Author
Marilyn Cowley
Instagram is constantly making changes and updates to its platform, but 2020 has brought some of the app’s biggest changes yet. From Instagram Reels to a brand new display format, we’ve summed up the 3 latest Instagram Updates from the past couples of months. Continue reading to learn more!
Instagram Reels: a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram. Some would even call Reels “the new TikTok.” With Reels, Instagram users are allowed to create short, 15 second videos with audio, effects, and creative AR tools. You can share Reels with your followers on your feed and story, DM them to your friends, and if you have a public account, you can make your Reel available to anyone on the Explore feed. Not only can people find your videos through the Explore feed, but you also have the opportunity to discover trending videos created by other Instagram users. To learn more about Instagram Reels, click here!
Another change that has been in the works for awhile is that Instagram is majorly cracking down on bots. Not sure what bots are? Instagram bots are designed to help you perform actions such as liking, commenting, and following other accounts through automation. You can even set specific parameters, such as hashtags and target accounts, and the bot does all the work for you. Instagram is taking measures to reduce and ideally shut down fake accounts with its new review and ID process. This means that if Instagram detects a “pattern of inauthentic behavior,” on your account such as extremely quick growth, signs of automation, or even if majority of your followers are located in a different part of the country than you, Instagram is going to flag your account and ask the account holder to confirm who they are. If accounts do not confirm their info, the account may be disabled or even hit with a reduced reach- meaning that way less people are going to see your posts. It’s easy to avoid all of this by not using bots or purchasing engagement for your account. In the long run, bots will just drive down your engagement rates and hurt your reach.
Lastly, Instagram is testing a brand new, all-on-one-page format for Instagram Stories. Because most users share more content to their Instagram Stories than they do to their feed, Instagram wants the Stories feature to be more accessible than ever. A couple of months ago, it was rumored that Instagram was testing a “two row” format for Instagram Stories. Now they’ve taken this idea to the next level by creating a format that puts Instagram Stories all on one page. This format is already being tested on a small number of accounts, but if successful, all accounts will have this format soon. The idea behind this new format is that it reinforces users and brands to continually share content to their stories.
With all of these changes Instagram is making, it further proves how important it is to stay consistent on the app. Which of these updates are you most excited about? Don’t be shy… shoot us a DM at @prem.prsocial on Instagram and let us know what you think!
