As Snapchat looks for ways to boost revenue potential and re-ignite user growth, the app’s reportedly looking to launch a new option called ‘Stories Everywhere’ which would enable users to post Snaps outside of Snapchat itself.
As reported by Cheddar, the option would effectively make it possible for creators to embed their Snap content on other apps and websites, greatly expanding the potential exposure of Snaps.
Such capacity could help boost appeal with influencers and brands who’ve long raised concerns about the amount of effort required to create Snap content, only to have it disappear completely hours later. With Stories Everywhere, and as with Memories, your Snaps would live on, enabling users to create more comprehensive presences on the app, and drive traffic back to Snapchat.
The move would also be another step away from the app’s ephemeral roots. As noted, Snapchat launched Memories last year, which was the first significant acknowledgement that disappearing content may not hold wide enough appeal for their ambitions. With Memories, you can re-post Snaps, though they do still appear with a date stamp, signifying that they’re not new.
But of course, there are other ways you can work around Snap’s time limits, which many people have been using since the app’s inception – and that, in itself, underlines that disappearing content is not for everyone. Worth noting, too, that Instagram’s also shifting away from temporary content with their Stories option, adding Stories Highlights earlier this month.
And again, brand and influencer content is a key consideration here. While Snap has long maintained that it’s about friends, not businesses – and has notably shunned influencer relationships – as the company looks to the next stage of growth, they will need to re-examine their approach on both fronts.
They’re already taking steps in this direction, expanding their ‘Official Stories’ accounts (effectively Snap verification) to more users, and adding Context Cards to boost business appeal.
‘Stories Everywhere’ would be another evolution on this front, adding another key consideration when determining the potential value of the app within your wider strategy.
Interesting, too, to note that Snapchat’s launching a year in review Story option for users this year, which creates a Story of their Snaps saved to your Memories.
It’s another way to recycle your Snap content, rather than letting it just fade away, and another indicator of their shifting focus on this front.