Instagram Updates You Need to Know in 2019 – April Edition

Instagram has been a rapidly-developing platform since Facebook first acquired it several years ago, and it clearly has no intentions of slowing down.

This month, Instagram has rolled out new interactive features for Story Ads, which may take brand awareness to a whole new level.

They’re also testing features that could add to other types of interactivity on the platform, along with improving the overall user experience.

Have we piqued your interest yet? If so, keep reading to see what the new Instagram updates have in store for us this month.

Instagram Introduces Interactive Polling to Sponsored Stories:

Instagram added the option to include interactive elements to sponsored stories, beginning with the Polling sticker. What I’m going to call “sticker effects” have now come to Instagram’s Story Ads, bringing interactivity to an ad format that previously really only was limited to “click here” as an option.

When creating a Story Ad, advertisers will be able to add a polling question to the image or video they’re using during the Creatives portion of the creation process. You can ask users a question, and give them two choices to choose between.

If you’re running Story Ads, take advantage of this feature. Users are now familiar with the polling feature from native Stories, and speaking from experience, many who watch are happy to engage. I’ve had up to 70% response rates from the audience who viewed each Story, which is a pretty high engagement rate for almost anything on social media.

This is a great way, therefore, to start to build new relationships with your audience and grab their attention right off the bat. They may not work quite as well for conversion-focused ads, but they’d be great for brand awareness purposes.

Lockout on Old Usernames

Developer Jane Manchun Wong is lightning-fast when it comes to catching new changes and in-testing features on Instagram, and she’s caught an interesting one this month.

She noticed that Instagram is appearing to test an experimental feature that will put a hold on your older name for 14-days after you change it. If you decide to revert your name back within the grace period, you can do so with no concern that someone else will have claimed it.

This feature is likely a direct response to username grabberbots, which have become an increasingly prevalent issue on the platform, particularly amongst high profile accounts.

Co-Watching Video Tool

Instagram is testing the ability to co-watch videos inside Instagram Direct Messaging. This tool would be similar to Facebook’s Watch Party feature, which rolled out globally last year.

This will be private (direct messaging) instead of the public or group-based Watch Parties on public, but it’s the same basic idea and encourages users to engage together on the platform.

Also Read : Facebook Brings Premium Ads for Video Advertisers

Scrubbing Option

Instagram is apparently testing a native scrubbing option, which will allow users to scroll through to the point of the video that they want to watch.

This feature in and of itself isn’t overwhelmingly groundbreaking. It’s already offered on most native platforms, including Instagram’s own IGTV, which makes this new addition feel a little late.

Conclusion :

Instagram’s updates recently have been focused on community building and security for users and marketer alike, and these changes have really stayed the course.

More interactivity between both brands and users seems to be key here, and Instagram likely knows that the stronger the community they can build, the more valuable its platform will become to users.

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