Recent Instagram Updates You Should Know About

As a top digital marketing agency in Gurgaon, we always keep up with the latest trends and updates in the market. 

Instagram is an ever-changing, ever-improving entity. Every few months a new update, a new feature or a new design is introduced. These updates can affect how users interact with the app, the ranking of published content, how much power users have over what they are seeing, and so many other aspects of the Instagram experience. In the first five months of this year over a dozen new changes were made to the app. 

Here’s a list of the most prominent updates Instagram has brought to the table this year. 

Features that have been introduced in the market:

1. Product tagging now for all

• Product tags have been around for a while but only brands and creators could use them till now. This has changed since April. Now the product tag feature is available to all users with public accounts. 

• So, whenever a person publishes an image or video of themself, they can tag the clothes, shoes, food products, art supplies, or any other product that is visible in the post. This will make it easier for influencers to tell what the products of the brand(s) they are collaborating with are.

• Moreover, as word of mouth and influencer recommendations are one of the most trusted forms of advertisement, this will be advantageous to brands. Consumers will be able to access the products they see their friends, family, and favourite influencer using or endorsing instantly.    

2.  90-second reels

Reels can now be longer than 60 seconds. Users now have the option of making 90-second long reels. 

3. Favorites and Following     

Instagram brought back the chronological view in March. Along with it came the options to see your feed in the Favorites or the Following views. To choose which view you want for your feed, tap on Instagram which appears on the top left of your home screen. Then you will be given the two options to choose from.   

• Favorites will show you posts from the accounts that you have chosen as your favorites. You can choose which friends, relatives, and influencers' posts you really want to see every time you come back to Instagram.  

• Following shows you posts from accounts that you follow. 

Features still in the testing phase:

1. Pinned posts

• Instagram will soon be releasing the pin post feature. With this, users will be able to pin their own posts to the top of their photo grids. A ‘Pin to your profile’ option will be visible to accounts that will have access to this feature. 

• This feature will help creators and brands to highlight important announcements, achievements, and their best posts for the amount of time they wish to keep them pinned. 

• Pinning is already available to users of Facebook, Twitter and TikTok and Instagram will soon be joining the list.

2. Enhanced tags

• Getting credit for what you do is always important. Instagram’s new undertrial enhanced tags aim to provide a better solution for the age-old problem of giving creators due credit for the work they do.

• Creators will be able to give themselves a self-designated category. After they have created these categories, whenever someone tags them in a post, video or reel, both their username and category will appear in the tag.

• With enhanced tags, it will be easy for people to identify what kind of work a creator does. If a user sees a post by an influencer they follow and sees another creator tagged who they're unfamiliar with, they’ll know what type of work the creator does. 

• So, instead of just mentioning photography by, art by, design by, and then tagging the creator in the caption, enhanced tags can be used.  

  
  

These new updates have and will enhance customers' experience on Instagram. To know and understand how best to use them for your brand you can take the help of a social media marketing agency, like ANTS Digital.

Want to make a reel about an upcoming product launch? We will give you the catchiest lines and attractive creatives to go along with it. Want to increase your organic reach on Instagram? We create relevant social media optimised content and ads that will increase your visibility online. 

ANTS Digital will help you scale your ideas by making optimal use of social media platforms like Instagram. Our team of creative professionals will find the best ways to use all the features of Instagram for your brand. 

Have any digital media related problems or requirements? We have the right solutions for you!