Celebrating International Labour Day With 4 Insta Hacks

Apr 30, 2019

As the social media world continues to spin, apparently faster than the speed of light with updates rolling out sometimes unannounced, keeping tabs on the changes is a full time job. As one of the biggest players, Instagram has been testing out new features to improve its interactivity and user experience. If you are leveraging this channel as a part of your digital strategy, rest easy, we are here to take the strain and share the 4 essential features which will take you to the top of your social media game.

 

1.  Interactive Stories Ads

Instagram wants to make adverts more interactive and has recently introduced a polling sticker in stories ads to help businesses better engage with the audience. The platform is aiming to improve the impact of the campaigns and help brands build a stronger relationship with viewers. When creating a Story Ad you can now add a sticker question with two response options. During the testing stage, a new function has improved the ad view time as well as engagement levels by an impressive 70%.

 

Polling in Stories Ads

Image Source: Instagram Business

 

2. Insta Checkout

Since introducing Instagram Shopping, the platform has been improving the online buying experience within the app. Last year the platform has added product tagging in the post and later also in stories. This time they have taken it to a whole new level with a native checkout feature everyone was waiting for. Users won’t need to leave the app anymore in order to complete a purchase making it a huge advantage for both brands and shoppers. The feature is currently in testing, but it’s expected to be widely available soon. Watch this space.

 

Instagram Checkout

Image Source: Instagram Business

 

3. Live Videos

Without doubt, live streaming videos are gaining popularity across social media. It has been two years since Instagram first implemented the feature allowing brands and influencers to connect with their followers in real-time. The app continues to improve this interactive experience and is looking to implement a new title option to let viewers know what the stream is about. Right now the feature is still being tested but it is expected to be introduced soon and boost live engagement and viewer retention.

 

4. No more likes?

Instagram is currently testing a likes count hiding feature to reduce the sense of competition. They explained the rationale for the trial last week ’We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets.’  This is set to make the whole Instagram experience feel more organic and less popularity-oriented as it is now. If the feature does see the light of day, it will change the way brands and influencers are using the platform and new measures of success will replace likes, comments and other engagement metrics as they become unavailable.

 

We love sharing our marketing knowledge and experience to help you fast track to a winning digital strategy. As a professional full service marketing agency, we are here to collaborate with brands, creating compelling strategies using digital and traditional media. To find out more, drop us a line at contact@everydayagency.co.uk.

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