We've been keeping our ears to the ground as always and am really glad to report that Mr Mosseri has had loads to report in recent weeks at Instagram HQ. In fact there has been so many updates its been a little hard to keep up!
In todays blog post we would love to share just a sprinkling of the things that have been announced and that you can expect to see on your phone in the near future if not already.
We have always been a fan of LIVE video no matter what the platform. We see great value in just picking up the phone and talking to your audience in realtime, answering questions and responding to comments. That being said we've all experienced that frustrating feeling when you do decide to go live to find that you are just talking to yourself with zero watchers.
The new Instagram LIVE scheduling tool is going to be a game changer and something that we actually used today for the first time to test. Now you can schedule your livestreams up to 90 todays in advance and can create clickable posts to notify your audience when you are due to go live and what you will be going to talk about.
This is perfect if you are looking to launch a product or service, will be interviewing guests for your stream or even if you are looking to do a LIVE from a special event somewhere.
To schedule your LIVE all you need to do is head into the app, hit LIVE and then click on the calendar icon on your left hand menu to get it in the diary.
As well as scheduling your LIVE we are also really pleased to see a new AUDIENCE tab on the menu. We thoroughly recognise that for lots of you going LIVE is a scary prospect. With the new audience function you will now have the capability to practice either by yourself or with a select few people before you speak to the masses.
IGTV is dead, long live IGTV!
Yes its true, IGTV is no longer on Instagram. Many of you might have seen that your IGTV icon has been removed from the top of your grid and has been replaced with a large play button instead.
Somethings just aren't designed to stay forever and just don't work. IGTV was one of those things and that is TOTALLY okay! Instagram has recognised this but at the same time understands the power of video and how people enjoy this kind of content on the platform.
So in IGTV's place now sits Instagram video. Video content will sit under this tab and within the grid and will include shorter post videos right up to 60mins worth of video content. The 15 second snippet has now also been replaced with a longer 60 second preview of the content to entice in your audience and to get them to view more.
The ability to add videos to your posts in this way also comes with some advantages. You can now take advantage of the new video trim tool as well as apply filters to your videos if you choose before uploading clickworthy content covers much like before. When you click into a square post the video will launch into full portrait mode so you don't miss any details!
Not quite the newest kid on the block but still worth mentioning is Instagram collaborations on posts. Now two separate accounts can partner up on relevant posts and reap the benefits of a wider reach and engagement. Historically its always been so clunky when sharing other peoples content, usually involving some sort of 3rd party app like Regram to share relevant posts.
But now with collaborations both parties can get involved in the post artwork and it will sit on both Instagram grids. With collaborations you will both benefit from the view count, likes and comments and well as the added bonus of getting your name in front of the other accounts audience.
Instagram favourites was actually trialled way back in 2017 and is now returning with full throttle to the platform. You might not see it on your account for a little while yet but keep an eye out for the little green star icon winging its way to an Instagram screen near you soon.
This is going to be GAME CHANGING.
Why? Because for the first time in forever Instagram is giving power to the user to be able to override the algorithm and to allow them to see the accounts that they are interested in first on their feed before being offered alternative content.
Never has it been so important to nurture and engage with your audience to turn them into your profile ambassadors. With your account a firm favourite with your fans the ability to get a better reach on your posts is firmly within your grasp.
We hope you've found these latest Instagram updates useful and we would love to know if you think you will be utilising any of the above as you look to grow further on Instagram. Do be sure to stay tuned as we will look to share further updates on lots more of their new features in the coming weeks and months.
Have fun Always
Emily and Alan.
P.s If you haven't yet watched it yet do check out our other video that we recently launched all about Using Instagram for Business.