Instagram seems to be catching up lately, first by aiming to attract TikTok users and now by competing with BeReal and Twitter.
When a new platform or feature starts to take off and become successful, it’s not uncommon for other social media platforms to take note and start working on their response. In addition to Instagram, platforms Snapchat and TikTok have also recently created their own versions of BeReal.
But what is currently happening on Instagram? Several new features are being introduced right now. Instagram says that these features are to “help people more easily share in spontaneous and fun ways, with the goal of helping create even stronger connections with friends.”
Candid Stories are Instagram’s answer to BeReal.
On Instagram, you can now post Burkina Faso Email List 117565 Contact Leads one candid photo a day where your phone takes a photo with both the front and back cameras simultaneously. The idea is to show something real and unfiltered.
Just like on BeReal, you can ignore the notification to take a selfie, but if you do, you won’t be able to see what others have posted.
According to Instagram, you can “capture a Candid Story from the Stories camera, the multi-author story at the top of your feed, or from the daily notification that starts arriving after your first Candid Story.”
When viewing stories, you’ll see an “Add Yours”
prompt inviting you to contribute your own story. This isn’t a new feature, but what Instagram has added is a new “Pass It On” prompt.
If the story doesn’t fit with something you want to post, you can pass on the prompt to add a story to a friend or colleague to invite them to make the post.
Add notes
In addition to BeReal, Instagram is also testing a more Twitter-like feature with its new Notes. Users can now add an update to their profile that is just for text and emojis.
You can post up to 60 characters and the update will remain for 24 hours, like a temporary sticky note. Your friends will be able to reply to your update, which will appear in your text messages.
The new Notes feature became available to users starting December 13th, so check if you already have it and start testing it out.
Use group profiles and collaborative collections
Group profiles allow you to share a profile where you can post content only to a group of people.
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Collaborative collections, on the other hand, allow you to save posts in categories that can only be seen by participants in the chosen group.
What are the benefits of the new features for marketers?
The addition of Candid Stories allows you to choose one activity to focus on each day. In fact, you don’t have a choice, as you can’t keep posting once you’ve taken a selfie. It focuses the mind, which can help.
Think about what you are currently promoting, any new releases, the latest news from your company, etc.
You don’t want to be too salesy. The idea is to be real and genuine. Therefore, it’s best to have content that shows what’s going on behind the scenes at your company and aims to create connections, community, and engagement.
On your brand’s Instagram account, you should also have the feature to post notes on your profile. So, you can use this feature to post special offers, discounts, the latest news, new releases, and more. You can also ask people to text you for a deal or to receive the link to the sales page, which will show you who your most enthusiastic fans are, at least for a certain product or service.
As for responding to people’s notes, I wouldn’t say it’s a good idea. It’s a case of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” If you have something clever to contribute or if the note is about your company and you want to respond, there’s nothing wrong with that. But very few people will like you popping into their text messages with a sales pitch.
Alternatively, you could use group profiles or collaborative collections for your VIP customers and die-hard fans, where you could share special offers and sneak peeks, just for them. It’s a great way to get your fans excited about something you know they really want.
You could also use them as focus groups to get new ideas or opinions on your latest products.
You can also create groups for different aspects of your business and use them to segment your Instagram audience, delivering content to them more effectively.
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Of course, the more group profiles and collections you create, the more you’ll have to do to manage them and potentially the more time you’ll have to spend on social media. But if you choose your groups wisely and limit them to the ones you really need, you can get great feedback, engagement, and data, without adding much to your marketing efforts.
DNA Spark: From Candid stories to group profile, all you need to know about Instagram’s new features
These features are so new that right now there’s no telling how useful they’ll be or how much engagement you’ll get. I wouldn’t give up a solid, already-defined marketing plan in exchange for focusing on these new features, but I think they’re worth learning about and experimenting with,
as long as you don’t get too distracted from your stated plans.
Playing around with these new features can give you some advantages. You might discover new insights into your audience and new ways to engage them. You might also get more engagement by segmenting your audience into group profiles or collections and focusing more on each group to post exactly what they’re looking for.
It’s also worth noting that Meta is currently testing Candid on Facebook Stories, so any testing you do now on Instagram could put you one step ahead if the feature rolls out on Facebook as well.
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