19 October 2021 | 3 Minute(s) to read
There’s no doubt about it that Instagram has taken the world of social media by storm.
From its humble beginnings, this social network launched in 2010 with the primary focus of providing a platform where users could create, edit and share their photos.
Acquired by the major players of Facebook in 2012 for $1bn, this once-was, image-focussed, inspirational platform managed to turn into one of the largest social media ‘trends’ (with thanks to influencers) of the twenty-tens, overnight.
It was a simple, yet effective and engaging trend. Take a photo - add a filter - create a hashtag and upload that bad boy to the gram. Admittedly, I followed suit and joined half the Gen-Z population and am responsible for at least one brunch shot on my personal Instagram feed.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen with the growing demands and change of trends of its consumers, plus the introduction and evolution of its competitors, the social media platform has continued to evolve and transform. Today, it’s a common marketing channel amongst businesses, used to share mixed media to promote and sell its products and services.
The latest Instagram updates.
On the 6th of October 2021 (Instagram’s 11th birthday), they released the latest updates and features of the social platform.
The most significant change is the farewell to IGTV.
For those of you that aren’t aware of this feature, IGTV (Instagram TV) is an app (used both standalone or in tandem with Instagram) designed for mobile users and optimized to view long-form videos.
Its main selling point was that it allowed its users to upload video content up to a maximum of one hour when compared to videos on Instagram stories (maximum of 15 seconds per story card). It saw well-recognised brands such as Vogue US and Netflix take full advantage of the ‘Instagram meets YouTube’ feature, sharing with their customers lengthy, immersive content - an effective way of storytelling.
The recent update sees IGTV merging with feed videos, forming a new video format: Instagram Video.
So what do these changes mean for my business?
If you’re an active user of IGTV, things are going to look ever so slightly different for you.
For starters, the IGTV tab on your bottom navigation will be replaced by the ‘Instagram Video’ tab. You’ll also have added benefits below, which have been put in place to make creating and discovering videos a whole lot easier:
- 60-second feed previews
- A new video tab that replaces the IGTV on profile
- Trimming video capabilities
- Ability to add captions
- People and location tagging
How can I maximise the most out of this social media channel?
Whether you’re utilising this social network channel for personal or for business use, the many bells and whistles available to you can often leave you overwhelmed.
As of the start of this year, New Zealand had 3.97 million social media users, with this number increasing by 110,000 (2.8%) between 2020 and 2021. Behold an outstanding fact… that equates to 82% of our total population as of Jan 2021 (Datareportal.com, 2021).
Whilst social media marketing is not right for every business, with those stats on board, it seems wise to at least investigate your opportunities for promoting your brand across these channels.
Finding the right social channel, and sharing the right content with the right message, will be the key to success to reach the right audience.
And that’s where we come in! If you need a helping hand with this or think your social channel could do with a bit of a shakeup, reach out and get in touch.
Our in-house team of marketing specialists can help you build the right social strategy for your business and fill your platform with informative, insightful and creative story-telling content.