{"id":61039,"date":"2020-11-23T20:58:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T20:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.glaciermediadigital.ca\/?p=61039"},"modified":"2020-11-24T18:20:02","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T18:20:02","slug":"instagrams-mid-life-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/index.php\/2020\/11\/23\/instagrams-mid-life-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Instagram\u2019s Mid-Life Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

New features, new interface, new content\u2014Instagram has gone full force with a pretty major overhaul in the past few weeks. If you\u2019re feeling like you don\u2019t know your trusty old app the way you used to, never fear, we\u2019re here to acquaint you with these changes. Whether you like them or not, well, we leave that up to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reels<\/b><\/p>\n

Upon first glance, Reels may feel like a TikTok doppelganger but stick with us as we explore some key differences and how this addition actually makes a lot of sense for the platform as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video has been the king of the social media world for some time now, but unless you\u2019re a huge company with a plushy budget, fresh video content felt very out of reach for many businesses. Reels create an equal playing field. If you\u2019ve got a smartphone, the Instagram app and some time (plus the crucial ingredient\u2014creativity) then you\u2019re well on your way to reaching new audiences and building brand engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Users prefer to consume bite-sized content (high-value, low time commitment), and while TikTok capitalized on this insight first, it just makes sense. Variety and repurposing within one social app is the name of the game here, but undeniably, there are suddenly a lot of new and exciting features available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Key takeaway: it\u2019s important to differentiate content types and develop an integrated strategy to create a robust profile that is valuable to your audience. Instagram has a lot to offer, use it wisely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about Reels here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Shop<\/b><\/p>\n

The Instagram Shop feature has been around for a while now, quietly flying under the radar, until the most recent app update that is. Suddenly, BAM, the shopping icon takes over your beloved activity heart icon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This change has been deemed by many experts to be somewhat self-serving to Instagram, as a move that is intended to accelerate the platform in the E-commerce game. That being said, the new visibility of the shopping tab does raise new opportunities for businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first being more mileage for product catalogues. With COVID-19 swaying businesses to online options, the more prominent Instagram shopping options complement what Facebook has had in place for years. Upload product catalogues, create ads with specific products <\/span>(you know, that sweater you \u2018added to card\u2019 then forgot about, following you around with a discount code) AND tag organic posts to allow users to shop in-app.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second being the shop tab itself, which acts as a curated virtual mall for users showing Shop options from accounts that they follow, plus local and trending shops.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third, integration of tagged product posts in Guides\u2014keep reading.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Pro Tip: Some E-commerce platforms play nicely with Facebook (Shopify being the preferred buddy, <\/span>see the pros and cons here<\/span><\/a>), others have a slightly more prickly relationship.\u00a0<\/span>All in all, more product visibility means more opportunities for users to convert. <\/span>Here\u2019s a handy guide to get your Facebook and Instagram shopping up and running.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Guides <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dubbed as Instagram\u2019s answer to Pinterest, <\/span>Guides<\/span><\/a> rolled out to users this week, but don\u2019t fret if you haven\u2019t come across one yet (Instagram has kept it pretty quiet). Guides live on the creator\u2019s profile, next to the familiar \u2018Posts\u2019 and \u2018Tagged\u2019 tabs and are available in three categories: Places, Products or Posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guides are essentially a curated long-form post (scrolling involved) that pulls in your own existing posts or other saved posts plus allows the edition of titles and descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some big benefits here:<\/span><\/p>\n