Top Instagram Updates You Need to Know – February 2018 Edition
This month is a really, really big month for Instagram updates. The biggest month with some of the biggest updates we’ve had in ages.
We got the announcement of two really big new features, that are a huge deal for the platform: Instagram scheduling and carousel ads coming to Stories.
The scheduling, in particular, can actually change how social media marketers are interacting with the platform, and the carousel ads give Story ads access to one of the highest performing ad features Facebook and Instagram have ever had.
There’s a lot of great stuff this month, so let’s dive in, shall we?
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Instagram Scheduling (Beta)
This is easily the biggest announcement we’ve had in a very, very long time on Instagram, and as someone who does a lot of Instagram marketing for a lot of clients, I was pretty much bouncing up and down in my chair when I read it.
Instagram has released a new API that allows for on-platform native scheduling. Business profiles will be able to schedule posts through the API, or–even better– third-party scheduling and social management software like Hootsuite.
Why is this such a big deal?
Previously, you could use social management software to create full, complete posts and place them on a calendar. These tools, however, could not post directly to Instagram the same way they could on Twitter or Facebook. Instead, the mobile app would ding you with a notification, and you’d enter into the app, transfer the post to Instagram manually, and then post it.
It saved a few steps, but it was still a pain.
Now, these third-party apps will be able to post directly to Instagram, making them even more valuable, and saving marketers a lot of time.
Carousel Ads Brought to Stories
Carousel ads are one of the highest engaging ad formats. They have significantly higher engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
It’s why you see them so often in the Newsfeed; they’re downright effective. And now they’re available for Instagram Stories, too.
Now, Stories Ads can have up to three slides of different media, including images and videos.
It reminds me a great deal of the Canvas Ads, sliding horizontally instead of vertically. They are, of course, not quite as interaction-friendly as Canvas ads, but advertisers can still include interactive elements like the “Swipe up to see more.”
This feature has not been widely released yet, and is only accessible by select big-name brands like Coca-Cola, but it will probably be here before we know it.
Keep an eye out for these Stories Ads to start to get an idea about best practices and how you’ll use them for your campaigns when it rolls out to more advertisers.
Stories Alert Feature: Secretly Testing?
This will likely affect users more often than it will affect brands, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Instagram is supposedly currently testing an alert feature that will let users know if someone else has taken a screenshot of their Stories. Sorry, stalkers. Your day is over.
Instagram currently has declined to comment on this discovery when asked about it directly by Mashable, but this is just another Snapchat-lookalike feature that Instagram may be trying to replicate.
We’ll keep an eye on this one and let you know how it develops, because I know I’ve personally taken screenshots of content just for these blog posts and want to know if the brands can find out. (Though I guess as long as you aren’t taking snapshots of Stories of your ex or that college roommate you hated, you’re probably ok).
New Stories Creative Flexibility
Right now, you can only post images and videos to Stories if it fit the exact 16:9 dimensions (or full-screen view), no questions asked. Soon, that’s going to be changing.
Within the next few weeks, Instagram is going to be rolling out incredible new options for creative flexibility.
You’ll be able to post videos and images of all sizes to Instagram Stories, including landscape and square aspect content.
All you have to do is “pinch” the image when you upload it to your Story in order to get it to be displayed at its original aspect ratio.
It will be interesting to see how many brands use this feature, and whether partial-screen Stories get as much engagement as full-screen Stories.
I’ll be doing some A/B testing with this and will let you all know.
Type Mode Released for Stories
You know that relatively new type of Facebook post, where the post shows up like an image with a colorful background?
Personally, I wouldn’t rely on type mode alone; I’d use it in a series of Stories to make announcements, engage customers, and share information, but I’d definitely combine it with images and videos like those we’re accustomed to.
Stories and Instagram are both highly visual platforms, after all.
Final Thoughts
Instagram has done a lot to make the platform more friendly for marketers, but the ability to schedule posts– not just natively but with third-party tools- is going to make an enormous difference in ease of use by advertisers.
I’m not going to have to wake up at 8am on a Saturday to hit “publish” on a post for my client so it goes live at the optimum time in his time zone, for example, which is something I currently do.
The additional Stories updates are also all excellent for businesses, particularly the carousel ads. The more flexibility we have with it, the more we can benefit from it.
The new carousel ads are easily the biggest development we’ve had in this arena for a few months, but every single month in recent history has given us more Stories features, which is a good sign for what’s to come.
What do you think? How do you feel about these new updates? Are you as excited as I am about the new scheduling capabilities? Share your thoughts, knowledge, and questions in the comments below!
Top Instagram Updates – January 2018 Edition
There’s a lot of great stuff to dig into this month, so let’s get started, shall we?
First up, let’s take a closer look at why Instagram is about to grow even more in importance for social media marketers…
Facebook Pages Are Possibly About to Tank
I know what you’re thinking– this is the Instagram updates post, not the Facebook updates post, but bare with me here. I promise it’s relevant.
Some pretty big news has been breaking over the past week, and while we don’t know exactly what it means for sure, we know that it isn’t necessarily good for Pages. Facebook posted an announcement saying that they’re shifting the focus back to staying in touch with the people that you most want to hear from, which, simply put, is not Pages.
Basically, as Michael Stelzner says in the video below, this could potentially mean the “end of days” for Facebook Pages. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be quite that severe, it’s definitely going to be a massive and irreparable hit. Even Facebook acknowledges this.
So here’s why this is so important for Instagram: Facebook currently acts as what I call “the social media marketing hub” for most small businesses. It’s their primary source of interaction and news delivery with customers, and now, reach is going to be driven down further. As a result, other social media platforms gain even more importance.
And Instagram, with it’s high engagement and excellent reach, is primed to gain dominance as a primary social media marketing platform as a result. Get ahead of the curve and increase your Instagram marketing now if you haven’t already, focusing on growing followers and doing hashtag research. Users will see your content here more than on Facebook, so use that to your advantage.
Alright, so now that we have that covered, on to the traditional Instagram updates!
Ability to Follow Hashtags
At the end of last year (yes ok, it means a few days ago!) Instagram announced that users have the ability to follow hashtags on Instagram.
Now, users don’t have to search out hashtags regularly to find new content they’re interested in, they can just follow a hashtag to have the content regularly delivered to them, instead.
Just as there is a “people” feed, users can also create a “hashtags” feed where this content will appear.
This is a big advantage to brands for several reasons.
With great hashtag research, you can increase the likelihood that you’ll be showing up in more people’s feeds. And all the while, you’ll be providing content that they actually want to see.
You can also encourage users to follow your brand’s hashtag. This can make user-generated content (UGC) even more powerful.
Users will see the content about your brand created by other customers, and it will be endlessly more persuasive than if you were the one delivering it to their feed.
Brands, of course, can use this feature to monitor their own hashtag and easily review the best UGC, though they should be doing this already. They can also use the hashtag tracking feature to keep an eye on industry trends and your competition.
Rights Manager Enabled
Instagram seems to be rolling out a Rights Manager on the platform, which makes it easier for copyright owners to monitor and protect their content.
Facebook already has this feature, and it’s incredibly useful to help content owners see how their images and videos are being used and that their copyright isn’t being violated.
Image source: Social Media Examiner
This feature hasn’t rolled out to everyone (or at least it doesn’t seem like it yet), but all you have to do is upload videos to the library, and Instagram will watch and alert you if it’s being used elsewhere on the platform.
We don’t have a lot of information on this one yet, but this is a cool update to check out once you have access to it.
Recommended Posts: In Testing
Right now, users only see posts in their feeds from other users they follow, and the sponsored content Instagram shows them.
This may change soon, with Instagram testing a “recommended posts” feature that’s not dissimilar from Facebook’s. Now, you may see content that Instagram believes that you’ll like.
This means that Instagram’s algorithms will be showing users either content that their friends’ have liked, or content they think you’ll be interested in. If you follow a lot of fitness bloggers, for example, they’ll show you more content along those lines.
This could be a big deal for businesses, and could make on-platform engagement even more important.
If one user liking or commenting on your Page means that even just ten of their friends see it, that’s a huge development that we shouldn’t ignore. There’s already plenty of incentives to get a lot of engagement on Instagram, but this gives us just one more.
Alpha Testing
Instagram has had their Alpha testing program available for Android users for awhile now, allowing users who have signed up and been approved to gain the earliest access to new features in order to test them.
Now, iOS users can sign up to be in this program, too.
For marketers who want to stay on the cutting-edge side of Instagram, this isn’t a bad program to look into.
Some of the features may be a little glitchy, but imagine being able to create in-Story links before anyone else, or the new multiple-image posts first. It could help you stay ahead of the competition, which is never a bad thing.
iOS isn’t currently taking any new testers at this point, but that could change at any time. You can sign up to be an Android tester here.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is already one of the key players in social media marketing platforms, and we’re about to see that become more true than ever with Facebook Pages tanking.
While I’m glad the ad systems are joined (giving Instagram Ads so much more power), I’m so glad their algorithms are not identical. And now, with new features rolling out, it’s clear that Instagram is marketer- and business-friendly, making it even more valuable.
