When it comes to telling a company’s story, few things are more powerful than a great image. Instagram has quickly grown to become a favorite for companies and regular people alike, having attracted hundreds of millions of users in just a few short years.
As you can imagine, this has left Instagram as no stranger to rapid change. While many of us have been slowing down for the holidays, this social media giant has stayed true to form by developing new features at a lightning-fast pace.
Here are some of the biggest changes that Instagram’s users have seen over the past couple weeks, and what they mean for your social business.
New Filters
Today’s Smartphones are evolving, and Instagram’s new filters are created to get the most out of our improving camera quality. Aden, Crema, Ludwig, Slumber and Perpetua soften and add a subtle color shift to photographs, and appear at the very beginning of the filter options on the Edit screen.
Marketer tip: Go ahead and check out the effect that these filters have on your photos, but stay true to your company’s branding! If your photos tend to be more bold and vibrant, the softer look created from these filters might be something you should pass on.
Custom Display
To avoid users from feeling overwhelmed by their options, the filter tray itself has gotten smarter. Filter thumbnails now display as mini previews of the effect they would have when applied to photos, letting users decide whether they should check them out or keep scrolling. As a bonus, users also can rearrange the order that filters appear within the app and hide their least-favorite options.
Marketer tip: Pay attention to what filters you use the most and cast the rest to the side. Once you know what works best for your company, you’ll find this Insta-hack to be a major time saver!
Editing Captions
Perhaps the most celebrated change on the site has been the ability to edit the tags and text associated with posts. Now, users can tag locations after an image has been posted and correct typos without erasing and rewriting captions.
Marketer tip: Your audience can see when a post has been edited – only use this option when necessary!
The Great Purge
This past week, the average Instagram user lost 7.7 percent of their followers in the network clean-up event dubbed “The Great Purge.” As the platform slowly boosts the presence of advertising, this move is pivotal in giving marketers confidence in more accurate metrics.
Marketer tip: It can be discouraging to see a shrinking following, but it is important to remember that quality outweighs quantity. Go the extra mile this month to rebuild your fan base with some new (and real) people!
What are your thoughts on Instagram’s rapid changes? Share your thoughts in the comments!
For more social media tips, be sure to follow us on Facebook!
