What’s New to Instagram and How Can it Help Wedding Accounts?
Well wouldn't you know it! It's been a while! I tend to get to the industry part of the blog whenever I can and will general life goings-on recently I just haven't so here I am with some important nuggets of Instagram information for you ;)
Instagram is definitely one of the most asked about areas of my presentations I give at workshops and I even created a Guide to Finding Your Bride on Social recently specifically for our Fine Art Curation Members and it was so incredibly popular, I thought I'd pop on here and give some upcoming updates about Instagram and where it's moving towards.
I mean, not all of us care so much about Instagram and that's OK, but I think it's one of the best tools for free marketing we can do for our small businesses but the most important caveat here is using it efficiently. I mean, we've all been stuck in the Instagram vortex, ten levels deep Inception-style and no idea how we got there, right?! So here's some important and MAJOR updates to Instagram and how we'll be using it moving forward...
CREATE MODE FOR STORIES
Stories are the most effective tool on Instagram right now - did you know 63% of people view their Stories before they even get to the feed? It's also the only chronological part left to IG now which means as soon as we post on there, it appears in front of our followers regardless of if they engage with us on a daily basis. A great reminder to those more dormant accounts of followers that need a little reminder that we're here. So the new part to Stories is the new Create Mode, which will let users create stories without having to upload a photo or video first. This is great if you’re trying to share a poll or text-based story with your followers! And especially great for those who don't want to 'star' in their own mini-movie every time they put a Story on (me!).
CREATOR PROFILES
Like Instagram business profiles, creator profiles will get access to a number of exclusive features and in-depth analytics — but there are some major differences between the two. For example, while creator profiles will still be able to access their Instagram Insights, they’ll also get access to Instagram Creator Studio on desktop with a wide range of analytics metrics, including engagement stats, when their audience is online, and demographic info. Perfect for any small business!
The new creator profile will also let accounts designate their “preferred” method of contact, whether that’s email, text, call, or DM. By giving users with creator accounts more control over how they are contacted, you'll will be able to filter out “cold” messages and spend more time engaging in meaningful interactions with genuine inquiries.
NO MORE LIKES
The vicious rumor was true! Earlier this month, images revealing that Instagram was testing a new feature that would hide the like count on people’s photos began to circulate online. Well, as it turns out, not only is Instagram *officially* testing the new feature, but it’s getting a trial run in Canada later this week!
The new feature is part of Facebook’s goal of making social media a less “pressurized environment.” “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they get on Instagram, and a bit more time connecting with people they really care about,” according to Instagram.
As you scroll through your feed, there are no like counts. You can see who liked a photo or video, you can tap through it, if you have the time you can add them all up yourself, the owner can see how many people liked the photo but only if they ask.
This is, of course, represents a massive change to how Instagram and its users function. The number of likes a post gets, while not the best measure of “success,” has long been a kind of status symbol on the platform. The “hiding” of like counts seems to be purely about helping users share more authentic content without getting caught up in competition.
Zuckerberg said as much during his keynote too - “We want people to be less interested in how many likes a post gets, and focus more on connecting with other people.” If the trial goes according to plan, we’ll never see another world record-breaking egg!
MORE CHANGES
There are a few more pretty significant changes too coming up (and ones we're anticipating to the point that we're working behind the scenes on them now!) but we save those for our lovely Fine Art Curation Members - sneaky! ;) If you want in on the action and all our best social tips, email us advertise@weddingsparrow.com for info!
