Are you looking to learn more about some of the recent changes you’ve seen on Instagram? Have you been curious about what updates are to come?
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
We’re here to keep you in the loop on all of the recent updates that Instagram has made. These new features have the potential to benefit your small business’s social media marketing, so stay tuned for all the details!
TikTok has a new competitor and it's called Instagram Reels.
In case you have yet to be bombarded with these videos on your feed or explore page, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to using the new Reels feature.
Reels offer Instagram users a 15-second time limit to create multi-clip videos that can include audio, effects and other creative tools.
These Reels videos can be featured in your personal feed as well as the Instagram Explore page to bring more exposure to your content and your personal page!
With the growing popularity of these quick videos, your business is offered another new and innovative avenue for getting the word out about your products and services, or to simply stay relevant by joining in on different trends.
So, take this chance to stay ahead of the curve, and more importantly, your competitors!
As you may know by now, video content like this and so much more can benefit your business immensely. Give this podcast a listen to learn more.
That’s right, you can set up donation campaigns on your Instagram page!
The platform is currently equipped for users to set up Personal Fundraisers and while the causes for these campaigns can vary dramatically across the platform, they can be a great outlet for small business recovery!
With a strong network of loyal customers, many businesses are using this as an outlet to begin recovering from hardships, especially those brought on by COVID-19.
Any fundraiser efforts must be set up through your profile and then be put through an approval process. To learn more about the details, click here.
Instagram has updated its requirements for users to sell their products on the platform.
No need to fear though, these changes are making your business’s eligibility to sell products on the platform even easier and more reliable!
More businesses and creators will now be eligible to use shopping tags on their Instagram photos thanks to this update. Not only that, but a more refined process in purchasing products will be used to build consistency and credibility.
Under Instagram’s new policy, businesses need at least one eligible product to use these shopping tags. In addition to this, to build trust and consistency for customers on the platform, Instagram now asks that potential and current seller’s shopping tags be connected to the singular website that they run, own and sell products from.
With this refined and reliable process running, more small businesses will have the chance to build back and grow their customer base through social media!
Facebook also recently set up new shopping capabilities on the platform. Get more information on this by reading one of our latest blogs on the topic.
Going along with the previous update, Instagram has built out a page exclusive to customer shopping preferences and interests.
In case you haven’t already seen it, the feature is accessible from the user’s explore page, listed as a tab called Shop, just below the search bar.
Housed in this tab is a catalog of brands and products that are personalized based on the pages a user currently follows. It is also curated to feature new products and brands a user may enjoy.
According to Instagram, the best way for a business to be featured on this page is to be consistent with tagging products in their content and by creating collections of their products on their page.
If you are looking to learn more about how to create a collection for your products on your Instagram page, click here.
We’re not sure about you, but one feature we love on Twitter is the option to pin tweets to the top of your page. This is a great way to bring more exposure to an important tweet on your feed.
Instagram is now offering something similar, but it is for the comments on a user’s photo.
Have you ever found a comment from one of your followers to be insightful, funny or simply worth sharing? Well, now you have the chance to give it the spotlight it deserves by pinning it!
When you pin a comment, it will be featured at the top of the list of comments that are left on a photo. This feature can be applied to up to three comments on a single photo and it also allows for those chosen comments to be featured below the photo before a user is prompted to View all comments.
Make sure to give this pinning a try so you can bring more eyes to the comments you enjoy the most!
While the digital marketing world continues to evolve, Instagram appears to be evolving with it, and to the benefit of small, local businesses!
Consider these growing features yet another reason to be present, active and relevant on this innovative platform. This is a great representation of your small business’s ability to adapt and stay ahead of trends.
You can only have a strong presence on Instagram when you have a proper background on everything that makes Instagram the social media powerhouse that it is.
Make sure to brush up on other important Instagram-related information by reading these blogs:
Anne Karasarides, Content Contributor
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