Instagram has recently rolled out some new features that is finally improving the user experience for accounts.
Here are 4 new features to try out and why you should
1. Link stinker
“... but the primary way that people share with all of their friends on Instagram is now stories, not feed. So we want to make sure we are bringing more ideas to that experience"- Adam Mosseri (head of Instagram).
The link sticker is becoming one of the most popular sticker being used as it was added to replace the swipe up feature. Before this change, only accounts with 10,000 or more followers could use the swipe up feature to add links directly on their story.
For the rest of us, we had to remind followers to click the link in our bio to subscribe to our newsletter, or to go watch a new video we uploaded, read a new blog we posted or to shop a new product. Now the playing field is equal for everyone and for that we thank Instagram for hearing our cries.
Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri mentioned in one of his recent Instagram videos that some reasons for this change also included the following:
stickers are more consistent with the rest of how Instagram works
with the swipe up feature, it was impossible to do replies or reactions and Instagram wanted to make sure users could still have those kinds of interactions from stories.
stickers give users more creative control.
2. Add Yours Sticker
This is a sticker that allows you to post a story with a theme and have other people participate. Some examples are:
1. the last picture in your camera roll
2. a picture of you with 4 different hairstyles
3. your favourite beverage
This new sticker was first tested in Indonesia and Japan and because of the positive feedback, it was brought to the rest of the world.
3. Invite a collaborator
Another new feature that is great for anyone who does collaborations with other Instagram accounts is the "invite a collaborator" feature. This features goes beyond the tag option in that whenever you now make a post on your feed and invite a collaborator, once they accept the invitation, your post will show up on their feed as well.
Some benefits of this are:
your post is now visible on their feed and so any engagement they receive will reflect on your post as the original account
influencers who have a brand deal with a company can not only tag them, but utilize this feature for more reach.
non-profit or grassroots organizations can use this feature when partnering on projects or fundraisers together.
One limitation however is that you can only invite one collaborator at a time so this is best used if the collaboration is between you and one other account.
4. Schedule an Instagram live
You can FINALLY schedule a live on Instagram. Before being able to do this, users would use the "countdown" sticker which allowed their followers to turn on reminders for that specific event. Most accounts would use the countdown timer for a new product launch, special event and so on.
Instagram took it a step further however. Not only can you schedule a live, but you can also share that scheduled live AS A POST. Viewers who see this post on your feed will see a little calendar icon beside it and once they click on it, a "remind me" option comes up.
Check out this video on my Instagram page for a tutorial
If you found this blog post helpful, please share it.
Leave a comment below for future topics you'd like to see me cover about social media