It hasn’t been long since Instagram launched Stories to compete with Snapchat. But in that short period of time, Instagram Stories accrued more than 250 million daily users. That’s astonishing compared to the 173 million daily active Snapchat users, which took years to build.

Instagram Stories tops our social media trends for 2018 list because of the sheer engagement numbers it posts. For example, 1 in 5 organic Instagram Stories from brands see at least one direct message from a consumer. That’s a huge potential for engagement through a somewhat new medium.

The push for “ephemeral” video content (content that lasts a short period of time before disappearing) is continuing to grow for social platforms. And surprisingly, Instagram is leading the way for brands to get more messages through the app.

In fact, the average time spent on Instagram per day grew to 28 minutes since the launch of Stories. That’s roughly 7 to 13 minutes longer than time ranges collected just before Stories. However, users aren’t only ones participating. Instagram has more than 1 million advertisers actively using Stories each month.

For businesses, it’s essential to reach these users where they spend their time. It’s not only smart to understand the in’s and out’s of Instagram Stories, but to be proactive in including it within your social strategies.

But it’s not only the ability to send ephemeral content attracting Instagram users, it’s the in-platform messaging and communication features as well. There are more than 375 million monthly active users communicating via Instagram Direct.

Users love the ability to chat back and forth within photos and videos. This limits the need for texts or public comments. Marketers should expect this trend to continue to rise.