Everyone loves drama, and the more convoluted it gets the better. You would think drama would stay within the realm of mean girls. With their pouty lips, bright nail polish, and crappy attitudes. Ready to jump down the throat of anyone who threatens their perch at the top of the social hierarchy group they belong to. But, mean girls can’t have all the fun, and this is where Twitter and Instagram enter the fold. With just as much ferociousness, and petty traffic rerouting.
For those who aren’t aware, Instagram has dropped support for Twitter cards, which is what allows Instagram photos to be viewed within Twitter’s newsfeed. Oh snap! Here’s a quick recap of how things “used” to be:
Twitter users used to see Instagram photos within Twitter’s interface. Now, Twitter users have to click through to Instagram to view Instagram photos. Previously, Instagram was driving traffic to Twitter via photo content. Now Twitter is driving traffic to Instagram, because content is now living in the Instagram environment.
What’s strange is that one would think this significantly altered experience would hurt Instagram substantially, but the only one who seems to be hurting is Twitter. When you look at the breakdown for engagement for the top 100 brands on Instagram, you can see that Instagram partnering with Facebook was actually the smartest way to go, and if your company had to choose between promoting itself on Twitter, or Facebook — the choice would be obvious. Especially when engagement with brands on Instagram grew by 35% over the past 3 months, and follower count grew by 41% in the same time frame.
However, this doesn’t mean that Twitter is completely out of the photo game, and the platform still has plenty of positive attributes. It will take an extra step, but you can upload the photo to Instagram and share to Facebook as usual. Then, you can upload the same photo to Twitter, and use their in-app photo service to share your photos – #doublefilter anyone? Then continue to track all of your efforts as usual.
It was bound to happen, social partnerships running aground and ruining it for the rest of us (and making the user take an extra step in their sharing cycle). Platforms are constantly evolving, and have to focus their product on the best ways to engage their own user base. Twitter may be suffering in terms of Instagram photo engagement, but we’re sure they’re working on a way to solve this. Better filter options, borders, and social sharing functions would be a great place to start. Hipstamatic could be an awesome collaboration if they’re willing – hint, hint.
via: DNA