Instagram is currently testing 2 new features that when rolled out will be very interesting for marketers …
- Instagram has test launched a TikTok clone within Stories called “Reels”
Given the huge rise in popularlity of TikTok, Instagram has launched an element within Stories that is a direct competitor to TikTok. Reels lets you make 15-second video clips set to music and share them as Stories, with the potential to go viral on a new Top Reels section of Explore. Just like TikTok, users can soundtrack their Reels with a huge catalog of music, or borrow the audio from anyone else’s video to create a remix of their meme or joke.
Currently this has only launched in Brazil but it likely to be rolled out worldwide early next year.
Implications for marketers? TikTok is becoming hugely popular and in 2020 is a social platform that marketers will look at more seriously. The fact that Instagram is creating a clone version – just like it cloned Snapchat Stories back in 2016 – indicates that it is something marketers need to start looking at,.
You can read more about Reels here
- Instagram is testing breaking down the list of who we follow into categories of topics eg Fashion, music, Marketing but also “least intereacted with” and “Most shown in feed” .
It is just one of a series of updates that Instagram has made that focus on improving the quality of posts you see, and reducing the number of less positive interactions.
Implications for marketers? When this is rolled out to all users it will makes it easier to see the business profiles you don’t interact with which might result in lots of people unfollowing those accounts. This will make it even more important to keep your Instagram audience interacting with your posts.
You can read more about this test here
Lots more changes and enhancements keep coming to Instagram and these 2 look like they will impact our marketing