5 Instagram Updates You Need To Know About

Despite the New Year feeling like it was last week, we’ve completed the first quarter of 2019 and all the social media platforms have been hard at work upgrading their websites and apps. For Instagram, this is no different and the world’s largest picture-based platform is making changes that could affect businesses as well as the average user.

In truth, there has been a number of changes already in 2019 so we’re going to focus on the ones most applicable to our readers. Since Instagram is so important for businesses and marketers these days, you need to pay attention to these changes to maximize your efficiency on the platform.

1. Instagram Live Titles

For those who are trying to appeal to their audience in different ways, you’ll know that Instagram Live offers a brilliant opportunity. Rather than simply posting pictures, you can provide real insights, behind-the-scenes videos, and live interactions with Q&As and events.

In the future, the feature is about to improve with an opportunity to add titles to your live streams. Although in somewhat of a testing phase right now, this could be a brilliant asset for businesses. Since the addition of Instagram Live, this has been an aspect clearly missing for viewers. With no titles or descriptions, people will do one of two things:

• Ignore the stream completely
• Take a risk and join the stream

For the rare few that did take a risk, they may have been disappointed while refusing to click on streams in the future. Considering the Live feature is such a brilliant opportunity to engage and share with an audience, this was a sad situation.

If titles are rolled out universally, brands can play with them and tell passing visitors EXACTLY what the stream will offer. Is it an insight into the office? Is the lead developer of a product answering questions? Are there a couple of employees at a hotly-anticipated event?

2. Native InstaCheckout

When attempting to sell products online, we need to reach out to as many of the target market as possible. This is something with which the Shopping feature has helped on Instagram. Since the introduction, businesses have been able to tag products in images. If followers see something they like, they can click the link and get taken straight to the product page on the brand’s website.

Just when we thought this was enough, they seem to have looked to Pinterest for inspiration with a new native checkout feature. In our opinion, this could be the biggest change of the year for businesses. Rather than having to leave the platform to make a purchase, consumers will have an opportunity to checkout on the Instagram app itself.

In a world with growing competition, it’s always advantageous to make it easier for consumers to buy products. With customers able to buy without leaving the app, they’ll feel motivated to do so because it doesn’t feel like a chore. Often, customers think ‘I’ll have a look at that later’; unfortunately, ‘later’ never comes.

As we know, consumers seem to trust Instagram more than other social media platforms which makes InstaCheckout even more valuable. Suddenly, consumers don’t have to take risks, and they have the might of Instagram on their side if something happens to go wrong with the order.

Currently, this is in testing with a handful of retailers. This is normal, and history tells us that it will be rolled out further if the test is successful.

3. IGTV Updates

Of the five updates we have in this guide, the upgrade for IGTV is perhaps the most expected. Despite the high hopes that everyone seemed to have for IGTV, it hasn’t exactly captured the imagination of users. Instead of wanting long-form content, it seems Instagram users are more interested in the short and sweet Instagram Stories.

In today’s fast-paced world, you wouldn’t blame Instagram for ditching the idea completely. However, they’re sticking with it and they’ve even promised efforts to offer users a more enjoyable experience.

If you visit the IGTV section, you might just notice some changes from last year. With some similarities to the Discover page on Snapchat, the theme of watching whatever comes up seems to have disappeared. Instead, IGTV has an emphasis on finding content applicable to the user. For brands, this is a positive because it may just improve visibility.

As long as the user shows some interest, they will stay on the channel longer. As the whole feature grows, the instant loss of interest that seems to exist right now should fade away.

Of course, the platform also allows profiles to share previews of their content on IGTV. If this can grab the attention of those who pass by, they can click the video, get sent to the second app, and watch the videos in full.

In the coming months, we recommend sticking with IGTV for your long-form content. Even if you haven’t seen the rewards just yet, this could change in the near future and having a back catalog for users will be something that not everyone can offer.

4. Influencer Campaign Expansion

If you’re not working with an influencer, you could be missing out for a number of reasons. With the right influencer, you can get exposure to thousands of people, boost the reputation of the brand, and push yourself ahead of the competition.

If you do work with an influencer, there’s good news in this Instagram update because campaign options are expanding. For example, we could soon have branded content ads which will allow your business to sponsor specific posts by the influencer themselves. From here, brands can promote the post just as they would with their own.

Currently, we have the Paid Partnership content tagging system and the update is almost an extension of this.

Read More: Does Influencer Marketing Actually Work?

Why the change? For all social media platforms, there has been an emphasis on transparency recently. With these additions, the idea is that consumers understand exactly which celebrities and influencers work with which brands. Also, brands can utilize this transparency and keep promoting posts further.

In terms of potential release dates for this expansion, the industry is in the dark slightly. Rather than being found by code hackers or being spotted natively, the information regarding this update was announced at a conference. If history is anything to go by, we might have to wait some time before this is rolled out. Still, it’s yet another sign that Instagram is working hard to improve the experience for businesses.

5. Direct Messaging Online

As our final Instagram update you need to know, we have the potential addition of direct messaging online. While this might not seem exciting on the surface because this feature has been available on the app for some time, it could be an important step for the integration of Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp — something that has been teasing the industry since the New Year.

If rumors are to be believed, the three direct messaging platforms could soon blend into one. This might still be some time away from fruition, but the addition of direct messaging online shows that Facebook is testing the waters with what can be achieved with direct messaging.

Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen a definite shift to desktops for Instagram and this feature will provide brands with yet more opportunities to reach out to other businesses and consumers. Could we finally get direct/private messaging on the dashboard of platforms like Hootsuite with an API?

Either way, we think this feature could be an excellent one and it’s exciting to see huge brands like Instagram listening to their audience and continually considering improvements and upgrades that boost user experience.

Bonus Update

In case you haven’t noticed, Facebook has made fundraising a key element of the platform recently…could Instagram be about to do the same? It has been reported that brands could be offered a ‘Donation’ sticker where fundraisers are easy to create and maintain; this makes it easier for businesses to raise money for nonprofits of their choice.

When setting up the fundraiser, users can select a charity they follow or search for one especially. With the Donation sticker, people who visit the page will be encouraged to donate to the cause. Once again, we return to the positive reputation Instagram has and they are using this power for good with this feature. Hopefully, people trust the platform and the pages involved and give money to those in need.

If your brand is heavily involved with a charity, this feature will allow you to spread the message and engage followers in the story.

Read More: Brand Building 101

Conclusion

With this, we have five Instagram updates (and a bonus one) that have either been introduced or are in the planning phase for 2019. If you’re on top of these changes, it’s possible to engage consumers and have a successful year on the platform.