As the social media environment is constantly evolving, users always look for news to connect to the world online.
And it is not wrong to say that Instagram is always keen to stay ahead of the curve. By that, I mean updated algorithms, new services, and surprising features.
In the past few weeks, Instagram has totally confused the marketers and influencers that really want to outshine the competition by changing algorithms. Click here to know about Instagram accounts.
There are many more new Instagram updates that are yet to be announced this year.
In this article, I will try to cover all of the important aspects of Instagram’s upcoming updates and features in 2019.
WHAT IS BOILING ON INSTAGRAM?
With more than 450 million active users, Instagram is one of the most used social networking websites, and it is no surprise that they keep experimenting with their features every now and then. To keep people interested in their website, they launch new features that are very useful to influencers, marketers or brands. Let us see what are the updates and upcoming features of Instagram this year:
- Instagram’s “Away Mode” to combat bullying.
- Create your own filters for stories.
- New camera for your Instagram stories
- Donation stickers to raise funds.
- Addition of the creator’s profile.
- Add a shopping tag to your photos.
INSTAGRAM’S “AWAY MODE” TO COMBAT BULLYING:
Instagram has been working on this feature lately, to combat bullying they will release a feature named “Away mode” this feature will be released to address online bullying on Instagram.
Adam Mossier made a statement a couple of days back that,
“Instagram deeply cares about a serious issue like bullying and has been into it deeply.”
The “Away mode” will make you opt-out of Instagram during the sensitive periods of your life like if you are getting over a break-up or if you lose a loved one, or if you are facing financial problems.
This feature would give users a chance to stay away from their account from Instagram notifications and activity temporarily without even deleting it.
This feature will also combat people from posting negative comments. For example, if a person is about to post a negative comment, the application will nudge the user and give them a warning before they are able to post their comments.
This will hopefully contribute, not a lot, but still some part in the good cause.
Adam Mossier also hopes that extra steps could be provided to the person with the opportunity to stop them and to make them realize what they are actually posting.
CREATE YOUR OWN FILTERS FOR STORIES:
If you are already obsessed with the AR or “(augmented reality)” on Instagram then you will surely be happy to know that soon Instagram will allow its users to create their own filters for their Instagram Stories.
Yes, you heard it right! This is probably one of the biggest announcements by Instagram.
For now, only selected brands and designers and brands can create their own custom filters of AR for their Instagram Stories.
NEW CAMERA FOR YOUR INSTAGRAM STORIES:
It is a revamped camera design, specially created for those who love to take photos. This feature is called “Create Mode”.
According to the head of Instagram Adam Mossier,
This new feature will include a semi-circular mode switcher which will make it easier to find the most creative tools we all love.
For example, when you open the “Camera mode”, you can swipe right in order to access the different shooting options like Superzoom, Boomerang, and Rewind.
If you swipe left, you will find Instagram stories tools like Texts, GIFs, and stickers.
The “Create Mode” will let users create their stories without having to upload a video or photo first. This is a good thing if you want to share a text-based story or poll with your followers.
DONATION STICKERS TO RAISE FUNDS:
If you want to collect money for a noble cause then Instagram will help you to raise donation money with Donation stickers. You can use this sticker on your Instagram stories; it will spread awareness among your followers.
To use this, you just need to open your camera, take a photo or upload it, now tap on the sticker icon and select any sticker from the tray.
Additionally, you can search through a list of non-profits and customize your fundraiser stories using Instagram’s creative tools.
Once it is uploaded, you can then swipe up and see the total amount raised.
ADDITION OF CREATOR’S PROFILE:
The news of introducing “Creator’s profile” has been surfacing a few weeks ago, as more details about this emerge, most of the influencers are wondering if they should switch their accounts or not.
Like a normal business profile, the user having a creator’s profile will get access to a number of in-depth analytics and exclusive features.
The business profile and the creator’s profile is not exactly the same. For example, those who will switch to the creator’s profile will be able to access their Instagram insights, not only this but they will also get access to the Creator Studio of Instagram on their desktops with a variety of analytics metrics including demographic info, engagement and reach statistics.
The facility of the following or unfollowing data will also be given to the creator’s profile user. It will help them to see what content on their page is resonating with the audience.
Also, the options of Direct Messages filtration will be offered to them that will allow them to prioritize their messages from friends or brand, they can even rank them by which message is relevant.
After all these offers still creator’s profile has some downsides. For example, they are not connected to the API of Instagram; it will restrict them to schedule their posts automatically to Instagram or even use third-party analytics tools.
ADD A SHOPPING TAG TO YOUR PHOTOS:
Instagram is already in process to release a feature that will provide options to users to add a shopping tag to their photo.
Influencers and celebrities are the main targets for it because people like them and follow them, so whenever they see an article of clothing their favourite influencer or celebrity is wearing then they will be able to buy it right away without having to go to another website.
But prior to the announcement, the only businesses could take benefits of Instagram shopping tags to sell their products using Instagram’s new feature of in-app checkout, which is in beta currently.
In the past, influencers had no direct way which they could use to sell products on Instagram.
They could ask their followers to swipe-up on their Instagram story or to click the link in their bio but without the sales, they generated had to occur outside the application which kind of turned off the users to go further. But with the help of this feature, influencers would be able to act as real salespeople for the brands they want to represent.
Now according to Instagram officials “Athletes, publishers, influencers, artists, and creators will gain access to the feature at first, which will let them tag articles of accessories or clothing and let their followers buy those things immediately within the application.
