In the past year or so, Instagram has been facing a lot of hate when it came to adding Insta Stories (myself included) in the app, or not showing posts in a chronological order. And still people love it. Why? Simple, community.
A vast majority of people got angry at Instagram for adding the stories part as their counterpart Snapchat does, but let’s face it, Instagram did it a lot better. Why? ‘Cause you have a community to share it with, and adding different aspects, such as: location, links or hashtags can get you different levels of viewing. Many people even quit posting on Snapchat, just because it was easier on Instagram, their community was already there. Nowadays statistics show that over 300 million users use the story feature on a daily basis.
Now, fast forward a few months, a new app is set to bring Instagram on its knees and make them regret their algorithmic change. The app Vero – True Social, is setting to be the next Instagram. It has around 3 million downloads, even though it has been on the market for 3 years already. What happened? It basically became a response for those frustrated with Instagram and their recent decisions.
Let’s see why Vero is so popular, shall we?
1.It was created out of frustration.
Many users complain constantly about the usability of Instagram, yet the company seems to be ignoring or even actively avoiding the issues. The features Vero holds are new and exciting as in sharing all different types of interests and doesn’t hold restraints on customers, such as sharing links which is only available to users with more than 10K followers (frustrating, right?). Or showing you other people’s posts in a chronological order.
2. It has been promoted by many online influencers.
They are present on the platform and ask for their communities to come and join them as well. That might seem normal, but most of the influencers are not even that active on Vero comparing to their other social media accounts.
3. The app has a great design.
I have to admit it, I drooled a little when I first saw it, It is indeed beautiful and gives you a sense of high tech futuristic app. Everything seems so smooth and in place, I just love it!
An important detail is the fact that there are no ads (omg!) therefore the social space seems more clean and friendly. But, sad news are on the horizon. Apparently only the first few millions club get to use the app for free. It has been announced already that future users might be asked to pay a small amount in order to use the app or to not see ads.
To be honest, I wouldn’t pay. None of the less ads are made with the purpose to inform audiences about products and services plus companies gotta eat too. Another reason is that social apps are free and you pay only for extra features that the general mass of users doesn’t even know or care about.
I have tried Vero myself, and I am not getting the hype of it. The interface is beautifully design and the fact that I can add reviews for movies, songs or books is definitely a plus. But, there is no one there, the community is not there. I know the app had thousands of downloads in the past week or so, but people don’t interact or use the app so frequently, because their friends and family-the audience, are not there to listen or to see their posts.
Does it affect Instagram?
In my humble opinion, no. Just because Instagram has built its audience in time and through something more than just a photo sharing app, a community. And after 1 week of heavy using Vero, you would still go back to Instagram everyday to DM your friends, share stories or post photos.
Yes, Instagram might have some issues on how it handles (or ignores) complaints from users, but still the app has features that people love and use everyday. (You can even add gifs in stories now!) And let’s remember that there’ve been many occasions when new apps were set to be the “new Instagram”.
From how I see things, I believe that Vero got a skyrocketing start, but might die fast if they don’t emphasize on the benefits of the app to the people-using-smartphones mass. On the other hand, Instagram might come up in the near future with new updates or even take over the idea that Vero had. Remember what happened to Snapchat?
How much do you bet on the idea that Instagram might include sharing books/movies/songs reviews or other Vero features in their stories soon?
