The recent Instagram feed refresh has been rolling out to take on rival social media channel, TikTok. This new design will impact the standard square format, increase favoritism for Instagram Reels, and launch story customizations.
Here are the changes you should know that could impact your current social media marketing strategy.
Instagram Feed Refresh
The platform is testing a new visual that favors vertical photos and videos over the traditional square photos users have come to know and love. This visual refresh will display more of the image, similar to the layout of Reels, as opposed to displaying captions and action bottoms currently at the bottom on standard posts. For photos that don’t fit the new 9:16 aspect ratio, Instagram is adding a blurred, gradient border. Unfortunately, many users are complaining that this new change is taking away the beauty of the photos originally published. Business owners could also experience this same difficulty with their content. Their previously created square content may not display well and will require extra effort to redesign and adhere to the new vertical format.
Reels
To compete with the ever-growing TikTok marketing evolution, Instagram has announced it will also increase the duration of Reels videos to 90 seconds. Companies and content creators will also now have the ability to import custom audio into Reels, add interactive stickers, and pin Reel videos to the top of their profiles. This could help increase the ability to tell your business’s story while also showcasing your best posts. Before pinning any post to the top of your profile, evaluate which Reel is most in-line with your current marketing campaign.
Stories
Stories are also getting an expansion on Instagram. Although users are still able to post up to 100 stories on their accounts at a time, all of these stories will not be visible at the same time. Users will only be able to view your more recent three stories. To view all of your postings in the last 24-hour, users will have to go a step further and select a “show all button.”
Although this can help clear up some endless stories currently seen on the channel, it’s crucial that companies think more strategically about the order of the stories they post. Be sure you have the correct storyline for your content to ensure that the top three stories on display always deliver the right message.
As the Instagram feed refresh begins to roll out to different users, it’s important to begin looking at your business’s social media strategy now and preparing for these changes. As Instagram attempts to compete more and more with TikTok’s vertical video format, your company should also consider how to adapt to these changes in order to continue reaching your ideal audience.
1.22 billion people use Instagram each month
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