Are you using Instagram to promote your products, services and/or brand? It may lack the reach of Facebook, but Instagram is still a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. Like most social media networks, however, it’s constantly evolving to better meet the needs of its users. So, what kind of changes can you expect to see with Instagram in the months to come?
New Business Profiles
Instagram is revamping its business profiles, allowing users to upgrade their accounts so they can access a variety of new business-oriented features. These features include the ability to allow customers and client to contact them via phone, email or text message by clicking a button, along with the use of maps and turn-by-turn directions to reach the business. It’s important to note, however, that only users with an existing Facebook Page for their respective business will be able to upgrade their Instagram account at this time.
Via Flickr Commons
Video Metrics
In addition to longer videos, Instagram is now offering more analytical data associated with users’ videos. After upcoming a video to your account, for instance, you can see the number of times it has been viewed and the number of times users have liked your video. View count is found directly below the video, and clicking it will reveal a list of every user who’s liked it. You will also have the option of following these users by clicking their respective username.
Prioritized Content
In a recent blog post, Instagram announced that it was changing the way in which content is displayed in users’ feeds. The social media network claims that up to 70% of content in a user’s feeds goes unnoticed. As such, it’s optimized users’ feeds to display content that’s most relevant to their interests first.
“The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post,” explained Instagram when announcing the new change.
Longer Videos
Some people assume that Instagram is only useful for sharing photos. While it doesn’t disappoint in this category, the social media network can also be used to share videos – and soon you’ll have the option of sharing even longer videos. Instagram announced that was increasing the maximum duration of users’ videos from 15 seconds to 60 seconds. The transition is currently underway, with many users already seeing the longer time cap for videos.
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