Instagram make some of their most significant changes to date….
With just over 800 million users, Instagram has become one of the most used social media platforms out there and they’re about to implement some of their biggest changes to date. Stay ahead of the game by reading on to find out more about how this will affect business uses of the platform….
Instagram scheduling
This is arguably the most significant announcement Instagram have made in recent times and will make a world of difference to marketers.
The new API will allow for on-platform native scheduling; business accounts will have the option and ease of scheduling pots through the API or through third-party social media management software such as Hootsuite, just like in the case of Facebook and Twitter for example.
Gone are the days of having to set an alarm to push the ‘publish’ button for clients – your social media management will be streamlined and all major platforms can be managed in Hootsuite.
Carousel Ads for Instagram Stories
Carousel ads have significantly high click-through rates, conversion rates and engagement rates and now they are available for Instagram Stories.
Stories Ads can now have a maximum of 3 slides of different media that includes videos and images; it has not yet been released beyond a select few names such as Coca-Cola but it will not be long before it enters the wider spectrum. Get ahead by looking up the best practices and for when the time comes….
Stories Alert feature: Secretly testing?
This will affect users more than brands: there is a rumour in the air that Instagram are currently testing an alert feature that informs users if someone has taken a screenshot of their Stories – bye bye stalkers!
From a business point of view, it could be useful to know if someone has screenshotted a piece of content like a blog post or social ad as you may be able to target these users as potential leads, seeing as they have taken in interest in your business.
Increased flexibility in Stories
You can currently only post images and videos to Stories if they fit the exact dimensions (16:9). This is set to change, as users will be able to post videos and images of any size to Stories and this includes landscape and square aspect content. New to Instagram and stuck for ideas about how to use Stories in a business context? Create mini articles with the several pages now available to you, create a ‘day in the life of your business’ collage, or even tease a puzzle that can reveal itself over a period of days to build anticipation with your followers – here’s an example Ariana Grande recently cooked up:
HookedOnMedia run Instagram campaigns for a range of clients across many different sectors and our social media managers have an in-depth knowledge of the platform, staying ahead of the latest changes and trends. Contact us today if you’re looking to boost your presence on social media platforms.
