” at the top of the feed, while the Reels are in the meal, the profile gallery, the Explore section, and the Stories.
Sponsorship
Stories can be sponsored in “dark” and “organic.” The Reels are not yet, but we play the shirt that might be there soon.
Methods Of Creation And Use
Stories are “faster” content both in creation and in fruition. On the other hand, the Reels need more in-depth preparation … I don’t mean an actual script and storyboard, but at least a plot and a thought on how to record.
Purpose
The Stories and Reels of Instagram have different purposes: thanks also to the many stickers, the Stories have a higher rate of interaction and involvement; thanks instead to the algorithm and the novelty effect, the Reels have more significant results in terms of coverage and growth of the profile.
Conclusions: Extended Live Team Play
Precisely the last point must make us reflect that we must not choose a tool, but both should be used: the Reels to make the profile new and make it grow and the Stories to entertain, involve, and above all, convert the new followers (and also the old ones, obviously).
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