Check out the latest instagram updates
Change...friend or foe? Things are changing all the time. It is inevitable. My dad always used to say this to me:
“In life you can be certain of three things: death, taxes and CHANGE”
It’s likely he got that from someone else but I can always remember him telling me to embrace change - because it would be a constant in life. But as we navigate Instagram changes it does mean that there has to be a shift in what we do, if we want to keep up and stay relevant.
In a nutshell here are the latest changes (which we’ll cover in greater detail below):
We tend to have a love / hate relationship with Instagram. Yes we know, as social media strategists and managers it sounds weird for us to say that. But it is the truth and let’s face it, oftentimes Instagram doesn’t always feel like a true reflection of things. It can, at times, feel like a very well curated reflection of things. However, we know the value of Instagram and in general we love the value we can add on it and it’s fun to let people see the ins and outs of what we do.
But in the last month alone, we have recorded around 6 instagram update videos. NO Exaggeration. You can check them out here. We often wake up to a new Instagram update and automatically go back to our strategy and ask ourselves how we’ll adapt and use this new update for ourselves and our clients. But there are days where I can imagine people going...not ANOTHER Instagram update. And sure - it is tough to keep up. But here’s the thing: change is necessary for GROWTH.
So, let’s get into the latest Instagram updates:
1: Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app and will prioritize video.
What does this mean? It doesn’t mean you have to stop sharing photo content altogether - it just means that Instagram is moving focus to four things:
Creators
Videos
Shopping
Messaging
It doesn’t mean you have to stop sharing photos altogether - but we would suggest focusing on reels, going live and videos alongside your photos.
2: Instagram Hashtags have changed
*cue people freaking out*
Instagram has changed a number of search functions. WHY? Well, it’s in order for your hashtags to be found in the search function 🔎 . Instagram recommends that your hashtags are in the CAPTIONS of your post. They also recommend using 3-5 hashtags only. Now don’t freak out about that - use hashtags experimentally and see what works. Our advice is to shift the focus from hashtags in your captions to keywords.
3: Goodbye swipe up and hello story stickers
So by now you have probably noticed that Instagram is moving quite heavily to story stickers. When it comes to resharing, swipe up (is now a link sticker) and speech to text, it’s all about story stickers. This one is only for people who have more than 10k followers so if that’s not you, then nothing has changed.
4: Instagram video update
In a nutshell Instagram is combining IGTV and your feed videos into one tab that will now be known as Instagram Video. Why are they doing this? Instagram want's to make creating and discovering video easier so they will keep making updates. What exactly is changing? Glad you asked. Here it is:
✔️ 60 second Feed Previews
✔️ A new Video tab on Profile
✔️ Trimming
✔️ Ability to upload captions
✔️ People & location tagging
Reels remain as is and is still a huge win - but Instagram is definitely making video a priority.
5: New Instagram Live Features
If you are not going live in 2021, you should be. Now it doesn’t have to be every week, but once a month will boost engagement nicely for you. And now Instagram Live has made some exciting changes too.
There is a NEW IG Live Scheduling tool. This is such a helpful tool to help you promote and plan your upcoming Instagram Lives. You can schedule your Lives with a feed post up to 90 days in advance and then promote with a new Stories Sticker (see stickers again!).
6: Instagram Collaborators
This is one of our favourite introductions. Instagram now allows you to do Collabs - which will allow people to co-author Feed Posts and Reels. In other words - we post one reel or feed post and it goes to BOTH our pages. It is an incredible tool for collaboration and growing together.
According to Instagram Creators, this is how it works:
“Collabs allow you to invite a collaborator to your Feed Post (including Video) and Reels so they can share the content with their followers. If they accept, then they’ll be shown as an author at the top of the post, the content will be shared to their Profile Grid and to their followers in Feed, and you will both see your shared feedback and comments.”
We can now create content TOGETHER - what’s not to love about that!
7: Reel Templates
You can use reel templates from other people’s reels and simply add in your media
8: Schedule the posts on the App
This has GOT to be one of the best Instagram updates! FINALLY, creators and businesses will be able to schedule pictures, reels and carousels up to 75 days in advance!
All in all, change can be frustrating BUT in the long run, these changes will be beneficial for you and your company. It may take some time to adapt and Instagram is bound to have some glitches but ultimately all that is happening is that Instagram is prioritising video and so should we.
Got questions about Instagram or any of the changes? We’d love to see how we can help you - contact us today. We have several social media packages and offer one on one or group workshops to teach you how to do social media (and REELS) better.
Written By: Kelsey van der Merwe