Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram introduced Stories in August in an apparent shot at Snap Inc.’s own Snapchat Stories feature. Now it looks like the move worked.  

Since launching, Instagram Stories has attracted more than 200 million daily users. While the company doesn’t specify the breakdown of these numbers between creators and people simply viewing other people’s Stories, Snap will definitely be feeling the pressure. According to Snap’s initial public offering documents filed in February, its Snapchat app has 158 million daily active users as of Dec. 31.

According to a survey completed by marketing firm Fluent in February, nearly half of all American adults think that Snapchat is “just a fad,” while 62 percent of existing Snapchat users believe that a better app will come out that they will use instead of Snapchat. Could this be Instagram Stories?

It’s possible, according to eMarketer Principal Analyst Cathy Boyle. “If Instagram already has a strong foothold in key advertising markets worldwide and the adoption of Stories continues to grow among that user base, that will make it harder for Snapchat to differentiate itself and attract users in those markets,” she said in a report on eMarketer.

To keep its growing numbers happy and stay competitive with Snapchat, Instagram has introduced some new updates for Stories, features that are once again very similar to ones found in Snapchat.

To get access to these Instagram updates you need to download the iOS app, version 10.16, from the App Store or the Android app, version 10.16.1, from the Play Store.

Pin selfie stickers to specific spots in the video

Instagram’s new selfie sticker feature lets users capture what the company terms “mini-selfies,” turn them into stickers and pin them to random places in the video to capture their reaction to a specific segment of the video. The selfie sticker feature also allows a user to trade faces with another person, or object, in the video, a feature similar to one used by Snapchat.

To add a selfie sticker, take a photo or video > tap the sticker icon (smiley face) > tap the new sticker with a camera icon > capture your “mini-selfie.”

Tip: Before or after capturing your “mini-selfie,” you can tap the sticker to select different frame styles.  

Once you are happy with your “selfie sticker” you can apply it to your post, adjust the size of the sticker or use it with a combination of other creative tools offered by the app, like special effects, filters and stickers.

You can also pin your sticker to a specific place in your video. To pin your sticker, tap and hold the selfie sticker > scroll through the video using the slider bar at the bottom of the screen until you have the specific location > move the sticker then tap Pin.

You can pin multiple items in the same video and it also works in Boomerang and hands-free video.

Note: The Boomerang feature allows users to take a burst of photos that loops forward and backward. While the hands-free feature allows users to record a video without having to tap and hold.

You can also pin text to a specific location in your video. To pin text, tap the text icon (Aa icon) > add your text > tap and hold the text sticker > scroll through the video using the slider bar at the bottom of the screen until you have the specific location > move the text then tap Pin.

More geosticker options

Last month, Instagram introduced geostickers for New York City and Jakarta. As part of this update, Instagram has added four new cities, including Chicago, London, Madrid and Tokyo, to its geosticker collection. All the geostickers have been designed by local community artists. Tap the sticker to learn more about the artist and their artwork.

If you are in New York City, Jakarta, Chicago, London, Madrid or Tokyo, tap the sticker icon. Instagram will show you geostickers based on your current location, which are shown at the top of the sticker collection. Tap the relevant geosticker to add it to your photo or video.

Tip: Different geostickers may appear when you are in a specific neighborhood of one of these cities or at one its main landmarks.  

You can adjust the size and placement of the geosticker and add as many as you want to your photo or video. Like the customizable location stickers, people watching your Instagram Story can tap on the geosticker to view more details on the location page.

In addition to the above features, Instagram has also introduced a shortcut to a user’s recently used stickers. Tap the smiley face icon > swipe right to see recently used stickers.  

When using hands-free mode, users can now tap and hold the button to show a timer that counts down to when the video begins.

Source: Instagram Help Center

Image: Instagram