New Instagram Features to grow your business
Throughout the pandemic, social media platforms constantly improved our user experience as a business owner and content creator by adding new features and tools to grow on the platform. In this article, we will focus on the new features introduced by Instagram which will help you grow your online presence and scale your business when well used.
Reels
This feature was the main one which completely changed the Instagram interface. Feeling threatened by the fast-growing platform, TikTok, Instagram released Reels. The concept is the same, short-format videos that can be created directly through the platform. With more and more consumption of this type of format, Instagram wanted to once again dominate and needed users to quickly create this type of content, therefore, they introduced an algorithm allowing you to grow on the platform a lot faster when uploading reels. Focusing on creating this type of content, making sure it is either entertaining or educating will help you increase your visibility in no time.
Shop
To complete the interface transformation, Instagram introduced shop, allowing business accounts to directly add their products to purchase on their Instagram profile. All users now have a “shops” tab at the bottom of their app, so they can scroll and purchase products directly on the platform. A new opportunity for businesses to increase their sales as the customer is now 2 clicks away from the kart.
Support small business sticker
New stickers have appeared in stories, starting with “support small business” stickers, you can add any account’s name on this sticker and it will showcase 3 photos of this account and create a direct link to their profile. The perfect way to gain visibility, motivate your community to share this sticker mentioning your business name in their story and enjoy this new Free feature to gain exposure and brand awareness. Make sure to have your account optimized so you can convert this new traffic into followers if you don’t know where to start, refer to this article.
Business Stickers
Instagram introduced 3 different stickers to satisfy all businesses no matter their industry let’s explore them:
GIFT CARDS
If your business has to close because of lockdown, like a beauty industry as an example, and you can’t offer your services, use the gift card option so people can continue to buy your service for them or others and use this gift card in your shop when you reopen. There are many creative ways for you to use this free sticker, a great resource to continue growing your business when you have been forced to close.
ORDER FOOD
Can’t receive customers in your venue for dine-in? What about takeaways? People are at home, spending less money on public transport, and for some of them working more, believe us, with the right offer your takeaway menu can really take off and compensate for the closed dine-in option. If you are already set up on a delivery platform, you can already use this sticker and encourage people to order from your restaurant. Don’t hesitate to invite your community to share this sticker as well in their story!
DONATION
Instagram thought of charity organisations with donation stickers. Take advantage of the fact that people are more connected than ever to grow the visibility of your charity and the cause you are defending. On the same principle as for the other stickers, encourage your community to share it in their stories and give you this extra visibility.
Swipe Up Under 10K
Did you know that you could add a swipe up link to your story to link them to one of your IGTV? And from this, you could send your viewer to a clickable link as you can add one in your IGTV description! So what are you waiting for to use this amazing feature and start driving traffic to your website?
Simply create an IGTV and publish it, once online, create a story and use the swipe up feature to create a swipe-up link that will direct your viewers to your IGTV, in your IGTV video indicate to people that they can tap on the title to discover the description of the video and click on the desired link. Easy, right?
New fonts
To help you stand out and get even more creative, Instagram introduced new fonts and highlighting designs. Open the story tab on your app to get acquainted with them and then start using them in an aesthetic pleasant way. If you don’t know where to start head to this link to discover our best hacks. Shall we create a new video featuring the new fonts?
Animated story text
After new fonts, some accounts also have the animated text option, easy to use, this feature allows you to capture the viewer's attention using animated text. Open the story tab on Instagram and check-out if you already have access to this new feature to be one of the first to use it.
Guides
To please bloggers, Instagram introduced “guides”, an easy way to re-share your posts and add a description to create an article which will appear on your profile. The way Instagram is pushing those guides to our community is still uncertain, but it is always important to explore new features and understand them as soon as they are available so you can dominate the platform and make the most out of it.
As you can see, Instagram is making it easier and easier for businesses and creators to market their products and services on the platform and since the beginning, using this platform is cost-free. We understand that social media are a time investment, but they also are a great way to stay connected with your customers, create brand awareness and allow you to drive more sales offering unique ways to market your business. So, which feature will you start using first?